ABSTRACT

WITHIN THE REALM OF VIDEO GAMES, FEMALE CHARACTERS OFTEN BECOME ENSNARED IN STEREOTYPES, THUS BECOMING OBJECTS OF THE MALE GAZE. MOREOVER, THE NEGLECT OF FEMALE CHARACTERS' SUBJECTIVITY IN GAME DESIGN REFLECTS A FAILURE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR AGENCY. ADDITIONALLY, THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE IS FREQUENTLY DISREGARDED IN GAME DESIGN. THESE ISSUES HAVE HAD ADVERSE EFFECTS, LEADING TO DESIGNS THAT ARE LESS HOSPITABLE TO WOMEN, PERPETUATING MISOGYNY, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND DISCRIMINATION IN ONLINE GAMING, AND FURTHER MARGINALIZING WOMEN WITHIN THE GAMING INDUSTRY. INTEGRATING FEMINIST PRINCIPLES INTO VIDEO GAME DESIGN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DISMANTLE THE CULTURAL CENTER OF INEQUALITY WITHIN GAMING CULTURE AND FOSTER A MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE VIDEO GAME WORLD, BRIMMING WITH POSSIBILITIES. THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATES SUCH PHENOMENA THROUGH A BLEND OF QUESTIONNAIRES AND ONLINE INTERVIEWS. FOLLOWING DATA REFINEMENT AND SUMMARIZATION, IT EXPLORES THE POTENTIAL FUSION OF FEMINISM AND GAME DESIGN. WHILE FINDINGS FROM THESE STUDIES AID IN ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR THIS SYNTHESIS, FEMINIST GAME RESEARCH PRESENTS COMPLEXITY. THE STUDY OFFERS PERTINENT REFERENCES AIMED AT ADVANCING THE FIELD