Women and Video Game Modding by Bridget Whelan

Virtual Identities and Digital Culture investigates how our online identities and cultures are embedded within the digital practices of our lives, exploring how we form community, how we play, and how we re-imagine traditional media in a digital world.

Topics include the relationship between modders and developers, the history of modding, and the relationship between modding and disability, race, sexuality and gender identity. This is a collection of new essays on the phenomenon of women and modding, focusing on such titles as Skyrim, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and The Sims. 'Modders' alter the appearance of characters, rewrite scenes and epilogues, enhance or add love scenes and create fairy tale happy endings. Many female gamers are in turn modifying the games. Despite reports from the Entertainment Software Association that nearly half of gamers identify as female, many developers continue to produce content reflecting this imaginary audience. Highly gendered marketing in the late 1990s and early 2000s widened the gap between this perceived base and the actual diverse group who buy video games. Topics include the relationship between modders and developers, the history of modding, and the relationship between modding and disability, race, sexuality and gender identity.The world of video games has long revolved around a subset of its player base: straight, white males aged 18-25. This collection of new essays examines the phenomenon of women and modding, focusing on such titles as Skyrim, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and The Sims. Many female gamers are in turn modifying games to appeal to players like themselves. The world of video games has long revolved around a subset of its player base-straight, white males aged 18-25.

Women and Video Game Modding by Bridget Whelan