Just like Barbie, games are about fantasy, role-playing and creativity. You have to decide for yourself if you let your fun be spoiled by their unintended messages.
We all know our favourite doll Barbie. She’s this beautiful women that has countless outfits to wear for every occasion. Simons (2001) uses her as an example of the ‘gray areas of persuasion’, by which he means: “cases in which intent to persuade is not so clear. […] Seldom are persuaders fully aware of everything they are saying and doing when communicating a message. The effect they intend are not always the effects they achieve” (Simons, 2001, p. 9). Barbie represents “a host of ideas […] about how young girls should look, act and be. Barbie teaches young girls what growing up in American society is all about” (p. 9). I strongly disagree with Simons on this example. I absolutely adored Barbie dolls and they were my favourite toy. Yet I never wanted to be like one.
In today’s computer games women can be objectified. They often are represented overly sexualised, with a tiny waste, some nice hips and huge breasts, just like Barbie. Many women object to this, but I absolutely love this depiction of women in games! This is not a matter of gray areas of persuasion, but a matter of taste and aesthetics. That women in games look like Barbie dolls may be partly so to attract more of the teenage males, but also because the concept artists wanted it that way. It’s an artistic vision. There are also many games in which women aren’t depicted this way.
Different depictions of women in games
Female Gnome in World of Warcraft
Female in the Sims 2
Female character in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Female avatar in Jade Empire
The unintended messages games convene are still very fascinating. Take the Sims series for example. I’ve played the Sims series for many years now and absolutely adore the games. They are an expression of creativity, because the players can create their own houses, clothes and furniture. It’s a wonderful concept. Yet the gray areas of persuasion are at work in the Sims series for the PC.
In the Sims series the ultimate goal is to make a lot of money, buy a lot of stuff and have a very huge home: consumerism at its best. I’ve noticed that while I was playing the game, I had an increase in my shopping urge. I wanted to buy. It didn’t matter what, but I wanted to have more things. I also wanted a huge house. In the Sims you have a cheat option where you can get an endless amount of money. With this money I always made incredibly beautiful and large homes for my sims. Thus I started thinking how wonderful it would be if I had such a home when I started working. And usually I’m not this materialistic.
The gray areas of persuasion are about the unintended messages persuasion can covey. People can doubt whether the consumerism in the Sims series is unintended, but I think it is. The message of the Sims is about creativity, the consumerism comes with that, but isn’t central to the message of the game. If you look at the Sims games for the handhelds (PSP, Nintendo DS) they are about everything but consumerism. They emphasize role-playing, creating your own story and living it. Just like Barbie. Barbie was never about being a pretty woman, having a lot of clothes or being skinny. It was about creativity, fantasy and role-playing.
Literature
Simons, H.W. (2001). Persuasion in Society. Thousand Oaks etc: Sage.