What If Women in Video Games Were Well Written?: A 'Dispatch' Essay

Abstract

This essay was written to bring into consideration the female characters in video games. It came from the intersection of myself that loves gaming and seeing well written female characters that I felt represented by. This dream of mine is difficult, because the gaming industry is still dominated by men. As a consequence of this, the male gaze is prioritized in the creation of video games as the core audience. As a female player, it’s alienating and frustrating to experience because I know that these stories feed into the tropes that reflect on women in the real world with serious consequences. Dispatch, being such a well received game and something I was passionate about became the center of this essay: what if female characters in video games were written well and separated from the male gaze?