Mis/Represent

Synopsis

Mis/Represent examines stereotypes and representation attributed to visible minorities and women in the AAA video game industry. Looking through modes of identity creation, along with the demographic makeup and history associated with game character creation, I seek to illustrate not only the ways in which minorities and women are represented but the challenges they face. The work aims to empower women and minorities, through a gaming platform and social media campaign. By going through a selection process, users choose from an array of signifiers that relate to their personal identity. Once completed, they are given an artist’s rendition of a famous gaming character, redrawn to resemble the choices they made. In doing so, it illustrates the potential for characters to be more progressive and paves a direction that could be taken in character creation. The project concludes by asking the participant to create their own rendition of a character that they feel best represents them. That character would then be shared through the social media campaign, in an effort to raise awareness on character diversity further. This project is an additional voice to the conversation in the critique of the industry. In order to truly achieve equal and positive representation in games, an infiltration of the AAA videogame industry becomes necessary.