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Episode 40 – Video Games and Gender Assemblages
In this episode we celebrate the release of Sian’s book Video games and gender assemblages: Understanding #Gamergate and beyond. Following a chat about some games we’ve enjoyed lately, including Guardians of Azuma and We Know the Devil, we dive into the question “Why is gender, particularly women, such an ‘issue’ in video games?’. Sian’s attitude was that there’s so much research already on gender and games, maybe it’s a matter of needing to analyse it differently. The book investigates three research questions: 1) how is gender a factor in game content and production; 2) what kind of affects do video games amplify, and how can they impact player identities?, and 3) How do affects permeate and flow throughout communities of play?. We discuss the key threads connecting these questions and the use of conceptual tools including that of Deleuze & Guattari, Sara Ahmed, Bourdieu, Butler, and others.
Games
Marvelous Inc. (2025). Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc., Marvelous Europe.
Next Studios. (2019). Unheard – Voices of Crime. 505 Games.
Pillow Fight & Worst Girls Games. (2016). We Know the Devil. Pillow Fight.
Rotten Raccoons. (2024). OBSCURA. Kaguya Project.
Shiying Studio. (2021). Firework. Gamirror Games.
References
Tomkinson, S. (2025). Video games and gender assemblages: Understanding #Gamergate and beyond. Lexington Books.
Tomkinson, S., & Harper, T. (2025). If it looks like violent extremism, and acts like violent extremism …: Comparing the framing of two Sydney stabbing attacks. Communication Research and Practice, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2025.2528393
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By Sian Tomkinson and Heather Blakey
5
11 ratings
In this episode we celebrate the release of Sian’s book Video games and gender assemblages: Understanding #Gamergate and beyond. Following a chat about some games we’ve enjoyed lately, including Guardians of Azuma and We Know the Devil, we dive into the question “Why is gender, particularly women, such an ‘issue’ in video games?’. Sian’s attitude was that there’s so much research already on gender and games, maybe it’s a matter of needing to analyse it differently. The book investigates three research questions: 1) how is gender a factor in game content and production; 2) what kind of affects do video games amplify, and how can they impact player identities?, and 3) How do affects permeate and flow throughout communities of play?. We discuss the key threads connecting these questions and the use of conceptual tools including that of Deleuze & Guattari, Sara Ahmed, Bourdieu, Butler, and others.
Games
Marvelous Inc. (2025). Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc., Marvelous Europe.
Next Studios. (2019). Unheard – Voices of Crime. 505 Games.
Pillow Fight & Worst Girls Games. (2016). We Know the Devil. Pillow Fight.
Rotten Raccoons. (2024). OBSCURA. Kaguya Project.
Shiying Studio. (2021). Firework. Gamirror Games.
References
Tomkinson, S. (2025). Video games and gender assemblages: Understanding #Gamergate and beyond. Lexington Books.
Tomkinson, S., & Harper, T. (2025). If it looks like violent extremism, and acts like violent extremism …: Comparing the framing of two Sydney stabbing attacks. Communication Research and Practice, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2025.2528393