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Rapid-fire archery battles are the best way to do E3
Nothing gets rid of the E3 jitters like shooting an exploding arrow right at your social-media manager's face. Luckily, we brought TowerFall: Ascension to the E3 show floor this year, so nobody had to break out the actual bow hidden behind the Engadget stage.
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.
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.
New Feminist Frequency video dissects 'Women are too hard to animate'
After shifting its schedule to release shorter, more rapid entries in its series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games earlier this year, the cultural criticism web channel Feminist Frequency posted its latest episode today. It tackles the excuse game studios have given when they don't include female playable characters: that women are too hard to animate. (Spoiler: they're not.) When one sex is treated differently in games, the video argues, negative and predatory attitudes proliferate.
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.
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."
