Comparing the Courses of 19th Century Female Authors and 21st Century Female Video Game Directors
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
English Literature
Minor
Information Studies
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Andy Black
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Despite the general push against the oversexualization of female characters in video games, female creative directors and writers are still few and far between in the video game industry. Through a case study of one of the industry’s more prolific female writers, Amy Hennig, this paper aims to discuss the challenges of a female creative director negotiating her identity in a male-dominated marketplace by utilizing theories based on the presence of women in the early literary marketplace. This paper explores the ways in which female creators in both the 19th and 21st centuries were forced to take control of their marketplace identity by distancing themselves from their works or creating a specific persona. Likewise, this paper will utilize forms of feminist literary theory to analyze the unique, starkly literary narrative style that female writers, particularly Hennig, have brought into the video game sphere by using Uncharted 3 as a primary example.
Affiliations
Honors Thesis
Comparing the Courses of 19th Century Female Authors and 21st Century Female Video Game Directors
Despite the general push against the oversexualization of female characters in video games, female creative directors and writers are still few and far between in the video game industry. Through a case study of one of the industry’s more prolific female writers, Amy Hennig, this paper aims to discuss the challenges of a female creative director negotiating her identity in a male-dominated marketplace by utilizing theories based on the presence of women in the early literary marketplace. This paper explores the ways in which female creators in both the 19th and 21st centuries were forced to take control of their marketplace identity by distancing themselves from their works or creating a specific persona. Likewise, this paper will utilize forms of feminist literary theory to analyze the unique, starkly literary narrative style that female writers, particularly Hennig, have brought into the video game sphere by using Uncharted 3 as a primary example.