How women are represented in video games has been discussed more and moreover the past decade, but too often this has boiled down to their literal representation - their physical appearance. Women are often unnecessarily objectified with skimpy outfits that don’t match their male counterparts’, bountiful blowouts on their flowing hair, and a full face of makeup. While it’s crucial to have a conversation about that type of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:misogyny in gaming, it’s not the 💧only kind of misogyny we observe.
Time and time again, we also see a connection forged between powerful women and their use (or misuse) of, regulation of, or reliance on their emotions. Alex Chen, the lead of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Life is Strange: True Colors, is also defined by her abilities as an Empath, projecting and absorbing the emotions of people aroun💜d her. Alex’s powers make her a part of this trope, but only playing the game will tell me how bad the damage really is.
Perhaps surprisingly, the first thing I thought of when I heard about Alex’s powers was Super Princess Peach - a lesser-known title in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario canon where Nintendo flips the script and gives Princess Peach the spotlight. The damsel, no longer in distress, is tasked with rescuing Luigi and Mario from Bowser’s grasp, just as s𒁏he herself has been rescued many times before.
Although Mario and Luigi have no particularly unique abilities in their own g๊ames other than those obtained from limited-time powerups, Peach is giv⛦en four powers to navigate the platforming. These powers are called “vibes,” but they should really be called “mood swings.” There’s Joy, which gives her the ability to float; Rage, which causes the Princess to catch fire; Gloom, wherein Peach begins to sob uncontrollably; and Calm, which restores her health.
It was like watching your male co-worker’s condescending period jokes come to life on a DS. In Peach’s first-ever starring role, Nintendo chose to represent her as erratic and out of control, oscillating between emotions in split seconds in order to manipulate the 🌼environment around her. In short, the joke is that she’s a manipulative bitch. In a world that largely believes 🤡, Nintendo and Super Princess Peach play a part in the continuation of that myth and all the misogyny that comes with it.
Though few games are as on the nose with the whole “women are emotional mysteries” thing, many games have similar themes. In the Halo series, the most prominent female character is Cortana, an AI who assists Master Chief on his missions. During the later games, she experiences a condition known as “Rampancy.” In the game’s lore, this means she has run out of storage space and her programming will begin to deteriorate. In the story, however, it means that this female character becomes erratic. She is calm and collected one moment then furious and unpredictaﷺble the next - just like that male co-worker of yours thinks all women are like on their period.
In another Nintendo title, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Legend 🐟of Zelda: Breath of 🔯the Wild, we watch Princess Zelda in flashbacks as she tries to activate her powers as the reincarnation of the goddess, Hylia. Despite her best efforts, she cannot summon even the tiniest bit of magic to help her - not until her land is finally under attack, at least. Link has been fighting off Guardians in an effort to protect the Princess. Zelda begs him to run but he will not. When another Guardian approaches to attack, Zelda steps in front of Link in a burst of passion and her powers are awakened. It&rsquo🍬;s much the same in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - although that’s to be expected as a retelling of the same story. Zelda is rushed away from the castle as she watches Link fighting off opponents behind her. She escapes the grasp of her guard and rushes towards him, her sorrow at the death of her father and love for Link causing her powers to finally activate.
Even if you want to dismiss the “superpowers” aspect of this repeating trend, narratives that follow female protagonists often circle around emotional stories and personal growth. While this isn’t a bad thing - indeed, it’s turned out some of the best games of the last few years, like the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Life is Strange and Celeste - it does show a pat🌱tern and a star🎶k contrast between women and men in the world of gaming.
This brings us back to Alex Chen, and her powers as an Empath. By using these powers, Life is Strange: True Colors became a part of the history ofꩵ this trope - be it positively or negatively - simply by virtue of its central mechanic.
From the small amount of the game we saw in the trailers, I was cautiously optimistic. We watch Alex and her brother’s best friend floating a lantern in his honour. Jed, an older man with a sizable beard, is shown to care deeply about his community and is a person who helps other characters process and manage their strong emotions. Though the female love interest, Steph, is shown processing her pain and with a blue, sad a💞ura, while the male love interest, Ryan, is depicted as angry with a red, violent aura, I hoped that these short scenes in the commercial are not representative of their true character growth.
I haven’t gotten around to playing the game ye༺t, but there are some big questions that will decide what side of the legacy Alex Chen falls on. Are men represented as having a variety of powerful emotions, including joy, sorrow, grief, and more, rather than only the emotions we often associate with masculinity, like anger? How do those male characters deal with their emotions and how does their character change throughout the game? The same goes for the female characters; will they be allowed to experience anger? Will there be jokes about their periods, since🐎 Alex will be able to read their emotions all the time? Do the women process their feelings by pushing them down, or processing them healthily?
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Square Enix and Deck Nine may have made a bold choice by giving Alꦗex the “power of emotion” and joining this complicated legacy of female representation in gaming. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a meaningful game filled with modern, forward-thinking approaches to grief and emotion as experienced by all human beings, regardless of their gender. While it’s too bad these themes and lessons often appear in games featuring, and marketed for, women, gradual change is a small step in the right direction for the industry.