In our lecture we have been looking at the role of women in video games. Today i'm going to talk about two games that show women as a trophy for the troubles of the protagonist.
Resident Evil 4
The plot of Resident Evil 4 is about a federal agent, Leon who is sent by the US president to rescue his daughter Ashley. Already we have the basic story about rescuing a damsel in distress. Leon has to fight through infected villagers, giant bugs and other creatures in order to rescue Ashley. At parts in the game the player has to escort Ashley through a few levels, commanding her to hide when the player encounters enemies to reach the end.
The player must make sure that no enemies carry her off which results in a game over, however, during cut-scenes Ashley sometimes runs away from Lean (for some reason) or gets captured by the enemy (this happens more than once) which in turn results in her being next to useless. This relates to men being active and women being passive.
In contrast to the damsel in distress there is another female character named Ada who is more independent than Ashley. The player first meets Ada during a cut-scene when a gun is pressed against Leon's back, Ada orders him to not move in which Leon retorts "Following a ladies' lead isn't my style". This quote seems to reflect the notion that only men are the ones who give orders.
The Gaze can be applied to Ada in respects to her attire. She wears a red, slightly revealing dress, very odd choice for a secret operative to be wearing. This effects Leon in one instance in which Ada gives the player a lift to the final phase of the game, when the boat pulls up to the island Ada grapple hooks on to the island which distracts Leon causing him to loose control of the boat.
After the last boss, Ada betrays Leon by forcing him to hand over the cure he had acquired earlier, but due to his assistance she gives him the keys to a jet ski to escape with. The portrays the notion that woman only impedes the mans' progress in his quest.
The player must make sure that no enemies carry her off which results in a game over, however, during cut-scenes Ashley sometimes runs away from Lean (for some reason) or gets captured by the enemy (this happens more than once) which in turn results in her being next to useless. This relates to men being active and women being passive.
In contrast to the damsel in distress there is another female character named Ada who is more independent than Ashley. The player first meets Ada during a cut-scene when a gun is pressed against Leon's back, Ada orders him to not move in which Leon retorts "Following a ladies' lead isn't my style". This quote seems to reflect the notion that only men are the ones who give orders.
The Gaze can be applied to Ada in respects to her attire. She wears a red, slightly revealing dress, very odd choice for a secret operative to be wearing. This effects Leon in one instance in which Ada gives the player a lift to the final phase of the game, when the boat pulls up to the island Ada grapple hooks on to the island which distracts Leon causing him to loose control of the boat.
After the last boss, Ada betrays Leon by forcing him to hand over the cure he had acquired earlier, but due to his assistance she gives him the keys to a jet ski to escape with. The portrays the notion that woman only impedes the mans' progress in his quest.
Ico
Ico is about a boy whom the game is named after and a young girl named Yorda. The player controls Ico who is imprisoned in a castle due to being born with two horns. The player happens upon Yorda who is imprisoned as well, the player must lead Yorda; usually by the hand through the castle, solving puzzles and defending her from shadowy creatures that can carry her away. This is very similar to Resident Evil in which the male character is in charge and the female character is commanded around.
Ico deviates from this however because of the fact that the player needs Yorda to complete puzzles, activate player sensitive objects and to carry on to the next level. The game allows a bond to be created between the player (Ico) and Yorda which helps to detract away from the fact she is scatterbrained and unable to defend herself. This reletates to the female being the incentive for the player but this is averted slightly due to the fact that the relationship between the characters is that of friendship. Also Yorda isn't completely useless because of her integral role to the story and gameplay.
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