Though there have been some great strides in the presentation of empowered female characters in videogames, developers still have a long way to go. In a recent dialogue with Samantha Blackmon and Alisha Karabinus about female characters who fall short of their potential, we found ourselves asking why narratives and […]
sexuality
12 posts
Vampires are fascinating in that they operate on the fringe of a culture and society. In some ways, they represent the ultimate outcast, often othered for their monsterness, and because of it, they needn’t adhere to what’s traditional or considered socially acceptable. In some instances, they’re almost auto-excluded from social […]
Halo 4 is releasing in just over two weeks and we’ll be seeing the return of our favorite hero, Master Chief and his A.I. sidekick Cortana. We’ll also see a few changes to the game as a new enemy emerges and the reliable Cortana seems to be losing her mind. […]
Yesterday’s article at Kotaku about the representation of African Americans in Assassin’s Creed: Liberation hit really close to home because we were looking at two sides of the same coin. While Evan Narcisse over at Kotaku thinks that the Canadian developers are off point with their depiction of a few […]
I am a mediocre Mass Effect fangirl at best. I quit the first game because the controls and the damned planet scanning were just too friggin’ painful. I plowed into ME2, with its improved control scheme, with gusto that only died down a bit, and I powered through ME3 with […]
Episode 34 : “Shut Up and Take It!: Death Threats and the New Industry Norm” (“Save As” to download or head over to iTunes to subscribe) The episode where Alex Layne narrowly escapes death herself and we talk about death and assault threats against women (and men) in the industry. It’s finals […]
I am a lesbian and a gamer and I make no excuses for either of those things. It has been a very, very long time since I have tried to hide either of them. I am unapologetic though I get disapproving looks from most folks for one or the other […]
Episode 20: Everybody Wants to Be Master Chief: On Masculinity and Intersectionality (“Save As” to download or head over to iTunes to subscribe) This week we talk about masculinity and intersectionality. Men, race, sexuality, and anything else that comes to mind. Links of Note: Sponsor Sam or Alex in the […]
In this week’s podcast, Alex brought up the fact that she was reading Judith Butler’s gender performativity theory and I thought that while Butler’s work is a little heavy it could definitely lead us to a good discussion of how feminine and masculine characters in video games are constructed aesthetically […]
Names of the Sims involved have been withheld to protect the innocent. EA Games released The Sims in early 2000. I was in the middle of writing my dissertation. I was trying to finish, sell our house, and get ready to relocate for my first academic job. I was stressed […]
Things have been super quiet around here lately and I think that much of it can be contributed to the fact that L.A. Noire really has eaten our brains. I have personally been playing the game in every free moment that I have (and lots of them are moments that […]
(“Save As” to download or head over to iTunes to subscribe) The episode where we talk about games and sexuality. This week we focus on representations of sexual orientation in video games. Links of Note: Brink has zillions of character variations and no women Call of Duty: Black Ops Commercial […]