Depictions of Female Protagonists in Digital Games: A Narrative Analysis of 2013 DICE Award-winning Digital Games
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Keywords
The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, Beyond: Two Souls, Bioshock Infinite, Narrative Theory, Digital Games, Narrative, Gender
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412016679584
Abstract
Digital games historically hold a spotty record on gender depictions. The lack of depth in female characters has long been the norm; however, an increasing number of female protagonists are headlining games. This study used narrative theory to examine depictions of four female protagonists in four 2013 Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain Award-Winning Digital Games: The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Beyond: Two Souls. Studying these media depictions provides context for how women’s stories are recorded in society. Stereotype subversions largely occur within familiar game narratives, and the female protagonists were still largely limited and defined by male figures in the games.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Games and Culture, v. 13, issue 8, p. 843-860
Scholar Commons Citation
Perreault, Mildred F.; Perreault, Gregory Pearson; Jenkis, Joy; and Morrison, Ariel, "Depictions of Female Protagonists in Digital Games: A Narrative Analysis of 2013 DICE Award-winning Digital Games" (2016). School of Advertising & Mass Communications Faculty Publications. 78.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/com_facpub/78
