E3, the meeting of the biggest representatives of the video game industry, did not leave such a positive balance in terms of gender equity and female representation

E3 2018, the largest videogame event in the world, has just been held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This space has become the greatest opportunity for publishers to reach their audiences, to define themselves and to define the industry as a whole.

For the fourth consecutive year, Feminist Frequency was responsible for gathering data in each of the conferences that will indicate how things are going in terms of female representation.

Leer en español: Mujeres en la industria de videojuegos: ¿representación u olvido?

"The percentage of games shown at E3 and focusing on women has hovered around the 7-9% range in recent years," the latest report said. "This year does not show any improvement, with 9 games, or about 8% of the games that are shown, with female protagonists."

On the other hand, 24% of the featured games focus on male white heroes. "When a game presents a female protagonist, each player who enters these worlds must experience them through the lens of whoever is the protagonist." These games work to normalize the idea that male players should be able to project and identify with the protagonists. women as well as the players have always been projected and identified with the masculine protagonists".

In addition, according to the report, despite the increase in alternative experience games, such as adventure games, puzzles and management sims, violence and conflict continue to be present in most videogames, to such an extent that these have been normalized behaviors as part of the basic game cycle.

Although these numbers and data are not encouraging, it can not be ignored that women were incorporated IGNORE INTO many games where playing as a woman was simply not possible and that, although the light hostesses continue to abound, there are proposals like The Last of Us 2 that call attention, not only for its dimensions and its form, but for touching taboo topics such as homosexuality.

As Digital Trends account, this video game gives prominence to Ellie, an openly lesbian woman. In the first part the girl discovered her sexuality after falling in love with her best friend and, this time, she will become the main protagonist of the adventure and she will be able to live with total freedom her love life; This is an industry in which the most visceral violence is allowed, but where sex, let alone homosexual sex, has always been censored.

Even though we are still a long way from approaching parity or true diversity, each step that progresses continues to be shaped by profit. Hopefully next year the statistics will change and more and more female heroes flood the video game industry.

LatinAmerican Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez

Translated from "Mujeres en la industria de videojuegos: ¿representación u olvido?"