Abstract Representation is a complex issue that some contemporary video games attempt to actively grapple with in-game. This paper focuses on Bioware’s Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017). The non-player character (NPC) of Hainly Abrams is examined as an example of transgender representation in the broader marketplace of major studio gaming. The […]
representation
44 posts
Content warning: Sexism in historical based games are discussed. Many articles that are linked contain hostile comments. Some of these comments are mentioned or paraphrased. If you visit Total War: Rome II’s Steam page you’ll notice something interesting: Over the past week the reviews for this game have spontaneously […]
Vampires do not appear to hold the same appeal in media as they once did, but why? Portraying and playing with our deepest fears, not least of which is death—or worse, becoming the monster ourselves—some of these creatures spent the ‘90s, the aughts, and the first half of the 20-teens struggling with what they are, striving to reconcile their monstrosity with the human they long to still be, and, typically, falling in love with human women.
Women as reward. It’s an unfortunately common sexist practice I see in many of the video games I have played and the video games I have seen marketed. Rewarding players with women, all women – not just those that are cisgendered, is equally problematic. While games use women and women’s […]
The following contains spoilers for the plot of the Balance Arc of The Adventure Zone. Last week, I spent my Thursday night pacing around my apartment listening to the latest episode of one of my favorite podcasts, The Adventure Zone. After three years and 69 episodes, the D&D comedy podcast […]
Representation matters. This is something that we have said countless times. It matters in games, in game development teams, in games communities, and in the world at large (especially in our current political environment). Over the course of the last couple of months we have spent several podcast episodes talking […]
Episode 150: On Recognition, Representation, and Revolution: A Conversation with TreaAndrea Russworm (Right click and save as to download, or find us on iTunes, BlogTalk Radio, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn). This week in the podcast we had an amazing conversation with TreaAndrea Russworm (@ProfessorTMR) is an associate professor at UMass Amhearst, author of Blackness is Burning: […]
When I wrote my first post for Not Your Mama’s Gamer three months ago, I didn’t anticipate writing a follow-up about Blizzard and representation so soon. I admit, my cynical expectation would have been that if I were writing a follow-up, it would be my continued criticism of their abysmal […]
Prior to heading home for Thanksgiving, I picked up the Oregon Trail card game. As I wrote about before, my mother has recently expressed an interest in playing games, and I thought the game would be fun and nostalgic. I missed the mark a bit on the nostalgia part, however, […]
I’m a year late, but I’m finally playing Until Dawn. I feel like I’m having an entirely different experience with the game this year than I would have last year because this year, I’m playing during the election. I imagine that had I played last year, I would have plowed […]
My knowledge of Overwatch prior to actually playing it had nothing to do with the gameplay and everything to do with the surrounding lore. Blizzard released official information on setting, backstory, and character histories via YouTube videos both before and after the game’s official release in May of 2016, which […]
In 2011, I made the best Xbox Live avatar ever, according to me. That’s because Bastion had come out and they made Kid’s outfit available for all avatars. I shelled out…I guess it was four dollars….got myself the outfit, gave myself some elf ears and spiky red hair and bam! […]
A group of children, ranging from 9 to 10 years old, huddle around a boy. It’s 2003, and the boy is telling them all their assignments for recess. Today’s game is Halo. The boy, obviously the leader in one respect or another, has decided he’s going to be Master Chief. […]
A few days ago, a user posted in the Overwatch Beta feedback section of the Blizzard forums that they were uncertain about one of Tracer’s victory poses in the game, a version of the infamous butt pose. User Fipps didn’t seem to have an issue with other characters who posed […]
Alisha and Ashley brought a game called Who’s Your Daddy to my attention this week. According to Patricia Hernandez at Kotaku, “Who’s Your Daddy is an early access multiplayer game. One person plays as the dad, and another person can play as the baby. The baby has but one goal: to […]
When I was a kid, I had piles of Star Wars figures, including all the Leias a girl could want. I had combat-ready Hoth Leia, I had Leia in a poncho on Endor, and bounty hunter Leia, who was my favorite, because she was just so cool, strolling into Jabba’s […]