Together with Ubisoft Entertainment – A Massive Studio, I created game avatars from a gender and norm critical perspective.
Participatory design – A study of interactions between players and game developers, from a gender and norm critical perspective in action games. The study deals with how game companies today are working with the creation of avatars in action game and how the players and game development students wants the avatars to be to portray. It aims to understand how game companies, by using a strategy called Participatory Design, can create avatars that are non-objectified and who not are stereotypical for today’s action games. Participatory Design is based on that the end-users are involved in the creative process and then becomes an important actor. The essay will discuss the meaning of sex and gender in game design and approach to creating games and if an implementation of Participatory Design in the gaming world is possible. The study included an interview and two workshops, which has been concentrated to game development and design of the avatars. The interview demonstrated how a game company is currently working with the design of avatars and their awareness of the avatars objectification. The workshops included creations of avatars by using Participatory Design as a strategy from a gender and norm-critical perspective. The results showed that it is possible to use Participatory Design, with the creation of avatars in action games with a gender and norm-critical perspective.