University of Idaho Art + Design Featured Student Profile: Emily Akre
It wasn’t until the video game developer Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion that I realized the beauty of video game design. While playing this as a child, I was whisked away on adventures in its masterfully conceptualized and detailed world. This was a video game that seemed to be a milestone in the video game industry’s progression towards immersive narrative design; video games were becoming more than a pixilated plumber jumping through 2D environments – this was a beautifully imagined and painstakingly realized world. The video game industry is burgeoning as one worthy of artistic merit. As the industry expands its production of entertainment, it breathes more life and revenue into an artistic field.
Eventually I became confident enough to work on the same project for two years and create a mock video game of my own. When developing Oracle, I created a story that I’d love to see in the gaming industry one day, one that revolves around a substantial, complex heroine. Taking notes from believable female heroes from books and movies, I designed Oracle to be able to cope in a post-apocalyptic environment without the aid of superpowers or an army.
Similar to the themes of a couple of my personal favorite artists Saint-Onge and Dillion, I wanted her to be powerful in a way that was still feminine but not overly so. Choosing to silhouette the character’s appearance allows the audience to judge main hero during gameplay through her abilities and role in the narrative, rather than the size of her breasts in her armor. I wanted the focus do be on the urgency to rescue her brother, the complexity of the narrative and the moral challenges she, along with the gamer, would have to face.
Although companies like Bethesda and Ubisoft are making an effort to reverse the sexual objectification in games, there is still animosity from the audience towards women developers for “feministing” all over their purchased product. However, women in the industry are speaking out and artists are contributing towards the progression of female characters, allowing games to appeal to the entirety of consumers. The gaming industry must become more inclusive towards female gamers; the transformation of the attitude towards women must begin with the developers of video games. This is a process that I would like to be a part of and help in the change of gaming design.
