#still in contact with people who did get into gamedev - I went to school with the guy currently working as art lead with Gaider haha

[chipped-chimera]

"Fandom Phenomenon" - you nailed it in one. I just wanna lean on some points from the perspective of someone who studied game design, but also graphic design and by association - marketing. Unfortunately this is gonna come off very 'capitalist' and shit but that's just the root of most decisions that happen in the game industry. We live in a capitalist society ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Uh so if that sounds too depressing, consider yourself forewarned. I'm about to rip the curtain off this whole thing.

This is gonna be long (sorry), but if you're interested in a critical examination of current representation of women in game media from the perspective of someone who studied game design and marketing, you can read on -

I've been gaming for a longass time. I wanted to be in gamedev before I even got out of high-school, highly aware at the same time this was both a highly MALE dominated field and a had heavy skew towards servicing the typically dominant hetero-cismale audience. It was reflected in the games themselves, right down to their promotional media. Being able to make PC's outside of strict gender binaries, romances that are just queer romances and not fetishistic fanservice for dudes is a really recent phenomenon. (I also wrote about this earlier, you can check my thoughts on this as a Lesbian woman approaching in-game romances here).

When it comes to Cyberpunk 2077's target demographic specifically, I feel it skews heavily male - science-fiction related settings like a Cyberpunk Dystopia are a bit of a hard sell to the female demographic, they tend to favor fantasy settings (compare Dragon Age fandom size, or BG3 fandom size to Cyberpunk's for example). Also Cyberpunk 2077 is a very explicit and violent game too set in first person perspective (connecting you more directly to the violent actions), which also can also reduce the appeal to female gamers.

Is all this heavily stereotyped? Yes. Are these statements completely excluding minorities like LGBTQ+ people? Also yes. But that's what target demographics are. When anyone goes out to make a game, right down into the very beginning phases during the planning of the Game Design Document, target audience is one of the foundational points in the planning process. Target audiences or demographics are not minority focused - it's always the majority, especially if this is coming from a major studio with a lot of pressure to make a profit. Majority appeal makes more money. It's not rocket science.

And that Majority has changed. As the years have gone by and we've proven gaming can have an appeal outside of this very narrow, male dominated demographic and the gender divide has kind of evened out. I think the last time I saw statistics drop about this showed it was somewhere within the region of a 60-40 split, so female audience appeal is something to aim for - it can literally be half your audience now. It's also now considered 'less risky' to throw minority groups a bone, because there is generally a wider acceptance of LGBTQ+ representation than there was only 10 years ago - and heck, it's just a good marketing strategy tat this point (I hate to put it that way but in the end, it all comes down to money) we'll literally take the bare minimum, because we've been sustained on scraps for so long. That's more people playing your game. More profit.

But I also think game developers have clued into one, really important factor and that is this:

Women (and to a degree, LGBTQ+ peeps) carry the full weight of fandoms.

You get a fandom presence built up around your game? that's just free marketing. Have artists drawing fanart and people sharing around their blorbo gifs? Free market reach! People also have a tendency to trust word-of-mouth recommendations far more than actual advertising (if you want an explanation why 90% of online ads look like tiktoks - this is why) - you're just simply more likely to trust what someone you're friends with or admire says about a product than any high production advertisement.

So, now that you've realised you're basically free advertising for a huge company and perpetuating the machinations of the capitalist machine, should you feel bad about being an active participant in fandom? OH HELL NO! BE PROUD!

Why? Like I said again, only ten years ago women were a minority in gaming, and honestly in media at large (seriously just see how any female character was treated prior to ~2010 - real gross). It's because of our demand to be included in this space, and recognised as a demographic to be taken SERIOUSLY that has pushed for these changes. It's also paved the way for more minority group representation. As said in this article breaking down gender divisions in fandom from New York University, "... females tend to identify with many of the more marginalized fandoms, while males comprise a fair amount of the more socially accepted groups." Even now when we form near 50% of the player demographic, we're still sidelined - like Pinky said, the bs surrounding the female GTA character reveal, literally anyone complaining games are 'too woke' these days, they are trying to push us back out of this space - but it's too late for that shit.

We're now a powerful (and profitable) demographic that demands better representation in the media, and we should feel proud of it - but remember to wield this fact like a sword. If a gamedev wants access to that free advertising primarily female-dominated fandom generates? They gotta put in the work. Female characters becoming the canon face of promotional material has, for the longest time, been a complete rarity and to see the face of AC Valhalla and Odyssey as two astoundingly strong women, or for Femshep to get the recognition she always deserved as canon representation for Mass Effect Legendary Edition and now Female V becoming the face of Phantom Liberty's release and Cyberpunk 2077's renaissance after a disaster launch - it makes me obscenely happy. We did this! And I'll willingly celebrate that. It's just a process of exchange - you do something I want, and I will pay for it in my fandom output. Ignore me? No fandom marketing for you. I understand my value as someone in fandom to those on the outside.

So yeah, seeing people complain about Female V getting her time in the limelight really hurt - particularly because it was coming from within fandom. Men on the outside complaining that they're not constantly having their need for their 'male power fantasy game' being catered to? Used to that. I don't respect their opinions. But within fandom?

I know where it's coming from - this is a minority in a minority situation here. And yeah it sucks that the VAST MAJORITY of people putting out fandom stuff, whether it's VP or Mod Content is female focused and that Masc V is kind of just being ignored completely. It's a nuanced situation here. On the more fandom-social-media side of it, it's just the gender ratio. If you're in a fandom space, there's more likely to be women - and women like to be able to represent themselves in a game. That's just how it is. On the modding front ... I'm not sure if this still applies. I know the vast majority of mod consumers are going to skew towards this cishet male demographic, just by typical demographic split the game attracts - and given how highly sexualised a lot of the mods are? My gut feeling here is a bunch of the bias is male-gaze objectification. But at the same time you ALSO have female players making their own mods who are also active in fandom - so now you basically have two production sources for Fem V mods and Masc V is really getting the short end of the stick on this one. And given the cross section of fandom and gender etc. likelihood is Masc V players will take up the LGBTQ+ component of this fandom too. Minority in a minority (at least for Cyberpunk 2077).

But again - fandom isn't mainstream media. And that doesn't change the fact it has taken decades to get to the point where female characters have been front and center in games - as put forward by the devs, not fandom - at all. The pride in my heart I feel when I see a bus go past with promotional material with a woman, and not just a typical woman, usually a woman who is going to (by nature of the narrative because gender-ambivalent script) break from conformity, to be strong in herself as a person and not objectified or corralled into socially hard-coded gender conventions, to hit just as hard or even stronger than the men do - it is beyond words.

So uh ... where am I going with this? Well, provided my ADHD hasn't knocked the point entirely out of my brain - get some media literacy my dudes. It's good for you. Get out of your closed garden fandom spaces, look into how things operate. Think about the intentions of the choices developers have made and the why against the backdrop of society as a whole, not just for fandom. And understand your own value as a participant in fandom. Don't like something? Don't engage in it. Your content literally has marketable value.

But also remember what got us to this point. It is important to celebrate our victories in representation - and not tear others down for enjoying them.

I really, really hate the "Female V is canon" vs "Male V is canon" debate that been popping here and here in the tags those past weeks

Cyberpunk 2077 is a Role Playing Game, there is no "canon" protagonist, that's the whole point. We all have a different playstyles, different stories and headcanons, our custom V is The Canon V of Our Own playthroughs!

After Phantom Liberty dropped, I've seen a lot of players, on Tumblr or Twitter, voicing their concerne and disappointment in how much more Female V focused the official promo, videos and even in-game credits became

I was one of them too, expressing my feelings multiple times, sometimes awkwardly, frustrated that Male V players were once again brushed to the side, because that's how it feels like, right?

Well, it might feels like it, but this isn't the case AT ALL, far from it. This is only what I would call a "Fandom Phenomenon" and I want to talk more about it a bit

I had a great conversation with a friend of mine who works in the game industry and it opened my eyes on the matter, and I've since been really interested in seeing RPGs statistics!

Because it's really, really important to make the difference between the Casual Player Base (majority of players) and the Fans / Fandom Base (minority of players)

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I always been lurking in fandoms here on Tumblr, since Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and now with Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3

First I want to drop some stats- might be completly wrong, but I'm only sharing my point of view here, in an attempt to explain why some people are frustrated with Female V being the focus (and why we shouldn't be!)

I think it's not wrong to say that fandoms are mostly occupied by women and fem-identifying individuals; fandoms are a safe place for players and fans to share their passions. Women are STILL HEAVILY harassed and hated in the gaming industry as a whole, it doesn't take a lot of digging to catch a vile comment on Twitter or on Twitch for example, you cannot go far without seeing someone either attacking or sexualizing them

This is a huge problem in the industry still, every games that release with a female protagonist get trashed- just look at the bullshit surrounding GTA 6 just because players will be able to play as a woman as an option

Fandoms are also safe for non-gender conforming people, non-binaries, trans people and queer men, but I think fem individuals and women are a clear majority, at least on Tumblr (only talking about genders identity here and not about being queer or not, not talking about sexualities or attraction) (not an official stat at all and only my point of view and experience from being on Tumblr since ~2012)

Now let's talk about Cyberpunk 2077- because this is my main fandom since 2020, and what prompted me to write this post in the first place

CDPR didn't share any stats recently, but it's REALLY SAFE to assume the MAJORITY of players are playing a straight Male V romancing Panam, followed by a lesbian Female V romancing Judy, but the player pools for both options are still majoritarly cis hetero men (and they are still the focus for AAA studios to sell their games, this is sadly just how it is)

However on the fandom side, Fem V was always the focus; virtual photography, mods, ships, OCs... She was always more popular than Male V, getting more interactions and notes and why trends like "Male V monday" were created and why there is still a lack of male V focused mods (non-binaries and trans fem folks and characters are also sadly under-represented in all type of content and art)

So, being yourself as a non-fem player, playing as a Masc V, seeing CDPR officially make the switch from Male V to Female V, when the space you've been in for the past 3 years has been overwhelmingly Female V focused on all front, was a bit of a punch in the guts; like I said earlier, I was reaaally frustrated with this too!

And I'd say it's "normal"? or at least "ok" to feel this way, it makes sense considering how little attention Male V in general get in the fans community

BUT. BUT... It's REALLY important here to realize how we sound and how we look like when we voice our frustrations on the matter; we sound and look just like all the misogynistic people over on Twitter who screams about "woke games" everytime there is a female protagonist in their "non political games". We have to remember that fandoms are suuuch a small part of the game industry

Baldur's Gate 3 recently shared their stats and this interesting tweet got into my dash

▶ tweet

Astarion is nowhere to be seen in the official most romanced companions statistic, but I'm sure a lot of people will agree that he's probably the most popular one in the fandom side!

Another stat here from Mass Effect and really interesting info coming from David Gaider about how the hardcore fanbase aka fandom's choices were WILDLY different from the casual / main player pool

▶ tweet

Getting my head out of the fandom bubbles and seeing the bigger picture, how much under-represented women still are in official medias (not talking about fan content) and how insanly misoginistic the game industry still is, both on the player and devs sides, helped me handle my own frustration on the matter, accept and even celebrate Female V being the focus for the Phantom Liberty campaign

With all that said tho, we all should be able to vent about the lack of Male, Masc and Non-Binary content in the fandom side, while still being aware of the industry state, it CAN co-exist! It doesn't make anyone a bad or misogynist person!

We are all humans and can be awkward and make mistakes, especially when voicing frustration or talking while in a negative mood. Let's educate one another in good-faithed manners when we slip instead of jumping to conclusion and throw accusations

Not gonna lie I kind of lost my train of thoughts and not sure how to finish this post, but I hope this can enlight some people on why CDPR made this choice!

Repeating this as a finale note; this doesn't mean that Female V is the "main" V or "canon" V . It's simply her time to shine, and it's well deserved! The industry needs it