When
I was a child, girls just did not play video games. Sure, we could
play the educational computer games like Math Blaster, but we were
considered "weird" if we played "real" video games. None of my girl
friends owned a gaming console; the only reason why I had access to a
SNES was because I had an older brother who got it for Christmas one
year while I was given more Barbies. I liked to watch my brother play,
but like everyone else, I thought that girls would never like video
games or be good at them. For me, that all changed in 1998 with the US
release of Pokemon Red and Blue. Suddenly, it was okay for girls to be
good at video games and it was okay for us to beat boys at it!
Pokemon was a phenomenon that revolutionized the attitudes many people
had about girls and gaming as well as introduced several generations of
girls to video games. Why was it so popular with both genders though?
This question can be answered through examining the essays of Laurel, Jenkins, Fron
et al and Fullerton et al.
One of the most important aspects of Pokemon in the early games was that it was fairly gender neutral. While the main character's avatar is supposed to be male, it is abstract enough to look like any gender the player wants it to be. Also, the game asks for your name at the starting screen without giving any indication that they expect the player to be a boy. The first default name, for all versions of Pokemon, is simply a color. While blue and pink/red do have a gender connotation in American society, the player is free to choose to play either version without being penalized for choosing one over the other. Throughout the game, players are given several choices on how they want to play. For example, you could rush into a gym and defeat everyone present or you could solve the gym's puzzle and only fight the gym leader. Later editions of the game introduced growing plants, secret bases, fashion/talent contests, and customizing the designs on pokeballs with stickers as important gameplay mechanics. This illustrates the concept of the "'androgynous space' that engages all aspects of all persons: a space into which women and girls are invited and welcomed, but in which men and boys can also enjoy more diverse and nuanced forms of play than are typically available to them," (Fullerton et al pg 1). While the main method of advancing the game is still defeating opponents, there are now a large number of other, more girl oriented ways to play the game. Even the ultimate goal of the game and the catchphrase of the TV show, "Gotta Catch Them All!," is a collection oriented goal that appeals to girls. Fron et al asks "Would early games revolve around themes such as botany, fashion, fortunes, life lessons, sociability or sewing?" (Fron et al pg 7). With Pokemon, we can see that a game can incorporate these themes and still be extremely commercially successful with both genders.
There are some instances where Pokemon has failed to be gender neutral. One such example is of Pokemon Yellow, which was an attempt to incorporate the television show into the game series. The main character of the show is a boy named Ash who has a pikachu follow him around. Not only was the attempt to have a pikachu follow the player around in the game a failure, most girls did not want to play as Ash. Even though the game was identical to Red and Blue (except for the pikachu), most players assumed that you were playing as Ash and this alienated many female players. Players could no longer choose what pokemon they wanted for their starter, which also took away from the feeling that you were the one making your own, unique way through this world. Laurel notes that "...the transmedia process has thus far consisted of repurposing content from one medium to another-film to TV, comics to film, dolls and toys to video games, movies to dolls and toys, or movies to the web," (Laurel 82). She goes on to explain that this repurposing does not work. Pokemon Yellow is a great example of how the cycle from game to television to game ends up destroying some of the most important aspects of the game. However, in the long run, all of the games encouraged players of both genders to explore the world of the game and discover all of its aspects and secrets. It actively encouraged players to revisit areas in order to access new areas that were previously restricted. They encouraged and promoted the ability of children to explore the environment, which plays an important role in "...their growing sense of mastery, freedom, and self-confidence..." (Jenkins pg 337). In the end, the Pokemon games have done a lot to encourage both girls and boys to play games together in play styles that suite their interests.
Works Cited
Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) "The Hegemony of Play." In Situated Play: Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association 2007 Conference. Tokyo, Japan, September 2007.
Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) (2007). "A Game Of Ones Own: Towards a New Gendered Poetics of Game Space." In Proceedings, Digital Arts & Culture 2007, Perth, Australia, September 2007.
Laurel, Brenda. (2001). Utopian Entrepreneur. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
One of the most important aspects of Pokemon in the early games was that it was fairly gender neutral. While the main character's avatar is supposed to be male, it is abstract enough to look like any gender the player wants it to be. Also, the game asks for your name at the starting screen without giving any indication that they expect the player to be a boy. The first default name, for all versions of Pokemon, is simply a color. While blue and pink/red do have a gender connotation in American society, the player is free to choose to play either version without being penalized for choosing one over the other. Throughout the game, players are given several choices on how they want to play. For example, you could rush into a gym and defeat everyone present or you could solve the gym's puzzle and only fight the gym leader. Later editions of the game introduced growing plants, secret bases, fashion/talent contests, and customizing the designs on pokeballs with stickers as important gameplay mechanics. This illustrates the concept of the "'androgynous space' that engages all aspects of all persons: a space into which women and girls are invited and welcomed, but in which men and boys can also enjoy more diverse and nuanced forms of play than are typically available to them," (Fullerton et al pg 1). While the main method of advancing the game is still defeating opponents, there are now a large number of other, more girl oriented ways to play the game. Even the ultimate goal of the game and the catchphrase of the TV show, "Gotta Catch Them All!," is a collection oriented goal that appeals to girls. Fron et al asks "Would early games revolve around themes such as botany, fashion, fortunes, life lessons, sociability or sewing?" (Fron et al pg 7). With Pokemon, we can see that a game can incorporate these themes and still be extremely commercially successful with both genders.
There are some instances where Pokemon has failed to be gender neutral. One such example is of Pokemon Yellow, which was an attempt to incorporate the television show into the game series. The main character of the show is a boy named Ash who has a pikachu follow him around. Not only was the attempt to have a pikachu follow the player around in the game a failure, most girls did not want to play as Ash. Even though the game was identical to Red and Blue (except for the pikachu), most players assumed that you were playing as Ash and this alienated many female players. Players could no longer choose what pokemon they wanted for their starter, which also took away from the feeling that you were the one making your own, unique way through this world. Laurel notes that "...the transmedia process has thus far consisted of repurposing content from one medium to another-film to TV, comics to film, dolls and toys to video games, movies to dolls and toys, or movies to the web," (Laurel 82). She goes on to explain that this repurposing does not work. Pokemon Yellow is a great example of how the cycle from game to television to game ends up destroying some of the most important aspects of the game. However, in the long run, all of the games encouraged players of both genders to explore the world of the game and discover all of its aspects and secrets. It actively encouraged players to revisit areas in order to access new areas that were previously restricted. They encouraged and promoted the ability of children to explore the environment, which plays an important role in "...their growing sense of mastery, freedom, and self-confidence..." (Jenkins pg 337). In the end, the Pokemon games have done a lot to encourage both girls and boys to play games together in play styles that suite their interests.
Works Cited
Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) "The Hegemony of Play." In Situated Play: Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association 2007 Conference. Tokyo, Japan, September 2007.
Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) (2007). "A Game Of Ones Own: Towards a New Gendered Poetics of Game Space." In Proceedings, Digital Arts & Culture 2007, Perth, Australia, September 2007.
Jenkins, H. (2008). Complete Freedom of Movement. The Game Design Reader, 337.
Laurel, Brenda. (2001). Utopian Entrepreneur. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
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