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“Fantastic!”[br]

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Theme Music

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This episode comes with a content warning[br]for game footage involving

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hypersexualized female characters[br]and is not recommended for children.

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As always, remember that it is both[br]possible and even necessary

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to be critical of the media we enjoy.

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That’s going to be especially[br]important to keep in mind

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given the video game franchise[br]we are about to discuss…

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In 1987 Nintendo released a 2D[br]action adventure game for their

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Nintendo Entertainment System[br]which departed

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from traditional video game conventions.

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Metroid starred a bounty hunter[br]named Samus Aran

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who is covered head to toe in the[br]now iconic cybernetic “power suit”.

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The game’s manual referred to the[br]protagonist with male pronouns

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and described his identity as[br]“shrouded in mystery”.

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Metroid was notable as an[br]early example of a game

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that employed multiple alternative[br]endings which could be unlocked

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based on the player’s gaming[br]skill and performance.

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If the player is able to complete[br]the game in under five hours

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a short cutscene will play featuring the[br]protagonist without their armored helmet,

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revealing that Samus Aran is, in fact,[br]a woman.

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This was a significant moment[br]in gaming history,

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especially for many female gaming fans,[br]because, at the time,

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nearly all protagonists were just[br]assumed to be male by default.

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Remember this was back[br]before the internet,

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when you couldn’t just hop online to find[br]out about all the secrets and spoilers,

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so for many players, the ending of[br]Metroid came as a genuine surprise.

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Still, the subversion only worked[br]provided players were skilled enough

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to achieve the surprise ending.

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In retrospect, Samus’ gender reveal perhaps[br]should not have been as shocking as it was,

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considering that Metroid is[br]heavily influenced by the Alien films.

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Sadly the alternate endings[br]did not stop there

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the two “best” endings make Metroid[br]one of the first games

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to exploit the Women as Reward trope,[br]

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as both reveal Samus[br]in various states of undress.

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The better a player does,[br]the more clothing is removed.

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If the player completes the game in under[br]3 hours Samus is shown without her armor

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and in a leotard.

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If the player finishes in under 1 hour[br]they are treated to Samus in a bikini.

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So yes, Samus wasn’t a damsel’ed woman[br]waiting at the end of the game as a trophy

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rather, her body itself became the prize[br]awarded to players for a job well done.

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Later games in the Metroid series[br]continued the convention of

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rewarding players with endings featuring[br]Samus in various states of undress.

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In one sense Samus Aran definitely did[br]subvert traditional gender tropes

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of the 1980s by taking on the role[br]of intrepid hero.

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However she and her body were still[br]presented to players as prizes to be won.

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The convention, of earning access to[br]cutscenes or ending vignettes

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with eroticized female bodies can be found[br]in many titles over the past 30 years.

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“Apollo”

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“Whoa! Whoa!”

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(Audience laughter)

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“Oh!”

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We can trace the roots of the[br]Women as Reward trope all the way back

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to the beginnings of the medium itself.

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As we discussed in our[br]damsel in distress mini-series,

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upon successful completion[br]of many arcade games

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players were rewarded with the[br]related Smooch of Victory trope, so named

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for the kiss the hero received as a reward[br]for rescuing a kidnapped princess.

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Sometimes the prize is blatant as with the[br]Standard Hero Reward

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in which a king will give his[br]daughter to the hero.

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On other occasions, it’s taken a step further[br]by employing the parallel

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Sex of Victory or Rescue Sex trope.[br]Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is:

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instead of a kiss, sex with the rescued[br]victim is the player’s reward.

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“That was gonna get ugly. You saved us!”

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“My pleasure, ladies.”

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“Thank you, thank you. Thank you.”

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“You saved my life. A bit of joy as[br]recumpence is not too much to ask.”

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“I’m intrigued. It’s been a tough day.[br]I think some joy might do me good.”

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(Moaning)

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We’ve coined the Women as Reward trope[br]to describe a long-running pattern

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found in interactive media.

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It occurs when women[br]or more often women’s bodies

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are employed as rewards for[br]player actions in video games.

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The trope frames female bodies as[br]collectible, as tractable or as consumable

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and positions women as status symbols

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designed to validate the masculinity[br]of presumed straight male players.

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There’s some overlap between the[br]Damsel in Distress and Women as Reward

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but they function differently.

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While the Damsel in Distress[br]trope uses women

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as a plot device to motivate male heroes,

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the Women as Reward trope presents women[br]as a formalized reward mechanism,

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meaning that the reward is coded[br]into the game system itself.

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The result of this incentive structure is[br]that access to women’s bodies,

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women’s affection or women’s sexuality is[br]reduced to a simple equation that guarantees

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delivery as long as the correct set of[br]inputs are entered into the system.