Media Studies Essay

In this essay I will be looking at gender stereotypes in video games. I will be

comparing three popular games in society, uncharted 3, assassin creed 3 and
tomb raider. I will look at how the game makers create a certain mood for the
gamers and people in society. Tomb raider is in the action and adventure genre
because you can use the protagonist in an interactive storyline. It also fits the
action genre because there is violent scenes with guns and other
weapons.Uncharted and assassin creed is also in the action adventure genre
because of the exploration and fighting.
The stereotypical views on male characters in video games are that they are
strong, powerful and aggressive and that they use violence to obtain things.
Most are brave and most of the time males are usually the rescuers. For example
in Mario he has to save the princess. The camera angles are mainly focused on
the males muscles. The views on females characters in video games are that
they are damsels in distress and they are the ones that usually need help and
most of the time it they are rescued by male characters. Also people view
females as weak and vulnerable. An example of this could be in Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider because she seems like she is vulnerable at times and like she is running
away from the humans because she is scared and unable to fight the men who
are chasing her and trying to kill her. This can make society think women are
weaker than men when this is not always the case as women are in society can
be just as strong as men.
Tomb raider wasmade by core design and in the 1996 Tomb Raider the story
opens when a nuclear test causes a great explosion which exposes an ancient
device buried beneath the desert surface. Lara croft sets out on an expedition to
find an artefact the scion. She then retrieves it but is attacked by a male who is
trying to get it off her. This fits the genre because there are aspects of
exploration and violence in the game.During the game the music is usually epic
and I think it has a slight western influence. When playing the game you can
hear gun shots and you can hear her footsteps whereas usually you cannot hear
females footsteps only the males. This suggests that she is man like. The gun
shots suggest that she is a confident character and wants to make her presence
known because she is attracting the attention of the people with the guns. The
1996 game graphics was unrealistic because the game designers exaggerated
her body shape and boobs. Also she carries dual wield pistols that were phallic.
Lara croft is a revealing character because of the clothes she had that brought
out certain features. This is because the game designers wanted to attract the
attention of young male gamers
In Tomb Raider 2012 there is better graphics and more realistic because she is
less sexualised and in the game Lara croft must save her friends and escape
while being hunted. While doing this she finds dead bodies and strange carvings
and then she fights off the attackers. Lara manages to activate a radio tower and

call for help, but the plane that answers the call is struck by a freak storm, and
Lara hears a mysterious voice saying "No one leaves" in Japanese.
In Uncharted 3 the story begins when Nathan drake enters a pub to meet with
Talbot who is interested in purchasing nates ring. But they could not come to an
agreement so they begin fighting. This game fits the action and adventure genre
because nathan drake is involved in fighting and he goes on a mission to retrieve
an object.He wears a basic top and I think the designers did this to show his
muscles and make him more attractive.
In the 1996 tomb raider lara croft is portrayed as a weak. We know this because
she starts with dual wield pistols whereas Nathan drake from uncharted started
with his fists to show he is strong enough to survive without a deadly weapon.
Lara croft wears a thin layer of clothing and made her breasts big and her ass.
The designers did this to get the attention of male gamers and this would attract
them because that is what male gamers expect when a woman character is the
centre of attention in the game. Also the camera angles are focused on her
breasts and butt to show the sexy side of her and this gets more male gamers
intrigued to play the game. However in uncharted 3 then camera angle is mainly
focused on drakes muscles and the action. This suggest that the designers
portray females as sex objects and males are mostly powerful.
In Tomb Raider 2012 she is portrayed as a strong, intelligent and less of a sex
object. The designer made her less off a sex object by reducing the size of her
breasts and butt to show that she has matured because she has learnt how to
use a wide variety of weapons and Lara croft is not a traditional female
stereotype.
Also the camera angle is partly focused on her sexy areas of her body. She also
she is coming across as stronger and doesnt need males help because her
survival skills have improved so she dont need to ask for help. Her
weapons have also upgraded to a bow which is showing she has
become stealthier and more like a assassin. The music is more
dramatic and more interesting. Also the graphics have improved a
lot which attracts more gamers abroad a wider age to play the
game because it will be more enjoying. However it may not have
changed the opinions on people who played the 1996 game and
then played the 2012 game. Also there is a scene where she is
climbing a tree to show her survival skills and to show that she is
strong like men. Also when she has to kill a deer she is emotional
and is reluctant to do it whereas in Assassin creed Ezio does not get emotional
when killing people or animals.
In Uncharted 3 (2011) Nathan drake is represented as a realistic masculine
character, but it is also unrealistic because he goes to war against an
organisation. Marlowe wants the ring and tries to buy it off Nathan with fake
money and Nathan finds out that it is fake money so he tries to give a fake ring.
To find the secret treasure of the city. And is selfish because he is doing the
treasure hunt for his own benefit not for any one else .Whereas Lara Croft wants

to find out more about the world while on her hunt but she also is doing it for
herself.
Nathan Drake wears casual clothes and formal suits to show his class and shows
he has self respect, unlike Tomb Raider because she wears thin tops. Also when
Lara croft is hurt she becomes vulnerable and the screen begins to shake but
when Nathan Drake gets wounded he carries on as if nothing happens and on the
screen nothing happens to the game. Drakes representation of men is that men
are strong and powerful and dont not need as much help as a woman would. He
is seen as dominant and the protagonist in the story. Nathan is different to the
other characters because he is more up close and personal by getting in to fist
fights but in assassins creeed he uses blades and uses weapons that are for long
range aswell. Also lara croft uses a bow and pistols which could show that she is
not confident enough to get in to close combat. For example tomb raider 1996
would need help most of the time and it shows that woman are not that strong
because in female. Furthermore he asks questions after he is involved in the
action and he is sarcastic and I would say he is full of himself.Characters mostly
start with a weapon of some sort whereas male characters usually start with
there fists. In uncharted 3 drake is represented as a dirty fighter and the villains
are stereotypical because they are usually big and strong and that is the case for
most games. In the fighting scene the music is dramatic and he has skills in war
which shows he is a good fighter because he had experience when he was in war.
In the bar scene the camera angle is focused on his facial expressions and his
muscles. However in tomb raider the camera angle is mostly focused on Lara
Crofts sexy features rather than her facial expression which grabs the attention
of male gamers rather than female gamers. There are 60% male gamers and
40% female gamers so the designers were unfair because there are more male
gamers so they targeted the game towards the male gamers.
Ezio Auditore in Assassin Creed is represented as a stealthy and strong character.
We can see this because he carries an iron sword which is heavy and he is
stealthy because he can climb on roofs and buildings and sneak around. This
suggests that he is a good free runner and has upper body strength. He does this
to get to places so he cant be seen and that shows his strength because he has
the body strength to climb the building. Also he is a good assassin because he
fights with pride.
Also he was still fighting at a old age which shows his loyalty to the creed. He is
also shown that he has emotions and cares about people.Ezio helps people out
when they are being attacked by the templars whereas in Tomb Raider she does
things that benefits herself. For example she tries and finds the treasure for
herself. However Ezio found the treasure to find out the truth of what happened
before and he does not take the apple of eden. Assasins creed is stereotypical
because if you are dressed well then you would most likely get the females
attention and have the females attracted to them. Also Ezio is more respected
by the Italian community rather than then Nathan drake because he helps
people.

However they are similar because they are both masculine. In the game the
music is slow ,dramatic and intense. Also the music is slow and royal. He wears a
white and red costume that has a hood. Also in Assassins creed he finds the
apple of Eden and does not take it whereas in tomb raider she takes all the
treasure she finds and keeps it for herself which shows that ezio is more caring
about the truth and does not care about being famous for finding artefacts and
Lara cares about the money and the fame. Also Ezio has big shoulders and he is
fast which shows that whatever size he is he can still are fast and move around
quickly.ezios costume has many layers to his clothes.
I think that Lara croft fits the traditional gender stereotype because females are
usually seen as sexy and attractive and the character Lara Croft backs up the
stereotype that females are sex objects because she is shown as sexy and
females are usually portrayed as sexy. Nathan drake also fits the traditional
gender stereotypes because people associate males as strong and powerful. And
in uncharted 3 the scene starts with Nathan fighting people in the bar and wins
most of the fights which proves that he is strong.ezio auditore does fit the
traditional gender stereotype because most male characters are portrayed as
strong and can win a lot of fights and are usually heroes.
I think video game makers dont always realise that by creating a game with a
strong agile male you are creating somebody that kids, teenagers and even
adults will look up to in a sense of who they want to be and that means people
could see that as what a stereotypical male should look like and be like because
they are in this game the best person for fighting and that is what many adults
and males aspire to be.
Nathan drake and Ezio Auditore both have loads of muscles and are perceived
as very handsome and good looking and I think this creates a stereotype that
male characters and males in general are supposed to be like that. They seem
like they are very content at killing people which shows they arent as emotional
as the female character Lara Croft who seems out of place being a killer. To me
this is stereotypical of a male character to be less emotional and more of a killer
and violent character which is annoying when you look how far games have
come but still they do not have a famous non-violent male character.
I prefer assassin creed game because I like the stealthy apsect of it and I have
been following the storyline of most of the game.However I like the character
Lara croft because at first she seems vulnerable but then she proves most
people wrong by overcoming her fears and coming out of all the action on top.I
would recommend all of the games as they would appeal to all.