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A chat with the 76ers' first all-female eSports team, Dignitas
Back in September, the Philadelphia 76ers bought Team Dignitas -- an established esports organization with teams across League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Heroes of the Storm -- making it the first North American sports franchise to plant a flag in the world of professional gaming. In February, Dignitas picked up its first all-female professional team with players from Selfless Gaming, which had just placed second at the Electronic Sports World Cup in Bordeaux, France.
The evolution of women in video games continues at E3 2017
Feminist Frequency founder Anita Sarkeesian tries to make it clear that her yearly, gender-focused analysis of the video games announced at E3 isn't founded in malice -- it's a mathematical reality. Even in 2017, video games overwhelmingly feature male protagonists rather than female leads. According to Feminist Frequency, 109 games debuted at E3 this year, and just eight of them (or 7 percent) star female characters, compared with 29 titles (26 percent) featuring male protagonists. Fifty-two percent of newly announced games utilize a system that lets players select specific characters or genders. On their own, these statistics aren't bad or good; they're simply facts. "We're not trying to be bummers," Sarkeesian said on the Engadget stage at E3. "But it's like, let's look at the actual numbers so we can actually improve for real."
'Tropes vs. Women in Video Games' says goodbye
The groundbreaking critical series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games is coming to an official end. "This is one of the most emotionally complicated projects I've ever created," writes creator Anita Sarkeesian in a new note to fans. She's been looking to finish the series for a while now, thanks to the toll it's taken on her both personally and professionally. But, while her latest post touches upon the trauma she experienced from angry gamers, the overall focus of the entry is positive and forward looking.
FBI releases redacted report of its GamerGate investigation
It's one thing to have read about (and reported on) the various threats of violence perpetrated by GamerGate, but seeing the FBI's collection of documents regarding the harassment campaign is entirely different. The Bureau recently released a 173-page document that compiles a plethora of emails and tweets received, seemingly, by targets including culture critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu. There are also internal reports, police reports and letters of request to various gaming and tech companies. I only say "seemingly" because names, email addresses and identifying information has been redacted throughout the report. But lining up the emails with dates and news stories, it's plainly obvious who the trolls were writing to.
Gaming's representation problems and where we go from here
Games are now big business and influential media in their own right. So what do video games tell us about how we see ourselves? Anita Sarkeesian from Feminist Frequency joined me on the Engadget CES stage to discuss games as popular culture, where we are now and the challenges facing better representation in the games that we all love. As our guest puts it: "The media works to reinforce and reflect society, for better and worse."
Feminist Frequency shares the promising gaming trends of 2016
Since 2009, Feminist Frequency has been tracking harmful representations of women in gaming. During this year's CES, Feminist Frequency's Executive Director Anita Sarkeesian and Managing Editor Carolyn Petit joined us on the Engadget stage to discuss something a little different: some 2016 gaming trends that showed the industry is moving beyond typical stereotypes and tropes and starting to think more differently.
Fans persuade Blizzard to pull sexualized 'Overwatch' pose
Sometimes a beta test is more than a glorified demo that the marketing department pushes for to drum up pre-orders. Fans of Overwatch, Blizzard's colorful new shooter, discovered just that recently. Over on the game's official forums, a user noticed that one of Tracer's -- more or less the figurehead for the game -- victory poses put her in a position that forum-goer "Fipps" thought wasn't befitting of the character. In it, she's glancing over her shoulder, her butt framed by a few straps over her leggings.
'Tropes vs. Women in Video Games' is changing a bit
Culture critic Anita Sarkeesian has made some significant waves since launching her wildly successful Tropes vs. Women in Video Games Kickstarter over three years ago. But it wasn't without a heavy cost. In an update to the backers of her crowdfunding campaign, Sarkeesian reveals that she was dealing with a very serious case of burnout that was affecting both her physical and mental health last year after the scope of the project ballooned unexpectedly. Sarkeesian says she's been coping with depression her entire life, but the online harassment at her expense since launching Tropes, combined with the decline in her physical health, amplified it.
Guide helps you fight online harassment
Harassment may be a regular part of the modern internet landscape, but that doesn't mean that you have to simply sit there and take it. Feminist Frequency, which is all too familiar with harassment and threats, has posted a guide to protecting yourself against the onslaught of digital bullies, stalkers and trolls. In some ways, it's about observing common sense privacy and security policies: avoid sharing more personal info than necessary, use difficult-to-crack passwords and stay on guard against malware and other exploits.
New 'Feminist Frequency' video examines 'women as reward'
In 2012, Anita Sarkeesian asked for $6,000 on Kickstarter to create a YouTube series dissecting the way video games commonly portray women, to be housed under her Feminist Frequency brand. Sarkeesian's project raised $160,000 and she's since released eight videos in the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series, covering the "Damsel in Distress" trend, "Ms. Male Character" theme and the idea of "Women as Background Decoration." The latest video, released today, covers "Women as Reward" and it discusses the myriad ways women are offered as hyper-sexualized trophies in some popular video games.
Latest 'Tropes' video highlights strong female game characters
Earlier this year culture critic Anita Sarkeesian outlined her plan for the coming months, and those included new episodes of her YouTube series Tropes vs. Women in Games. Some would take a different approach, though, including a look at positive depictions of women in interactive media. The first of those videos went live today and it's all about Superbrothers Sword and Sworcery's protagonist, The Scythian. It's a thoughtful look at one of the most stylish games in recent memory, exploring exactly what makes her such a strong character. It's a direct response to the common refrain from her most vocal detractors that all she does is highlight the bad in games, and as per usual it's a pretty great video overall; check it out just below.
Of course 'Law & Order: SVU' is doing a GamerGate episode
Actually, it's not about ethics in games journalism. NBC's Law & Order: SVU will air an episode titled "Intimidation Game" on February 11th, and unless you've been living under a rock the circumstances will be pretty familiar. In a plotline following "GamerGate" and the women many of its participants targeted for harassment, the show will feature a video game developer (played by Mouzam Makkar) preparing for a launch "amid a stream of online insults, intimidation and death threats." Inevitably Detective Olivia Benson and Ice-T are called in and... you've seen Law & Order, right? Update (2/4): A promo for the episode has popped up on YouTube, and you can view it embedded after the break. [Thanks, Sean!]
GamerGate target working with 'major social media' to end online abuse
Along with game developer Zoe Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian is likely one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to online harassment. Both have been targets of intense cyber-abuse campaigns stemming from the GamerGate movement, and like Quinn, Sarkeesian is tackling the problem head on. She's going to continue giving speeches and making videos examining media (what she calls public efforts), but the digital abuse she's receiving has changed her long-term goal: "There is also work being done behind the scenes in private meetings and consultations with major social media and gaming platforms, and by partnering with other organizations to form a task force with the goal of ending online harassment."
Gaming culture critic Sarkeesian cancels speech after school shooting threats (update)
Following threats of extreme violence at Utah State University, feminist culture-critic Anita Sarkeesian has cancelled her speech at the school scheduled for Wednesday. This morning, someone claiming to be a student at the university emailed staff members, saying that he or she would commit "the deadliest school shooting in American history" if the event wasn't cancelled, according to Utah newspaper The Standard Examiner. The email's author says that feminists have ruined their life and promised a "Montreal Massacre-style attack," stating that he or she possesses a variety of firearms and explosives and that no one in attendance or at the campus' Women's Center would be able to defend themselves should the lecture take place. This isn't the first time Sarkeesian has come under threat, either -- let alone the first time this year.
GDC award for culture critic Anita Sarkeesian led to bomb threat
A bomb threat was made regarding a speaker and award recipient at the Game Developer's Choice Awards (part of the annual Game Developer's Conference) in San Francisco this past March. Anita Sarkeesian (pictured above), host of Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, a YouTube series that naturally examines the way women are depicted in video games, was the intended target. As Kotaku reports, an anonymous email was sent to around 25 of GDC's organizers stating the following: "A bomb will be detonated at the Game Developer's Choice award ceremony tonight unless Anita Sarkeesian's Ambassador Award is revoked. We estimate the bomb will kill at least a dozen people and injure dozens more. It would be in your best interest to accept our simple request. This is not a joke. You have been warned."
