In light of the recent political uproar of the 2024 election, video games arise as a form of community and female empowerment. Turning to video games as a form of comfort, a handful of women in the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and the Riverside community share their experiences in the gaming community.
The involvement of women in the gaming community has been increasing rapidly over recent years. Still, as of 2022, men continue to reign dominant in most aspects of gaming. There are many factors that potentially explain the reasons for this gendered dominance: time management, discrimination, domestic duties, etc. According to research found in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Of American video game players, 45% are female.”
While it is true that video games have been a space well-accessed by men for a longer amount of time than women, women still make up nearly half of the gaming population in the U.S. However, women are often not considered when it comes to game accessibility. The researchers observed that video games are often made by men for men. Video games are often focusing on what men would like best because they are more likely to be represented by the game designers.
Following interviews of some female UCR students and graduates, a list has been compiled of games that keep a female audience in mind.
On the topic of accessibility for women, an anonymous current UCR psychology student and ARC writing and reading tutor brings up a point about Legend of Zelda games; although the playable character is known to be male, she states, “Breath of the Wild (BOTW) from 2017 is an extremely accessible game for new people entering the gaming scene, which are generally women. Not only are the game mechanics more fluently understood, but Link’s androgyny [also] plays a key role in one being able to immerse themselves as their own hero, and create a story of their own.”
While still leaving room for improvement in female identity, the main protagonist of the game functions to represent women at the same time as men due to his equal visual representation and acknowledgement of women as warriors in the Legend of Zelda universe. With BOTW leaning into Link’s visual gender neutrality, Nintendo has continued on to do some major improvements in representation.
Kayla Batchelor, a UCR graduate and former English Majors Association Book Club Coordinator, raves about “Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” (2024) by exclaiming, “Finally, a Zelda game where you don’t have to play Link! Zelda’s character development throughout the story was incredible to see, as she officially went from the supporting role to actively saving her Kingdom one echo at a time. Overall, this game empowered me to feel that same wisdom and resilience that is shown time and time again within the Zelda universe.”
Batchelor notes the emotional attachment that women have to the games that allow them to feel powerful. Being able to play the same storyline from a different perspective that is more familiar to the female audience creates a sense of affirmation.
One of the foundations of female solidarity is acknowledging and validating the experiences of women. A local community member, Mikayla Kirkpatrick, discusses the validation she felt when playing “Virago.” Kirkpatrick states, “Virago is the story of a mother’s nightmare, and even more so, a haunting simulation of what it is like to be a little girl in America. I’d bet that nearly every woman can remember a time when a man was inappropriate with her or dismissive of her boundaries before she reached adulthood.”
While the game can trigger some trauma responses, it also validates the “horror” that comes with existing in a female body. When society makes women feel small, games featuring strong female characters really stand out for their empowering and motivational representations.
Strong leadership roles are important for women to see in the video games they play, regardless of its gameplay style or genre. Women often experience workplace and occupation discrimination, which results in them feeling incapable of holding respectable positions in society.
Lidia Monsivais, UCR’s current English Majors Association’s President, explains that “as a woman, playing games can be a source of escapism… I find these games [‘Mass Effect’ and ‘Stardew Valley’] allow me to play a role as a confident leader of an army or of a community, one that as a woman, I haven’t always been told I can fill.” With role models such as Shepard from “Mass Effect,” women can feel capable of making a difference in their community, in the world and even in the galaxy.
The features of accessibility and representation in video games unite the female players in the gaming community. Games like “Breath of the Wild,” “Echoes of Wisdom,” “Virago,” “Mass Effect” and “Stardew Valley” are great games for women to find comfort and have a space to recover from today’s emotionally-taxing politics. Through gaming, women find the strength to fight on for another day.