As part of my videogame analysis and criticism course, this week’s readings focused on violence, racism, and sex in video games. Two of the readings, which focus on violence and sex, were mostly from the mouths of game developers; they can be found here. Although these three issues are clearly contentious and controversial in gaming – from all perspectives, including that of the player, creator, and parent of the player – none of the readings, and indeed almost none of the readings I’ve done in this field, actually relate to how these games view women. Predominantly, I’m finding, as sexual objects, often devoid of the personality found in their male counterparts in the same game.
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So pretty soon one of my most beloved game franchises will be releasing a small expansion/DLC via Steam. It’s to be set at 10$, and its focus seems to be primarily five new Native American factions. Those five being the Iroquois, Huron, Plains, Pueblo and Cherokee nations, some of the more prominent and, well, warlike of First Nations Americans. And by warlike I mean, not quite as willing to sit docilely by while European interests raped their lands. Below the cut: some thoughts and concerns about what Creative Assemblies has already mucked up with the franchise.
Introductory post for class – gone as soon as credit is received.
Here are some things that I want to explore over the semester:
1: Can narrative be an actual game mechanic? 1a: how, exactly, is a game mechanic defined? Is this a flexible or rigid definition, or has it even been solidly established yet?