#indigenize gaming

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The Digitized Indian: Representation and Reclamation of Indigenous Communities in Video Games

Abstract Research into video games and creative portrayal of peoples is useful to add to large-scale analysis of the ways in which media affects minority populations in issues of self-identification and reclamation of culture and customs. This research proposes a small-scale content analysis of three video games to examine issues of stereotypes, representation, and identity of indigenous peoples in modern gaming. Using a set of standardized criteria inspired by the Bechdel Test (a form used to analyze gender in movies) I will design an evaluation form which will examine key facets of indigenous representation. Three games were selected for their sliding scale of community involvement in the development process: one with partnered involvement from indigenous representatives; a second with partial involvement; and a third with no involvement. Critical assessment of content, creative expression, and objectives during gameplay is applied to examine the ways in which communities are affected by representation within games. 

Introduction Current video games do not represent my idea of indigeneity as a queer indigenous woman living in the 21st century. As a continuously developing platform for immersion and innovation, gaming has ballooned into a billion dollar industry worldwide and the tendrils of large developing companies reach millions of people with each game released. In many cases, artistic themes or direct derivatives of indigenous cultures are used as tools for players to advance in their game with no context or real connection to any living community. Stereotypes of Native peoples thrive on century old ideas of indigenous communities which only serve to silence the voices of and disempower the people themselves. While there is an existing body of knowledge that critically analyzes the correlations between identity, stereotypes, and representations for many forms of media, the subject of video games remains widely unexplored despite being such a dominant industry.

Background There is a limited body of knowledge analyzing the topics of video game representation and identity. “Frozen in Time”: The Impact of Native American Media Representations on Identity and Self- Understanding by Peter A. Leavitt, Rebecca Covarrubias, Yvonne A. Perez, and Stephanie A. Fryberg (2015) examines the ways in which media representations of Native American peoples contributes to a lack of a sense of self, and ultimately results in deindividuation and invisibility. The Virtual Census: Representations of Gender, Race, and Age in Video Games by Dmitri Williams, Nicole Martins, Mia Consalvo, and James D. Ivory (2009) studied 150 video games over the course of a year to explore themes within popular video games and found that certain groups of people were widely underrepresented overall, implications for being excluded from narratives are then examined and discussed. Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games by Melinda C. R. Burgess, Karen E. Dill, S. Paul Stermer, Stephen R. Burgess, and Brian P. Brown (2011) explores racial stereotyping in video game magazines and cover art on game boxes over the course of three studies. Stereotypes depicting dangerous characters or enemies were often attributed to minority males, while female minority characters are underrepresented in general. ‘Live in Your World, Play in Ours’: The Spaces of Video Game Identity by Sheila C. Murphy (2004) examines the ways in which people who game are impacted by the inherent immersive nature of video games as opposed to passive viewing of television and movies. How people are affected in a physical way by the content and interactive nature of gaming goes hand in hand with the ways in which race and gender are represented. Global Indigenous Media: Cultures, Poetics, and Politics edited by Pamela Wilson and Michelle Stewart (2008) is an interdisciplinary collection of essays that assess the ways in which indigenous people reclaim their own heritage and identity through various media platforms. The narrative constructed with this text provides insight into self-representation of indigenous communities.

Proposed Work This research will be conducted by examining current studies and activisms of game developers and indigenous people within the video game industry.  This project aims to fill the gaps in current research by examining the ways in which specific games represent indigenous cultures with varying levels of involvement from cultural representatives, how the games portray indigenous themes, and in what ways communities can be affected from being or not being involved with the game making process.

Plan of Action In order to conduct this research, playing video games is required in order to successfully analyze indigenous representation, involvement, and stereotypes. The methods of my research will be intensive critical insight into racial and gendered stereotypes of three games: Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa), Assassins Creed 3, and Far Cry 3. Each game has specific artistic and cultural themes that are influenced by indigenous communities which are worth examining for their representations of identity, the objectives of the game; i.e. whether there is excessive violence involved with racial stereotyping, use of language, and the ways in which the game is advertised to draw consumers into buying it. Using a set of standardized criteria inspired by the Bechdel Test (a form used to analyze gender in movies) I will design an evaluation form which will examine key facets of indigenous representation, including whether the main character is indigenous, whether they speak their own language, whether the art design of the game is culturally accurate, etc. This project will be conducted over the course of Spring Quarter 2016 and the final product in the form of a research paper and detailed bibliography will be completed on June 6th, 2016.