Gender representation is a very touchy subject that taints a lot of the perspective that some governments and media outlets have of Japan. From the Rapelay international scandal that Alex presented last week to the shocking production of erotic dōjinshi based on mainstream series that Galbraith presents, there is a plethora of case studies that suggest that Japan media production has a very different conception of where the line is drawn between what is permissible erotica and what is disrespectful representation of women. While we can understand the public outrage that comes with over-sexualization of women's body, we should also understand how, for video games and gamers, representation is only a small part of what makes a character compelling.
Ore no imoto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai - Kirino Playing a Little Sister-Themed Erotic Game
Indeed, as Newman points out in Chapter 8 of his book Videogames, we must understand characters as a set of gameplay mechanics, a set of possibilities of interactions with the world. Should we fear the power of games to force identification of gamers and game avatars, therefore creating a generation of passive self-conscious female teenagers? Probably not, characters in video games are as much tools as they are a set of affect. This duality is well represented in the anime Orei no imoto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai where Kirino, a 14 year old popular girl working as a model for a publishing agency, hides a dark secret: she is an eroge maniac, especially for those featuring pornographic representation of incest between little sisters and big brothers. For her own brother, this is very concerning; as a non-gamer, he interprets this activity as the manifestation of a potential repressed sexual desire for him, an attitude that contrasts heavily with her normal cold and detached behavior towards him. However, Kirino does not identify with any of those characters as, for her, they are a set of tool that allows her to enjoy those stories. She is able to enjoy the game for what it is and not by identifying with it herself, just like male gamers can enjoy playing Chun-Li in Street Fighter 2 without feeling uneasy about playing as a female. While Chun-Li is very attractive in her own right, it is probably for her beginner-friendly fighting style that makes her very popular among cost-players. Video game characters cannot simply be reduced to their visual representation.
Street Fighter II's Chun-Li
Understanding this very important aspect of video games, we can then look at other more controversial genres like the bishōjo games with a fresher look. Coming from the same perspective, we can hardly judge characters of Tokimeki Memorial on the same ground as actual people, those are literary figure, they are meant to convey feelings and a set of mechanics that the players must work around to be successful. Therefore, seeing characters of bishōjo games as shockingly passive people that only live through the desires and choices of the protagonist is, to me, oversimplifying the issue at hand. Bishōjo characters are a set of game mechanics and their discourse are not meant to be taken literately, but in conjunction of the goal of the game and how it measures success. Acknowledging this phenomenon is very important in order to provide a nuanced perspective on gender representation in interactive media.
Tokimeki Memorial Series - Representation of People or Challenge Settings?
The 1990s were a fantastic period for
Japanese video game developers. Amongst the successful array of genres that
came out of Japan to Western shores was the Japanese RPG, a form of computer
role playing games heavily influenced by the early Ultima and Wizardry series
on PC. Fueled by gripping narrative and easy command schemes, RPG made in
Japan represented for many how console gaming could be used to tell fascinating
long-running stories that could almost compare to literature. Until the
mid-2000s, Japanese role playing games were all that gamers would want to play
on consoles and North American RPG were shunned upon for not being able to keep
track with the qualities of titles coming from overseas. JRPG represented
quality and respectability.
Imageepoch's JRPG brand reveal video - Japan addressing the concerns of Western consumers
Along the way, however, things went
astray. Western studios now dominates the market in term of computer RPGs and
Japan has been struggling to justify localizing their games to an audience that
now find them either bizarre or juvenile. In recent years, the fall of grace of
JRPG has led several studios to question the tradition of JRPG and to see how
it could be rejuvenated to its former glory. Studios like Imageepoch and
Compile Heart has led this initiative by producing brand names like JRPG
and Galapagos RPG, trying to design games with the tradition of JRPG in
mind first and foremost.
Tales of Fantasia - Anguish, identity crisis and self-reflection in the world of JRPG
Those initiatives might lead us to take a more critical view on the notion of JRPG itself. Considering that the concept of JRPG itself is never used in Japan except in recent cases involving Imageepoch and Galapagos RPG, it is worthwhile to look at JRPG as a ontological video game category that is more determined by patterns of translational circulation that a real collection of formal qualities. ¨JRPG¨ have not really stopped selling in Japan, so the new efforts to redefine JRPG and re-introduce them to the gaming culture has more to do with marketization of the Western audience than a formal reexamination. At the very least, we can see that the former is motivating the later.
Galapagos RPG - ¨RPGs made for customers of the Japanese taste¨
Another consequence of the discourse
separating RPG and JRPGs is that it creates a binary opposition based on
country of origin of those games. Not only is this not a very productive
starting point for the analysis of what those games represent, but it also leaves
no space for alternatives. What if a development studio creates a RPG on tablet
that makes obvious use of the anime aesthetic? Should we call it a JRPG and
ignore the fact that it does not come from Japan at all? This sort of question
really put emphasis on the major issue that comes up when the discourse of
video game culture is tainted by a game genre vocabulary based on national
origin.
While we don't speak of "retroreading" or "retrolistening", the practice of replaying old video games seem like a counter-intuitive initiative to many. Indeed, why would people spend time replaying old and outdated games while the contemporary offer for new and technically advanced video games are released each week? The video game industry is a business that thrives on "hyping" future products, sometimes making your last 6 months-old software purchase valueless in the process. The game industry, unlike the publishing or music industry, has issues dealing with its past in a meaningful way. We can relate those problems to the multiple challenges of recreating the specificity of old platforms as well as going back to archaic gameplay features that sometimes created very unenjoyable experiences for gamers. But mainly, those problems are related to the business world of the video game industry: the game industry is forward-looking and dividing one's attention between old software and the latest releases is not profitable in financial terms.
Cultural capital? (from Famiconblog)
However, this does not mean that gamers blindly follow the industry's lead on the consumption of the newest digital experiences. As Suominen described in his article, retrogaming can take many forms. From the enthusiast on a mission to enjoy of the supposedly "purest" form of gameplay to the fan on a quest to collect all memorabilia of a certain franchise, gaming culture has matured enough so that at least a small part of gamers look back on those ludic objects, willing to find new forms of appreciation or criticism. With the advent of internet communication, retrogaming, as a cultural practice, is bounding thousand of players from around the world around those nostalgic experiences. In a sense, internet forums are the new school yards where hints, secrets and high scores can be posted to help fellow gamers or just for bragging purposes. The television show Game Center CX (first introduced by Sonja this term) easily represent how important communities are to the practice of retrogaming. The show itself is oriented around the character of the Kacho leading a fictional company that beats retrogames in 24 hours. However, the Kacho (despite his best intentions) is helpless and can never finish games himself. He always relies on his team of subordinates (actual gamers) to help him finish the hardest levels. Similarly, other parts of the show involves the Kacho calling television viewers randomly to ask them for hints to beat particularly obscure games. Community-making and audience participation seems to me what makes the success of retrogaming.
Kacho plays Kage
In his article, Suominen also cites Newman, saying that retrogaming can sometimes be seen by gamers as a return to the "purest" forms of gameplay where all modern additions that seemingly plagues today's video games (probably aiming for mainstream appeal) are absent. Indeed, retrogames are notorious for their difficulty, and beating an especially difficult game can be seen as a high achievement in certain communities. That being said, it is striking to me how those ideas around retrogaming combine into the creation of what we could see as an alternative set of "cultural capital" of gamers. The notion of intrinsic value of playing, let's say, Megaman 3 over the latest Call of Duty game seem to be definitely present in the connoisseur discourse of video games just like Bourdieu identified the practice of tennis as linked to a certain social standing in France during his time.
Japanese retrogame shop. Part shop, part museum.
On a more pragmatic level, old games also seem to have value in what they represent (history, landmark) rather than for their entertainment value for many people. In this way, they can shape into a form of commodity with their own set of value that fluctuate from time to time. Many retrogaming youtubers pride themselves with the knowledge the of trade value of games on the market rather than playing them, not unlike fine art collectors (since video games are more of a consumer product than an individualized work of art, collecting them is much more affordable and open of anyone). In this sense, old games can become akin to a commodity embedded with cultural capital that are meant to be circulated.
Participants are challenged to guess the price of retro Famicon games in a Japanese game show. (From Famiconblog)
Game Center CX videos with English subtitles: http://www.gamingcx.com/p/gccx-videos.html
Famiconblog: http://famicomblog.blogspot.ca/
