The roles of female characters in games has been a topic of conversation among feminists and gamers alike for years, but the issue has gained steam in the past two years, partly because of Anita Sarkeesian’s video series “Tropes vs Women in Video Games.” The series, which launched in 2013 in an effort to explore the most common uses of women in video games, has caused contention between people both inside and outside the gaming community, particularly among those who denied the fact that women were misrepresented in games and who felt like Sarkeesian was trying to slander the gaming community and culture by bringing these issues to light.
Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.
i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.
its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.
They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.
They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid
The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.
And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.
Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.
THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.
The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.
Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.
Skewed and Reviewed have written an Opinion Piece covering issues in the gaming industry, how current issues were issues years ago, and what can be done to help restore consumer trust.
Nothing. It's up to the gamers to stop consuming content from companies that they don't agree with.
Marie Dealessandri speaks to Borislav Slavov and Gustavo Santaolalla about “the new golden age of games music”.
What about games like Remember Me, Mirror's Edge, and the Dead or Alive series?
"Why We Need Better Representation in Games."
Gaming as an entertainment medium is young, but is still older than most gamers who game today. There are thousands upon thousands of games with all kinds of representation.
Now, the title makes a statement, that women fantasize too, that is both a moment of Captain Obvious, and at the same time doesn't understand a key aspect of fantasy.
Fantasizing can, but doesn't chiefly mean creating a representation of yourself in a fictional world. The idea that representation must be a process in which a random, 185lb, red headed, lesbian woman is the protagonist in fantasy kinda eliminates the fantasy part of it.
Representation in this instance is highly subjective, and creates a no-win scenario. It's also factually inaccurate.
Studies have shown that the majority of gamers actually don't care about representation. They care about good games with good ideas. The representation narrative was fabricated by people who were not and don't intend on being gamers at all.
Fantasy and escapism are about experiencing things you don't have the opportunity to, or flat out can't, experience in reality. Making fantasy mediums move towards realism removes the very purpose they've always had to begin with.
I'd ask Ms. Shonte Daniels a few questions.
1. Do you think people are incapable of experiencing the story of someone that isn't a direct avatar of themselves and enjoying it?
2. Why is it so important to you to place importance on sex, race, or sexual orientation. Especially for fictional characters, and especially when in the Present Day, activists claim to be actively trying to remove the separations and divisions between peoples?
3. Do you understand why tropes are tropes and what a trope actually is? Ms. Sarkeesian really doesn't, and she's not actually advocating for "more complex female representation." Someone who does so actually presents solutions, Ms. Sarkeesian just has lists of grievances and shuts off all communication.
And finally.
4. Do you really think a fictional character, who has no actual life and thus has never experienced any part of reality, should not only be created to fit an ideological checklist, but also comport itself as though it is a member of that ideology?
The interesting part of this article is this...
"Research has even proven that female players find empowerment and appeal in female characters who are physically strong and attractive."
It cites a study done in 2007 that has many issues. One such issue is the idea that games are used to create a gendered self which is entirely preposterous. I don't have the room to go into all the problems, but I do want to link a particular study that pretty much entirely refutes this study.
http://www.digra.org/wp-con...
That study comes to the conclusion that gamers don't care about representation. They can, have, and will continue to play as anything. This makes the implication that those that DO care about representation are A) Not part of gamer culture or B) Have a different agenda which they are attempting to use gaming to further given that gaming is the most interactive entertainment medium in existence. There are many many many studies that prove that gaming has no actual real world impact on behaviour, so the people who are trying to use gaming to push an agenda to change social behaviour to fit a particular narrative are actually wasting their time.