Gaming and Machinima at the

Crossroads of Gender and

Culture:

Caution Girls At Play

Sonicity Fitzroy/Phylis

Johnson, PhD

Southern Illinois University,

Carbondale, IL

Shady Falls, Second Life1

Who is Anita Sarkeesian? One of 2014’s most dangerous women?

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Her

Message: There's

Another Way

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It’s simple…

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Factors at Play

• 1. Media’s Impact (or not)

• 2. Emphasis on War/Shooter

Games

• 3. Nature of Play: Invention-

Contention

• 4. Rise of Serious Games5

Jumping on the Video Game

Bandwagon

Even grandma is a player!

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The Female Stats

Average Age: 34 Percent of Female Gamers: 47 Average Years played: 12

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Parents Who Play

Believe games are positive influence: 64 %

Play weekly with kids: 48%

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Older Gamers are

Fanatical

'Women are playing more and more games, and so is the older

generation.’

Bigfishgames.com

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Global Gaming Stats

'Asia is still the hotbed for gaming.’

Bigfishgames.com

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Serious Games Society

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Fair Play for Girls and

Women

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10 most controversial violent

gamesDeath Race, Mortal

Kombat, Doom, Grand Theft Auto,

Silent Hill, Postal 2, Mad World,

Bioshock, Call of Duty: Modern

Warfare 2, Bulletstorm

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How Girls and Boys Play

‘Boys…tend to transform their environments to fit their imaginary worlds and engage in taunting each other…[as]Girls, alternatively, accommodate their activities and their play spaces to what already exists and direct their antagonism toward those outside the group though gossip.' (Chudacoff, 2008, p. 172)

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SimCity to The Sims

Life, Relationships &

Reality Play

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Sherry Turkle

Sex as 'Serious’ Play

Scantily clad women as props

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Too Close to Home

Simulations that allow the player to import photos of friends and enemies into games!

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Girl Power‘agency’ over the marketplace

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Underground Play Culture Playing alone

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The New Monster

…is not under the bed!

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Something is happening here!

Anita Sarkeesian's message is

clear. There's something seriously wrong here!

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Fandom and Gaming

CultureMachinima.com

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Machinima Heroes Rise

We All Belong (or do we

all?)24

James Glasscock

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Formerly of Playboy Plus

Entertainment

Machinima.com’s SVP of strategy and business development

Authentic Storytelling is game

changer!

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‘Reality is Broken’

…Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.

Jane McGonigal (2011)

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Get The Facts• Chudacoff, Howard P. (2008). Children at Play: An American History.

New York, NY: New York University.• Frevele, Jamie. (2011, June 8). New Round of Gaming Statistics: Gaming

Audience Getting Older, Slightly More Female. http://www.themarysue.com/gaming-statistics/

• Galarneau, Lisa. (2014). Trends and Statistics. 2014 Global Gaming Stats: Who’s Playing What, and Why? http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2014-global-gaming-stats-whos-playing-what-and-why.

• Klein, Jessica. (2015, March 9). Machinima Names James Glasscock SVP of Strategy & Business Development. http://www.thevideoink.com/news/machinima-names-james-glasscock-svp-strategy-business-development/#.VQPum47F98E.

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More "Stats" - Links• Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

http://www.esrb.org/about/video-game-industry-statistics.jsp

• Gamer Girl. http://students.expression.edu/gamergirl/?p=228

• Gamer Girl Tay. http://www.gamergirltay.com/2012/07/video-game-industry-essential-facts-and-statistics/

• Girl Gaming. http://www.girlgaming.com/

• Loose Garments.http://loosegarments.com/2011/06/15/women-are-kicking-ass-2011-stats-on-women-video-games/

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Thank you for viewing! Presentation by Sonicity Fitzroy,

sonicityfitzroy@yahoo.com

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Photos by

Belinda

Barnes

Sonicity

Fitzroy

Lowe Runo