Women as Reward - Tropes vs Women in Video Games

“Fantastic!”

Theme Music

This episode comes with a content warning
for game footage involving

hypersexualized female characters
and is not recommended for children.

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

to be critical of the media we enjoy.

That’s going to be especially
important to keep in mind

given the video game franchise
we are about to discuss…

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

Nintendo Entertainment System
which departed

from traditional video game conventions.

Metroid starred a bounty hunter
named Samus Aran

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

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

and described his identity as
“shrouded in mystery”.

Metroid was notable as an
early example of a game

that employed multiple alternative
endings which could be unlocked

based on the player’s gaming
skill and performance.

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

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

revealing that Samus Aran is, in fact,
a woman.

This was a significant moment
in gaming history,

especially for many female gaming fans,
because, at the time,

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

Remember this was back
before the internet,

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

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

Still, the subversion only worked
provided players were skilled enough

to achieve the surprise ending.

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

considering that Metroid is
heavily influenced by the Alien films.

Sadly the alternate endings
did not stop there

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

to exploit the Women as Reward trope,

as both reveal Samus
in various states of undress.

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

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

and in a leotard.

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

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

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

Later games in the Metroid series
continued the convention of

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

In one sense Samus Aran definitely did
subvert traditional gender tropes

of the 1980s by taking on the role
of intrepid hero.

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

The convention, of earning access to
cutscenes or ending vignettes

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

“Apollo”

“Whoa! Whoa!”

(Audience laughter)

“Oh!”

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

to the beginnings of the medium itself.

As we discussed in our
damsel in distress mini-series,

upon successful completion
of many arcade games

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

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

Sometimes the prize is blatant as with the
Standard Hero Reward

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

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

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

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

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

“My pleasure, ladies.”

“Thank you, thank you. Thank you.”

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

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

(Moaning)

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

found in interactive media.

It occurs when women
or more often women’s bodies

are employed as rewards for
player actions in video games.

The trope frames female bodies as
collectible, as tractable or as consumable

and positions women as status symbols

designed to validate the masculinity
of presumed straight male players.

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

but they function differently.

While the Damsel in Distress
trope uses women

as a plot device to motivate male heroes,

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

meaning that the reward is coded
into the game system itself.

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

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

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

In this way the Women as Reward trope
helps foster a sense of entitlement

where players are encouraged to view women
as something they’ve earned the right to

by virtue of their gaming actions,
skills or accomplishments.

This is illustrated in arcade classics
like Joe and Mac

and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

after players save the damsel
in both games,

she will bestow a kiss on the character
who earned the most points on that stage.

“I owe you one.”

Entitlement to women is made even more
explicit in many versions of Double Dragon.

At the end of the game, after the
final boss has been defeated

and the damsel in distress saved, player
one and player two must fight each other

over who “gets” to “have” Marian and
with her, the smooch of victory.

Notice that Marian’s desires are not part
of the equation, she has no say in the matter

she simply fills the role of a trophy for
whichever player is ultimately victorious.

This scene serves as inspiration
for similar scenarios

in more contemporary games
like Castle Crashers.

We’ve identified 6 primary ways the Women
as Reward trope manifests in video games.

Over the course of this episode
we will examine each in turn.

In addition to the “earned cinematics”
we’ve already discussed, we will cover

the trope as it relates to
Easter Eggs, Unlockable Costumes,

Experience Points, Collectibles,
and Achievements.

Easter Eggs are intentionally
hidden secrets or jokes

which developers conceal
inside of their games.

Like the eggs at a
children’s easter egg hunt,

these secrets are usually difficult to find
but are meant to be discovered as rewards

for particularly industrious gamers.

Easter Eggs can be hidden messages, items,
secret characters or random events,

and their inclusion encourages
experimentation with the game’s systems

and mechanics in order to
uncover these extra treasures.

Some can be found
inside game environments,

while others require a
cheat code to unlock.

For example, if players input a specific
button sequence while starting up

the 1991 role-playing game Rings of Power
the title screen would change.

By pressing down, right, A, B, C and the
start button, players were rewarded

with an image of a topless woman
next to the Naughty Dog logo.

Easter eggs are, of course,
not inherently problematic,

and gaming history is filled with
examples of neat secrets

that designers have hidden
away for players to discover.

But too frequently, Easter eggs
are used as another way

to reward players with women’s bodies.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 included a secret
unlockable character named Daisy,

who bore the likeness of
porn star Jenna Jameson.

Daisy’s sexualized appearance and
skateboard tricks are designed as a reward

for those players who unlocked her.

One way to do that is
by entering this code

Probably one of the most famous
Women as Reward easter eggs

brings us back to Samus Aran.

The original Metroid used a password
system to save progress.

By inputting the secret code
“Justin Bailey” into this system,

gamers would unlock a powered-up
playable version of Samus

wearing only her
leotard-style bathing suit.

Incidentally this is the same outfit we
covered earlier as an end-game reward,

only here she has the powers of the Varia
Suit and its associated color pallete swap

which changes her hair color to green.

Players can then play the entire game as
Samus without her space armor.

So she ends up exploring
a hostile alien world

and fighting off deadly monsters
in her underwear.

“Welcome to the Hovercon intergalactic
hoverboard competition!”

There’s a bizarre easter egg
in the original Ratchet & Clank:

If the player does a series of side-flips
in front of a green-skinned alien,

the woman’s breasts will
suddenly begin to inflate.

The more gymnastics stunts performed,
the larger her boobs will become.

There are so many Women as Reward-style
easter eggs in the Metal Gear Solid series

that it would take several hours
to go over them all.

First released for the PlayStation in 1998
and then remade for the GameCube in 2004,

Metal Gear Solid featured not one
but two separate easter eggs

that allow players to see
Meryl Silverburgh in her underwear.

The second of these easter eggs requires
players to follow Meryl into the ladies room

and interrupt her while she is changing.
If this is done quickly enough

the next cutscene will play with
Meryl in her underwear.

“Anyway, how did you recognize me in disguise?”

“I never forget a lady”

Jumping ahead to the fourth game,

the protagonist is assigned a psychologist
for PTSD counseling.

During these remote sessions, if
players shake their Playstation controller

the psychologist’s breasts will
bounce and jiggle in response.

“Memories began to resurface
from his childhood,"

"when he fought for Solidus
in the Liberian Civil War.”

Keep in mind that easter eggs
are not accidents or glitches.

They are intentionally put into the game
by the designers,and as a result, indicate

the value that the designers themselves
place on these female characters.

They communicate to players that yes,
these women exist for players to exploit

or experiment with
for their own amusement.

Unlockable outfits are additional
costumes earned during gameplay

which allow gamers to play dress up with
player characters or party members.

Alternative “skins” as they are sometimes
called come in all shapes and sizes

and are typically just cosmetic changes
to the character’s appearance,

although sometimes they
add special abilities.

Many unlockable costumes
are cool, wacky or bizarre.

But when applied to female characters
we see a distinct pattern

of revealing, hypersexualized outfits.

Fetishized bunny, cat, maid or nurse
costumes are commonly used by developers

as a way to pander to an assumed
straight male player base.

It’s important to remember that
sexualization is not necessarily

just about the amount of skin showing,
but is instead connected to the question

of whether or not a costume is eroticized
for the express purpose of titillation.

“Hey, why were you wearing
that stuffy-looking suit of armor?”

“Oh? You didn’t like it? It’s pretty sturdy
and protects my body quite nicely...

See? Look at this beautiful skin,
free of bruises and blemishes!”

“Very nice… I’m actually worried
where my eyes might wander.”

“You don’t look all that worried to me.”

“I’ve just got a good poker face.
So, you’re okay?...

You don’t mind leaving your armor behind?”

“It’s sturdy, but it’s heavy. Walking
around with that on tires me out.”

“Hey, no complaints here. I prefer
eye candy to scary armor any day.”

These types of unlockable outfits
can be especially pernicious

since they often end up
undermining women who are

otherwise appropriately dressed
for active or professional roles.

The Resident Evil franchise has been
particularly guilty of this over the years.

Almost every major release in the series
has included the Women as Reward trope.

Resident Evil is a bit unusual in that,
since its beginnings in the mid 90s,

the franchise has featured a large
number of playable female protagonists

most of whom are skilled zombie fighters

and have impressive professional
resumés, to say the least.

Rebecca Chambers is a police officer and medic
in the Special Tactics And Rescue Service.

Players can dress her up in “sexy nurse”
and cheerleader costumes.

Jill Valentine is a high-ranking
Special Operations Agent

in the Bioterrorism Security Assessment
Alliance, and also the master of unlocking.

She can be placed in sexy police woman
and sexy pirate outfits.

Claire Redfield is a member of a
human rights organization

that provides aid during
bioterrorism incidents.

She can be turned into a
motorsport umbrella girl.

Sherry Birkin is a US government agent working
with the Division of Security Operations.

And here she’s wearing
a schoolgirl outfit.

Helena Harper is a Secret Service agent
and a former member of the CIA.

Her unlockable costumes include
another “sexy” police woman

complete with mini skirt and garter belt.

Sheva Alomar is an agent for the
Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance,

operating in the West African branch.

The tribal print bikini outfit is
especially disconcerting,

because it combines the sexualization
of a female character

with the racist tradition of
exotifying women of color,

particularly women of African ancestry.

More on that topic in an upcoming video.

As a reward for completing the
main game under specific conditions,

players gain the ability to shove these
female police and special agents

into the digital equivalent of those
patronizing “sexy” Halloween costumes

we see mass produced every year.

These ensembles are not only completely
inappropriate for the mission at hand,

but also reduce otherwise capable
characters to sexual objects

for the voyeuristic enjoyment of players.

“None of this makes any sense.
What did we do?”

“I wish I could tell ya.”

The latest game in the series, 2015’s
Resident Evil: Revelations 2

continues this condescending
tradition by offering DLC

that puts Claire Redfield into a
sexualized cowgirl outfit

and forces Moira into whatever
the hell that is supposed to be…?

The developers call it an
“urban ninja” costume?

[Sigh.]

Meanwhile, the male
playable character Barry

gets a gentleman’s Commandant
alternative costume.

Alternative costumes for men
are rarely objectifying.

They’re instead presented
as “tough guy” power fantasies

for other straight men to identify with.

And when men are stripped
down to their beachwear

it’s most often meant
as a lighthearted joke.

Shifting to an example of a game that
does alternative female costumes right,

Alice: Madness Returns features a wide
assortment of imaginative unlockable dresses.

And if you must go the
“bunnygirl” or “catgirl” route,

this right here is definitely
the way to do it.

In many games experience points,
or XP, are earned by completing tasks

like defeating monsters
or finishing quests.

Once enough experience points
have been accumulated

player characters can
periodically level up,

making them stronger or giving
them access to new abilities.

Unfortunately designers sometimes
tie the awarding of experience points

directly to sexual interactions
with female characters,

effectively transforming women into
conduits which players can utilize

to become more powerful warriors.

In the 2007 game Conan, for example,

dozens of half naked “maidens”
are chained up throughout the game.

“Take me and crush me with your love!”

When rescued they essentially function
as sexualized treasure chests

rewarding the player
with experience points

which are then used to unlock
more powerful fighting moves.

“…just a bit longer”

“We’ve reached Athens.
Get your things and get out.”