The Representation of Women in Video Games

The Representation of Women in Video Games

PART ONE: Introduction and Question

Briefly introduce your research topic.
Include one research question
* What is your dissertation about?
This dissertation provides a comprehensive textual analysis that relates to the representation of women within video games. It aims to assess the impact of this representation on women’s perception of their body image in terms of self-objectification and body image.
* What are the main aims and objectives of your research?
* To assess the sexualisation of women in video games
* To determine the dressing code of women in these video games
* To assess the vision of beauty utilized in these games
* How will you approach the research to fulfil those objectives?
The study will utilize a qualitative research approach, in which case textual analysis will be used. This approach entails understanding language, symbols and pictures used in a text in terms of how people make sense of life and communicate their experiences.
Word Count: 100 words

PART TWO: Context

Outline the significance of your topic and address what your reader needs to know to understand your proposed research project.
Use between four and six contextual sources (e.g., ‘about us’ section on websites; news media coverage; industry, policy and government reports) to do this.
* Why is it relevant? What is its contribution to the research field? Please describe the current state of research in the field. What are the main points of contention? What are the main theories, concepts and methods being developed by researchers in the field? Which gap(s) in the field will your research address?
This topic is important because women continue to be side-lined even in modern culture. Most of the females are underrepresented in the society, with their roles remaining at home. Even in video games, the female characters are mainly presented as helpless beings who deserve to be helped by the male characters (Gestos et al., 2018). They come across as cute and innocent members who play a subordinate role to me. This underrepresentation is notable in the negative treatment of female players in the gamer community. According to research, most of the video games that have both male and female characters indicate that female players tend to receive more negative comments, such as the use of derogatory gendered language.
This study contributes significantly to research as it exposes the patriarchy that still reigns in the modern society despite the high levels of civilization. Women are still looked down upon as inferior humans are only meant to be beauty objects in the eyes of men. Even in the modern video game, women are rarely represented as skilful and competent. Instead, they are created as lacking skills and opting to play visual video games. Given the large number of players, it is of great concern because even young players are being exposed to the demeaning language used in such games.
According to the modern demographics, a significant number of women also participate in video gaming. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) posits that there is an equal number of males and females who purchase video games in the United States. Similarly, according to the UK statistics by Internet Advertising Bureau (2015), approximately 52% of video game players in the UK are women. The Internet Advertising Bureau (2015) further posits that 33% of the women like to play Trivia/Word/Puzzle games. Regardless of the fact that women comprise a significant portion of the population who are interested in playing such games. Therefore, it is important that video game players understand the impact that creating games with such views affect the society.
Video game theories provide significant insights on how the society interprets the characters and plot of the games. Game theory, a branch of applied mathematics, offers tools necessary for the assessment and analysis of situations where parties, known as players, make independent decisions. Applying game theory to the analysis of video games, the concept entails the exploration of human behaviours. The theory studies conflict and cooperation between different agents with the help mathematics (Tyler, 2021). The interactions are then disintegrated into all possible decisions by the agents and the corresponding rewards. Therefore, the use of game theory in analysing video games will help in the assessment of human decisions and outcomes based on their interactions with the video games and how these games influence various decisions that they make.
Word Count: 400 words

PART THREE: Literature Review

Critically evaluate existing academic literature that is relevant for your proposed research project and position your own research in relation to this literature.
The literature review is the culmination of your background research about the project. It is a place to review the existing literature and identify relevant scholarly debates, but also to identify gaps in the existing scholarship. As such, a good literature review should already be an argument justifying your research project and putting it in perspective. Your literature review will usually be divided into a few thematic sections.
Your literature review should conclude with your research question, which marks the introduction to your research methodology section. This question is always grounded in a broader research area and represents a specific intervention.
There are several studies conducted to assess the design, development, and production of video games. Clay (2012) assesses the design and development of video games. The author highlights the important role that psychologists play in the development of video games. According to the author, some psychologists are even establishing consulting businesses to help game manufacturers to design and develop games, and some even proceed to an extent of manufacturing their own games. Psychologists play a crucial role in linking the technology involved in game design to the social situations. According to Kaye (2014), the gaming sector has risen significantly as a social pursuit, where the players meet, interact, and play together. These interactions demand consideration of two major issues: how the social contexts of the games affect the players’ experiences, and secondly, the different ways that game developers utilize this effect to enhance positive experiences based on the activity.
There are some notable psychologists who have ventured into the video game industry. For example, Mike AMbider holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Psychology from Yale University. In addition, he has a PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is noted for his contribution in the development of various games including Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, and Portal 2 (Edmund, 2011). Another notable psychologist is Celia Hodent, who holds a PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Paris. She specialized in cognitive development in children. She ventured in the video games sector, where she worked as a playtest project manager at Ubisoft. The decision by some of these psychologists to venture into the industry shows the extent to which the video game sector relies on the psychology of the people to sell their products.
Thus, video games play a significant role in society, affecting various people around the world. Several studies have confirmed that video games tend to increase the aggressive behaviour and emotional outbursts in many people. For example, Mengyun Yao and colleagues conducted a study to assess the relationship between violent video games exposure and aggression (Yao et al., 2019). The authors sought to assess the role of moral disengagement, anger, hostility, and dis-inhibition in aggression and according to their findings, moral disengagement, anger, and hostility are the major contributors towards aggression following repeated violent video games exposure. In this study, the authors indirectly link aggression to explore to violent video games. Despite the indirect link, there is still a correlation between the two subjects.
Other researchers have undertaken a more critical approach in assessing the impact of video games on the players. Youssef Hassan and colleagues undertook a study to assess whether violent video games induce stress in players, making them to increase their aggression levels. The researchers measured the cardiac coherence of the players before and during game play. After the game play, the participants got the opportunity to blast loud music through headphones during the reaction time task. The researchers then used the intensity and duration of this noise blast to assess the aggression levels. According to the finding, the violent video game players exhibited high aggression levels compared to the nonviolent game players. This study provides a more precise confirmation of the impact of video games on the players and thus the society.
Hollingdale and Greitmeyer (2014) also reported similar findings in their study that sought to assess the impact of online violent video games on levels of aggression. According to the findings, both parties playing violent video games online and offline compared to those playing neutral video games displayed increased aggression.
However, there are also other researchers who have argued against the perspective that video games affect the players, leading to an increase in their aggression levels. Simone Kuhn and colleagues undertook a study to assess whether playing violent video games leads to aggression. The participants played the violent video game Grand Theft Auto V, the non-violent video game The Sims 3, or no game at all for two months (Kuhn et al., 2019). According to the findings, there was no significant changes noted between the baseline and the post-test immediately after intervention. Similarly, there was no effect two months after the end of the intervention period. Consequently, the researchers concluded that the assertion that playing violent video games had negative effects on the players were unfounded.
Similarly, Dotinga (2015), a HealthDay Reporter, reports on a small study that provides mixed view on whether video games may render kids to be more aggressive. According to the report, children who spend more time playing may be more likely to be hyperactive and engage in fights compared to those who do not engage actively in playing games. The researchers attribute their conclusion to the aspect of excitement that children may develop following frequent engagement in active games. They note that violent video games appear to have no effect on behaviour as pointed out by the British researchers. The researchers further noted that children who played video games for less than an hour a day were less likely to be aggressive and their teachers rated them as being better behaved.
The above findings present contradicting results on the impact of video games on the player. If all researchers had concluded that there was a correlation between violent games and children behaviour, then the current research would have readily concluded that indeed video games change people’s behaviour. However, the existence of contradictory findings demand a further research in terms of either conducting new research or analysing the already existing lite...