Gamer Girl and the way women are perceived on the web

Gamer Girl and the way women are perceived on the web

It is not the first time that a video game, or a similar work, manages to generate a strong reaction from the public, leading to discussions that go beyond the sector itself. Knowing how to communicate something, writing a story that draws directly from reality obviously implies communicating something, speaking directly to an audience that perhaps knows the subject matter in detail, and all the social dynamics linked to it. Then the web takes over, the contemporary attitude of "saying what you think" takes over without any filter, without any hesitation, protected or supported by this invisible veil but often that covers all of us. The release of the trailer di Gamer Girl has triggered something that is perfectly linked to what has been written up to now. Its publication, on July 17, meant not only the highlighting a work, but also the beginning of an infinite series of controversies that have overcome the limits of transposition, arriving in a context that perhaps, nowadays, should not even be treated anymore.



What is Gamer Girl?

With Gamer Girl we are faced with a title in FMV (Full Motion Video), in which, at least based on what has been revealed so far, the player will have to clash and untangle among a plurality of textual choices that will affect the story itself, and everything that will happen on the screen. The whole thing revolves around one girl (played by the actress Alexandra Burton) that works on a streaming platform, both through video games and by showing itself out of context, or so it would seem. The primary task of the player / trice is to act as moderator / trice, then to manage the chat, dabbing all those "content" and toxic comments that could coincide with her, during the various transmissions. But the possibilities of interaction they would not seem to be limited to this, because the trailer shows us, even with clear characters, that the modder role will come soon superato, until it becomes one fixed presence in the girl's life, thus leaving the “internet” context.



Gamer Girl and the way women are perceived on the web

Based on what was revealed by Wales Interactive, the developers of Gamer Girl, the main intentions of the title are those of sensitize towards the problems that the web helps to trigger, highlighting all those dynamics that could significantly affect the life of these people, generating pressures also strong psychological. We therefore speak of stalking e harassment, two arguments that are undoubtedly extremely delicate to deal with, especially when it comes to the web and all those people who do not give the right weight to what they write. It is right there fragility of the central issues to hit fully, also because building something that addresses them in this way, through such an interaction, could undoubtedly trigger a plurality of not too positive developments, speaking of general interaction and acceptance. So it was.

The controversy from the trailer

The publication of the first Gamer Girl trailer, in fact, has generated a whole series of controversies, even heavy, in relation to the title, the subject matter, the representative methodologies, the narrative choices that would seem to shape the production. Many people have expressed their dissent on the web, especially on Twitter, but also on Reddit. One of the most ferocious and most shared criticisms concerns the way in which, it would seem, they represented the protagonist, the way this streamer is shown, according to many "stereotyped". The game would therefore contribute to feeding a whole series of clichés that we try to fight within the same web, day by day, inspiring a 'different image from reality and simplifying all those daily challenges that anonymity feeds.


'the threat she faces by an anonymous predator who hides in her chat'


Yes, so basically every girl streamers worst nightmare given life in the form of a video game. pic.twitter.com/xfGHZjusrG

- djarii (@djarii) July 17, 2020

https://twitter.com/whatmelodywrote/status/1284172448099950592

Another strongly shared criticism was that against the role and the player / trice will go to interpret within the work. The fact that we are not limited to simply moderating online matters, but that, at least so it seems, we go beyond the mod context to become someone on which the protagonist herself "relies" for all personal matters, would donate too much power, leading to a real management, from their point of view, anachronistic and anti-contemporary. ("This fantasy that the white knight saves the beautiful girl from her abusive boyfriend is DANGEROUS"). Many have also criticized the name chosen for the title, defined as "derogatory".

Haven't women in this industry been abused enough without having a game glorifying this reality to be born?

- djarii (@djarii) July 17, 2020

Users speak, of course, starting from personal experiences, even if important names, such as that of Sweet Anita, streamer with Tourette's syndrome who experienced a heavy stalking episode. The fact that it is a game that is based on the choose the developments of life of someone, while this is experiencing an extremely negative moment has curiously turned everyone's minds on, leading to these critical ferocious, preceding the release of the title itself. obviously is not the first time that a video game is posed in this way, building an action around a character, through an interaction that gives full powers who is playing. This time, however, accomplices issues dealt with, the reaction was lightning-fast, leading to some interesting reactions within the market itself.



Gamer Girl and the way women are perceived on the webSince its very first steps, the internet has generated a plurality of reflections, especially towards all those who work with "communication". Sociologists all over the world have begun to think about the possibilities that humanity could have developed, perhaps building the so-called "global village", a sort of "place" to which everyone could have access, which would have erased any kind of inequality, racism, territorial and cultural limit, a village to which everyone could easily have access and in which they could express themselves without any geopolitical limits. This was not the case. The Internet has done nothing but feed and increase all the differences that characterize us from a cultural point of view. Users continue to drag around the details of their life and indeed, in certain situations, on the web, they feel free to express themselves much more than in the real world. This, instead of leading to the idyllic previous vision, has done nothing but increase the general inequality and a whole set of toxic and deleterious attitudes, now hidden behind the anonymity. These are the ones that frighten us today, fueling a type of anger that continues to clash with the cultural darkness that seems to surround us. We are in 2020 and we still talk about these things. We are in 2020 and sexualization, as well as respect for others, are still topics that generate ignorance. Before saying goodbye, we remind you that Gamer Girl will be released in September on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

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