ENG 225 Rhetoric and Gaming

Sarkeesian, A., Petit, C. (2019). Female Representation in Videogames Isn't Getting Any Better. WIRED 2019. This article proves that representative equality in the video game industry is still far behind where it should be. Sarkeesian & Petit used data from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E 3 ) from 2015 to 2019 to quantify gender representation in the video game industry. The time frame is significant due to Gamergate in 2014, a misogynist movement that used video game as its platform. While open character creation options are more prevalent than in previous years, games with only a female protagonist are few.  Sarkeesian & Petit quantified the data by counting the number of games at E 3 with male, female, gender-ambiguous, and open character options. The data show that in those years, there were 3-10x more male protagonists than female. Sarkeesian & Petit also counted presenters featured at 2019 E 3 , and found that there were about 4x as many male prese...

Pulos, A. (2013). Confronting Heteronormativity in Online Games: A Critical Discourse Analysis of LGBTQ Sexuality in World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 8(2), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412013478688 Pages: 21 Peer Reviewed: Yes Annotation Word Count: 329 Pulos analyzed how the World of Warcraft (WoW) community talks about and interacts with people who are a part of the LGBTQ community. Pulos argues that WoW’s community is based on a system that Blizzard created that does not support LGBTQ friendly content. Pulos found that Blizzard actively investigated their forums for content relating to anything LGBTQ and taking it down because it “violated their terms of service.” Pulos analyzed 400 messages on the Blizzard forums that focused on “LGBTQ players and the Wow community.” Pulos also drew upon her own experience from playing WoW. Pulos spoke with Sara Andrews, who started an LGBTQ friendly guild. Andrews had her post/guild taken down and was told by Blizzard that...

Koptur, Evren. Transferable Learning Skills of an MMORPG: A World of Warcraft Quest, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:kent1459175932 The basis of this study was focused entirely on the MMORPG World of Warcraft, and the “potential of transferable learning skills gained or improved by playing WoW to real life” (p. ii). This study was focused on “four different learning categories: experiential learning, collaborative learning, leadership, and autonomous learning respectively through playing WoW” (p. ii). Results of this study indicate that these four categories of learning do occur in the game, and participants “perceived [these skills/learning] to be transferable to real life in varying degrees” (p.ii). The author notes that further research is needed in every single aspect of this project. This study got its data from 258 online survey participants. The survey was broken into the four categories mentioned above, and...