Background Research and Analysis

REFINED TFI

GamerGirls (working title):

Fact: Women account for approximately half of all gamers worldwide.

Problem: Women face underrepresentation and a lack of equality in the gaming industry.

Solution: I will use graphic design to promote equality and inclusion in gaming, giving women a voice in video game production and development.

The following information is relevant to the thesis:

Feminist Frequency + Gamify: Both connections have a highlight the need for diversity in gaming genres, which will lead to gender equality in gaming.

Women in Games + Girls in Gaming: Both competitors have a goal to empower women and girls in the gaming industry by providing articles about notable female figures/female-centered events as well as giving resources on how to support the female gaming community. We can learn from their example by keeping readers up-to-date on the latest gaming news.

Tanya DePass + Laila Shabir: Both thought leaders have created companies that empower young women as well as minorities in the gaming industry. These examples are relevant because they are real people who have shared similar experiences about not growing up with gender and/or minority representation. These notable figures can inspire girls to follow in their footsteps.

Data from NCBI + Pew Research Center: These research papers are relevant because they provide statistics on who is playing games by gender. The latter paper goes into detail about the attitudes surrounding gaming, such as whether or not people think video games portray women poorly. This gives us inspiration on how to conduct surveys; we can better understand our audience and figure out where the problem lies in terms of why inequality persists.

PS5 She Can Play + Gamer Girl 2.0: These wildcards are relevant because both projects support gender equality in the gaming industry. The first project normalizes the sight of girls in gaming; the second provides does the same thing by listening to the stories of gamer girls. It also provides support to those who face harassment.