Are Women Too Hard To Animate? Tropes vs Women in Video Games

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This episode examines the general lack of female representation among standard enemies as well as in the cooperative and competitive multiplayer options of many games, and the ways in which, when female enemies do exist, they are often sexualized and set apart by their gender from the male enemies who are presented as the norm. We then highlight a few examples of games that present female enemies as standard enemies who exist on more-or-less equal footing with their male counterparts.

This is the fourth episode in season two of Tropes vs. Women in Video Games. For more on the format changes accompanying season two, please see our announcement here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/566429325/tropes-vs-women-in-video-games/posts/1469466

Full transcript, links and resources for this episode: http://wp.me/p5WxZG-9Q0

ABOUT THE SERIES
The Tropes vs Women in Video Games project aims to examine the plot devices and patterns most often associated with female characters in gaming from a systemic, big picture perspective. This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, but remember that it is both possible (and even necessary) to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of it’s more problematic or pernicious aspects. This video series is created by Anita Sarkeesian and the project was funded by 6968 awesome backers on Kickstarter.com

GAMES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014)
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015)
FIFA International Soccer (1993)
FIFA 16 (2015)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (2008)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (2009)
Uncharted 4 (2016)
Saints Row: The Third (2011)
Wolfenstein (2009)
Hitman: Absolution (2012)
Metal Gear Solid 4 (2008)
BioShock Infinite (2013)

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00:00:27,028 --> 00:00:29,211
At the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo,
エレクトロニック エンターテイメント エキスポ2014で
2
00:00:29,211 --> 00:00:30,804
the game development company Ubisoft
ゲーム開発会社ユービーアイソフトは
3
00:00:30,804 --> 00:00:32,838
debuted a trailer showcasing the cooperative mode
最新作アサシン クリード ユニティの
4
00:00:32,838 --> 00:00:34,368
in their upcoming game Assassin’s Creed Unity.
協力プレイの予告編を解禁しました
5
00:00:35,168 --> 00:00:36,570
One thing viewers quickly noticed
アサシンが全員男性だということに
6
00:00:36,570 --> 00:00:39,382
about the trailer was that all the assassins in it were male.
見た人はすぐに気付いたことでしょう
7
00:00:42,602 --> 00:00:45,179
When questioned about why female characters
なぜ協力プレイモードで
8
00:00:45,179 --> 00:00:46,827
weren’t an option in this mode,
女性キャラがいないのか問われ
9
00:00:46,827 --> 00:00:48,455
the game’s creative director said that
クリエイティブディレウクターは
10
00:00:48,455 --> 00:00:50,404
although there were originally plans to allow for female assassins,
当初は女性アサシンを含む予定だったが
11
00:00:50,404 --> 00:00:52,208
the development team couldn’t add them
アニメーションや声優 美術を
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00:00:52,208 --> 00:00:54,378
because it would require “double the animations,
二倍に増やす必要が出てくるため
13
00:00:54,378 --> 00:00:57,562
double the voices, and double the visual assets.”
実現できなかった と語りました
14
00:00:57,562 --> 00:00:59,711
Meanwhile, a level designer on the game
このゲームのデザイナーの一人は
15
00:00:59,711 --> 00:01:01,771
stated that including female assassins would have meant
女性アサシンを追加するには新規の骨格データに基づき
16
00:01:01,771 --> 00:01:05,130
recreating 8000 animations on a new skeleton.
8,000ヶ所を作り直さなければならないと言いました
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00:01:05,130 --> 00:01:07,766
These comments led to an explosion of controversy
こうした発言は
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00:01:07,766 --> 00:01:10,063
and criticism on Twitter, with many people using
ツイッター上で大きな議論と批判を呼び
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the sarcastic hashtag “women are too hard to animate.”
"女性のゲームキャラ化は難しすぎてムリ"という皮肉めいたハッシュタグも使われました
20
00:01:13,801 --> 00:01:15,551
A number of experienced game developers
経験豊富なゲーム開発者たちの多くも
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00:01:15,551 --> 00:01:16,888
joined the chorus of voices
ユービーアイソフトの言い分の馬鹿らしさを
22
00:01:16,888 --> 00:01:19,038
calling out the absurdity of Ubisoft’s claims.
批判する勢力に加わりました
23
00:01:19,038 --> 00:01:20,678
Animator Jonathan Cooper,
アサシン クリードIIIのアニメーター
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who had previously worked on Assassin’s Creed III
ジョナサン・クーパーは
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for Ubisoft, tweeted,
"1日か2日あればできること
26
00:01:23,963 --> 00:01:26,210
“I would estimate this to be a day or two’s work.
8,000ヶ所の作り直しなんて必要ない"
27
00:01:26,210 --> 00:01:28,557
Not a replacement of 8000 animations.”
とツイートしました
28
00:01:28,557 --> 00:01:30,830
And Manveer Heir of Bioware summed up
バイオウェアのマンビーア・エアは
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00:01:30,830 --> 00:01:32,636
what Ubisoft was actually saying:
ユービーアイソフトの言い分をこうまとめました
30
00:01:32,636 --> 00:01:35,795
“We don’t really care to put the effort in to make a woman assassin.”
"女アサシンなんかのために労力を割きたくない"
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00:01:36,525 --> 00:01:38,632
Ubisoft’s disregard for female character options
ユービーアイソフトによる女性キャラへの無関心は
32
00:01:38,632 --> 00:01:40,117
didn’t stop with Unity.
他にもあります
33
00:01:40,117 --> 00:01:42,945
Also at E3 2014, the director of Far Cry 4
同じエキスポでファークライ4の監督は
34
00:01:42,945 --> 00:01:45,865
admitted to a similar issue with that game’s online co-op mode,
当該ゲームにも同じような問題があることを認め
35
00:01:45,865 --> 00:01:48,184
saying, “We were inches away from having you be able
"協力プレイで女性パートナーか男性パートナーかを
36
00:01:48,184 --> 00:01:50,361
to select a girl or a guy as your co-op buddy.”
選べるようになるまで もう少だったんです"と言いました
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00:01:50,361 --> 00:01:53,006
Again, the excuse for why this option wasn’t available
ここでも女性キャラを登場させるのは大変すぎてムリと
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00:01:53,006 --> 00:01:55,042
was that it would just be too much work.
言い訳しているのです
39
00:01:55,042 --> 00:01:57,227
And yet again, what they were really saying
しかし実際には
40
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was that they just couldn’t be bothered to do the work
そんなことに労力を割きたくないと
41
00:01:59,708 --> 00:02:01,528
it would have taken to provide that option.
そう言っているのです
42
00:02:01,528 --> 00:02:03,926
Though it’s worth pointing out that in the two years
なお この議論から二年経ち
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00:02:03,926 --> 00:02:06,370
since this controversy, Ubisoft has made clear efforts
ユービーアイソフトがアサシン クリードシリーズに
44
00:02:06,370 --> 00:02:08,280
to improve the representation of women
女性キャラを含める努力をしたことは
45
00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:09,879
in the core Assassin’s Creed games,
ここに付け加えておくべきでしょう
46
00:02:09,879 --> 00:02:12,160
with the most recent entry, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate,
最新作のアサシン クリード シンジケートでは
47
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:13,988
giving the option to play as Evie Frye
ほぼ全編でプレイヤーはエヴィー・フライという
48
00:02:13,988 --> 00:02:15,972
through much of the campaign.
女性キャラを選択できるようになっています
49
00:02:15,972 --> 00:02:18,835
Of course, Ubisoft weren’t and aren’t the only ones
当然 女性キャラに無関心な態度をとっていのたは
50
00:02:18,835 --> 00:02:21,190
with this apathetic attitude toward female inclusion.
ユービーアイソフトだけではありません
51
00:02:21,190 --> 00:02:23,959
In fact, not doing the necessary work to include women
事実 ゲーム業界では女性キャラを含める努力をしないことが

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has long been the norm in the video game industry.
長年の慣例でした
53
00:02:26,430 --> 00:02:28,938
The FIFA soccer game series, which had its first entry
1993年に登場したFIFAのサッカーゲームは
54
00:02:28,938 --> 00:02:31,041
in 1993, took over 20 years
20年かかって
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00:02:31,041 --> 00:02:33,958
before finally introducing female teams in FIFA 16.
FIFA16でやっと女子チームが加わりました
56
00:02:34,978 --> 00:02:36,649
“I’m in the game.”
"ゲーム開始"
57
00:02:39,469 --> 00:02:41,824
And it took ten years for Call of Duty to introduce
コール オブ デューティでは10年かかって
58
00:02:41,824 --> 00:02:43,906
female soldiers into its competitive multiplayer
2013年のコール オブ デューティ ゴーストで
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00:02:43,906 --> 00:02:46,222
with 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts.
ようやく女性兵士が登場しました
60
00:02:46,903 --> 00:02:48,675
The long-running Battlefield franchise,
一方 長寿作のバトルフィールドシリーズでは
61
00:02:48,675 --> 00:02:50,180
on the other hand, has still never allowed
いまだに協力プレイモードで
62
00:02:50,180 --> 00:02:52,544
for playable female characters in its multiplayer modes.
女性キャラが選択できない仕様です
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00:02:52,544 --> 00:02:54,906
There’s an important conversation to be had
ミリタリーシューティングゲームが
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about the ways in which military shooters
暴力を美化している点については
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00:02:56,602 --> 00:02:58,246
work to glorify violence,
別途議論がなされるべきですが
66
00:02:58,246 --> 00:03:00,134
but as long as we’re going to have such games,
こうしたゲームが存在する以上は
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00:03:00,134 --> 00:03:02,851
it’s actually better when they include female combatants in them.
女性戦闘員を登場された方が得策です
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00:03:02,851 --> 00:03:04,399
Now you might be asking yourself,
敵部隊に女性がいたら
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00:03:04,399 --> 00:03:06,156
“Doesn’t having female enemies in a game
女性への暴力を永続させてしまうのでは？
70
00:03:06,156 --> 00:03:07,931
perpetuate violence against women?”
と疑問に思うかもしれませんね
71
00:03:07,931 --> 00:03:09,652
And that’s a good, fair question.
良い質問です
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When we refer to depictions
女性に対する暴力の描写とは
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00:03:11,068 --> 00:03:12,284
of violence against women,
一般的に
74
00:03:12,284 --> 00:03:14,022
we’re generally discussing situations in which
女性が女性であるが故に
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00:03:14,022 --> 00:03:15,762
women are being attacked or victimized
攻撃されたり被害に遭ったりするような
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specifically because they are women,
女性は被害者であるという認識を強化してしまう
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00:03:17,491 --> 00:03:19,740
reinforcing a perception of women as victims.
状況を指しているのです
78
00:03:19,740 --> 00:03:22,316
Such scenarios are very different from those in which
こうしたものと女性が積極的な参加者として
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00:03:22,316 --> 00:03:24,223
women are presented as active participants.
表現されているものとは全く異なります
80
00:03:24,223 --> 00:03:26,216
In the Street Fighter games, for instance,
例えばストリートファイターで
81
00:03:26,216 --> 00:03:28,403
when Chun-Li and Ryu fight each other,
チュンリーとリュウが対戦する際
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this isn’t considered violence against women,
女性に対する暴力とはみなされません
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00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,377
because the two characters are presented as being on
なぜなら二人は
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00:03:32,377 --> 00:03:33,859
more or less equal footing,
ほぼ同じような立場の者として描かれていて
85
00:03:33,859 --> 00:03:35,728
and because Chun-Li is an active participant
チュンリーは積極的参加者であり
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00:03:35,728 --> 00:03:37,520
who isn’t being targeted or attacked
女性だからという理由で
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00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,071
specifically because she’s a woman.
標的にされ攻撃されているのではないからです
88
00:03:40,031 --> 00:03:42,201
Similarly, the waves of male attackers players face
同様に プレイヤーを次々に襲う
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00:03:42,201 --> 00:03:44,543
in so many games are typically not passive victims.
男性の敵陣も一般的には受け身の被害者ではありません
90
00:03:44,543 --> 00:03:46,666
They are active participants in the conflict,
彼らは戦いにおいての積極的参加者であり
91
00:03:46,666 --> 00:03:49,694
and importantly, the violence against them isn’t gendered.
男性だから攻撃されているのではないという点が重要です
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00:03:49,694 --> 00:03:52,430
Players fight with them because they’re on the opposing side,
プレイヤーは相手が敵だから戦うのであって
93
00:03:52,430 --> 00:03:54,479
not specifically because they are men.
相手が男性だから戦うのではありません
94
00:03:54,479 --> 00:03:57,572
Unfortunately, when female combatants do appear in games,
残念ながら 女性戦闘員がゲームに登場する際には
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00:03:57,572 --> 00:03:59,373
they are often presented in sexualized ways
セクシュアル化されてしまっているので
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00:03:59,373 --> 00:04:01,170
which inevitably lend the player’s attacks
プレイヤーによる攻撃が必然的に
97
00:04:01,170 --> 00:04:02,640
an air of gendered violence.
女性への暴力という空気を纏ってしまいます
98
00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,438
In Saints Row The Third’s so-called
例えばセインツロウ ザ・サードの
99
00:04:04,438 --> 00:04:05,789
“Whored Mode,” for instance,
"千人切りモード"では
100
00:04:05,789 --> 00:04:08,070
players must defeat waves of sexualized women,
プレイヤーは次々と現れるセクシュアル化された女たちを
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00:04:08,070 --> 00:04:09,461
sometimes beating them to death
紫色の巨大ディルドで殴るなどして
102
00:04:09,461 --> 00:04:10,911
with a large purple dildo.
打ち負かさねばなりません
103
00:04:13,141 --> 00:04:15,276
In the 2009 game Wolfenstein,
2009年発売のウルフェンシュタインでは
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00:04:15,276 --> 00:04:17,855
the Elite Guard are a special all-female enemy unit
エリートガードという女性オンリーの敵部隊が登場しますが
105
00:04:17,855 --> 00:04:19,783
whose absurd uniforms sexualize not only
彼女たちは皆滑稽な服装をしていて
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00:04:19,783 --> 00:04:21,424
the female characters themselves
キャラだけでなく
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00:04:21,424 --> 00:04:23,747
but also player’s acts of violence against them.
プレイヤーの攻撃をもセクシュアル化してしまいます
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00:04:26,017 --> 00:04:28,112
Similarly, in 2012’s Hitman Absolution,
同様に2012年のヒットマン アブソリューションに登場するセインツは
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00:04:28,112 --> 00:04:30,329
the Saints are a special unit of female assassins
女性アサシンたちの特別ユニットで
110
00:04:30,329 --> 00:04:33,001
who wear latex fetish gear underneath nun’s habits.
修道女の服の下にフェティッシュなラバースーツを身につけています
111
00:04:33,001 --> 00:04:35,058
It’s a ludicrous design choice that is
これは明らかに彼女たちをセクシュアル化するために作られた
112
00:04:35,058 --> 00:04:37,919
transparently intended to sexualize these enemies.
滑稽なデザインです。
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00:04:37,919 --> 00:04:40,801
And in Metal Gear Solid 4,
メタルギアソリッド4の
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00:04:40,801 --> 00:04:42,969
the Beauty & the Beast unit is an enemy group
ビューティー＆ビースト部隊は
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00:04:42,969 --> 00:04:44,611
made up of five female soldiers
ゲーム過程でプレイヤーが戦う
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00:04:44,611 --> 00:04:46,540
that players fight over the course of the game.
5名の女性兵士から成る敵部隊です
117
00:04:46,540 --> 00:04:48,696
At a certain point during these encounters,
遭遇シーンのある時点で
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00:04:48,696 --> 00:04:50,596
each boss sheds her armor and appears
それぞれ装備を外し
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00:04:50,596 --> 00:04:52,457
as a woman in form-fitting attire.
ピッチリした服を着た姿で登場します
120
00:04:52,457 --> 00:04:54,581
“It’s all so funny.”
"楽しい"
121
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If players then avoid the Beauty’s deadly embrace
プレイヤーが相手を殺したり無力化したりせず　
122
00:04:58,331 --> 00:05:00,814
for several minutes without killing or neutralizing her,
数分間やり過ごすことができると
123
00:05:00,814 --> 00:05:02,734
the game transports them to a white room
画面が白い部屋へと移動し
124
00:05:02,734 --> 00:05:04,219
where equipping the camera results
キャラクターがカメラの前で
125
00:05:04,219 --> 00:05:06,001
in the character making sultry poses.
セクシーなポーズをします
126
00:05:09,171 --> 00:05:10,787
Funny how that doesn’t happen
男性キャラではこうならないのが
127
00:05:10,787 --> 00:05:12,914
with the male bosses in the game.
興味深いところです
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00:05:12,914 --> 00:05:14,465
Whenever female combatants are dressed
女性戦闘員がセクシュアル化された服装をしていると
129
00:05:14,465 --> 00:05:17,201
in sexualizing attire, it sets them noticeably apart
他の敵部隊との間に
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00:05:17,201 --> 00:05:18,885
from other enemy units.
明らかな違いが生じます
131
00:05:18,885 --> 00:05:20,364
It’s intended to make the player’s
プレイヤーに性的刺激を与えるよう
132
00:05:20,364 --> 00:05:22,216
encounters with them sexually titillating
意図されていますが
133
00:05:22,216 --> 00:05:24,160
and that’s particularly troubling considering
相手は敵で
134
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:25,981
that those encounters often involve fighting
戦ったり殺し合わなければならないことを考えると
135
00:05:25,981 --> 00:05:27,705
and killing those characters.
とりわけ憂慮すべき問題です
136
00:05:27,705 --> 00:05:29,320
Violence against female characters
女性キャラに対する暴力は
137
00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,280
should never be presented as “sexy”.
決してセクシーなものとして表現されるべきではありません
138
00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:33,523
The way for games to handle female combatants
ゲームに登場する女性戦闘員たちは
139
00:05:33,523 --> 00:05:35,336
is not to present them as sexualized treats
プレイヤーに対するセクシュアル化されたご褒美
140
00:05:35,336 --> 00:05:36,404
for the player.
として描かれるべきではありません
141
00:05:36,404 --> 00:05:38,316
Rather, it’s to present them simply as combatants
女性戦闘員は たまたま性別が女性の
142
00:05:38,316 --> 00:05:40,098
who happen to be women fighting alongside
男性戦闘員と何ら変わりない存在として
143
00:05:40,098 --> 00:05:41,866
their male counterparts on equal footing.
描かれるべきなのです
144
00:05:41,866 --> 00:05:44,675
For all of its many, many problems
バイオショック インフィニットには多くの問題がありますが
145
00:05:44,675 --> 00:05:47,800
one thing Bioshock Infinite did right was to include
コロンビアの警察隊にセクシュアル化されてない女性警官を含めたことは
146
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,498
non-sexualized female officers on Columbia’s police force.
正しい判断です
147
00:05:53,148 --> 00:05:55,238
And in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate,
アサシン クリード シンジケートでは
148
00:05:55,238 --> 00:05:57,264
both the player’s gang and the enemy gang
味方と敵の両方に
149
00:05:57,264 --> 00:05:58,999
have rank-and-file female members
男性と並んで闘う
150
00:05:58,999 --> 00:06:01,136
who fight alongside the men.
女性兵員が登場します
151
00:06:01,136 --> 00:06:03,646
Despite the presence of female combatants
しかしながら
152
00:06:03,646 --> 00:06:05,426
in games like these, there is still a tendency
いまだにゲーム会社には
153
00:06:05,426 --> 00:06:07,596
for game studios to treat female representation
女性の表象を大それた目標かなにか
154
00:06:07,596 --> 00:06:09,195
as some kind of extravagant goal,
として扱う傾向があり
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00:06:09,195 --> 00:06:11,433
rather than simply treating it as standard
男性の表象と同じように
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00:06:11,433 --> 00:06:13,622
in the same way they handle male representation.
標準的なものとして扱ってはいません
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00:06:13,622 --> 00:06:15,688
The excuse that I hear most often for the absence
ゲームにおける女性戦闘員の不在について
158
00:06:15,688 --> 00:06:18,567
of female combatants in games is that players wouldn’t believe it.
一番よく耳にする言い訳は"現実味がないから"というものです
159
00:06:18,567 --> 00:06:22,035
But games, even ones that draw on historical locations
しかしアサシン クリードシリーズのような
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00:06:22,035 --> 00:06:24,101
or events like the Assassin’s Creed series,
歴史的なロケーションや事象を引用したゲームですら
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00:06:24,101 --> 00:06:26,270
create their own worlds and set the tone
独自の世界を創造し 何が現実的で何がそうでないかの
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00:06:26,270 --> 00:06:28,206
for what we will or won’t believe.
線引きをしています
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00:06:28,206 --> 00:06:30,503
To participate in the worlds games create,
ゲームが作り上げた世界観に浸るため
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00:06:30,503 --> 00:06:33,763
we happily accept time travel, superpowers,
私たちはタイムトラベルやスーパーパワー
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00:06:33,763 --> 00:06:36,003
ancient alien civilizations,
古代エイリアン文化
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00:06:36,003 --> 00:06:38,498
the ability to carry infinite items,
無限のアイテムを運ぶ力
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00:06:38,498 --> 00:06:41,179
the idea that eating a hot dog can instantly
一瞬で傷を治すことのできるホットドック等
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00:06:41,179 --> 00:06:44,051
heal your wounds, and a million other fictions.
多くのフィクションを喜んで受け入れます
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00:06:44,051 --> 00:06:46,466
It’s certainly not too much to ask that these
こうしたフィクションの世界に
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00:06:46,466 --> 00:06:49,176
fictional worlds give us believable female combatants too.
女性戦闘員も加えて欲しいと願うことは決して高望みではないはずです
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00:06:49,176 --> 00:06:51,971
The media we engage with has a powerful impact
私たちが日々接するメディアは
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00:06:51,971 --> 00:06:54,205
on our ideas of what’s believable and what’s not.
何が現実的で何がそうでないかの判断に多大な影響を及ぼします
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00:06:54,205 --> 00:06:56,190
Games like Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
アサシン クリード シンジケートのようなゲームは
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00:06:56,190 --> 00:06:58,394
demonstrate that when the existence of female combatants
女性戦闘員の存在が
175
00:06:58,394 --> 00:07:00,965
is presented as straightforward, normal and believable,
率直かつ当たり前にもっともらしく描かれていれば
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00:07:00,965 --> 00:07:03,383
players have no problem believing it.
プレイヤーはそれを現実的と思えることを照明しています
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00:07:03,383 --> 00:07:04,770
And they shouldn’t, since,
これは当然のことでしょう
178
00:07:04,770 --> 00:07:07,168
unlike those magical healing hot dogs I mentioned,
なぜなら治癒力を持つ魔法のホットドックと違って
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00:07:07,168 --> 00:07:09,275
female combatants actually exist.
女性戦闘員は実際に存在するのですから