Events › Learn @ Your Library: Gender, Power, and Videogame Culture

We’re excited to welcome game scholars Dr. PB Berge and Adeline K. Piercy for this series on the friction between gender, power, and design in video games, from Ms. Pacman to Animal Crossing. We’ll travel from the “games for girls” marketing of the 1990s to the modern rise of cozy farming games, before finishing with a look at the radical designers breaking all the rules to build a new future for (or perhaps even beyond) the game industry.

Sunday, April 12
Histories of Girlhood and Masculinity in Videogaming
This session with Dr. PB Berge will offer a lively tour of video game history, looking at how gender has been embedded in games from the start. We’ll explore the industry’s awkward and fascinating lineage of gendered games, from Barbie Fashion Designer to the Nintendo Knitting Machine, and consider how the design and marketing of the “games for girls” movement shaped today’s ideas about contemporary geek masculinity and who games are for.

Sunday, April 19
The New “Gamer Girl” and Patriarchy in Pastels
Cozy games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons exploded in popularity during the pandemic, drawing in young, gender-diverse audiences with cute visuals and low-stress, domestic gameplay. Yet succeeding at these feel-good games often depends on money-making, land-owning, and constant expansion. This presentation with Adeline K. Piercy asks whether the cozy gamer girl movement truly fosters a more inclusive gaming culture for women and queer folk, or simply repackages old gender roles and colonial ideas in softer colours.

Sunday, April 26
Playing in the Unplayable: Gender Wars, Corporate Greed, and the Zine Revolution
Marginalized game makers are facing two entangled crises: mass layoffs across the gaming industry and a rising tide of cultural backlash against diversity. In this final talk with Dr. PB Berge, we’ll discuss the link between labour, gender, and the rise of “anti-game” creator communities. By resurrecting the DIY zine ethos of the 90s, creators are building unplayable “anti-games” —projects that are small, broken, or refuse to be played— and embracing a radical democratization of game making.