Come the apocalypse, I want a good pair of boots, a comfy pair of cargo pants (not too baggy, not too tight), and something that covers my torso pretty completely (weight dependent on weather conditions). You know, failing full body armor or a suit made from sixteen rolls of duct tape. Long story short? I would like to not be bitten by zombies, and the last thing I’m going to do is wave my cleavage around in their faces. That’s akin to ringing a dinner bell.
But games set in the zombie apocalypse sometimes do feature women in wildly inappropriate attire, heaving bosoms on full, dramatic display. Lara Croft taught us that it’s totally easy to shoot around wild proportions, and to jump over dangerous obstacles, too, but old-school Lara was never particularly realistic while surviving, and it’s similarly hard to figure out why post-apocalyptic ladies are so interested in showing off the goods. Sure, when society’s gone right out the window but you want to keep up the human race (or at least some camaraderie), you probably want to attract a mate, but let’s face it: when the numbers are down, probably all you have to do to find someone is not be a jerk. Even the worst of us can find a companion in the apocalypse, after all.
My recent forays back into State of Decay, where the women come dressed like fighting machines, led me into following the fine footsteps of NYMGamer writers to perform my own exploration of the representations of women in games — specifically, in (some) zombie games.
State of Decay
Since I was playing Breakdown when I started thinking about this topic, it seems prudent to start here. I’ve spoken before about realism in this game, and honestly, I feel like character representations is one of the places where SoD shines. Sure, the graphics aren’t so great on the Xbox 360, but characters model a range of body types, from fit to not, something I appreciate as a rarity in games in general. What’s more, folks are appropriately dressed for running around in zombie-infested areas. Even the game’s former sex worker, Becca, isn’t presented in a stereotypical fashion. My current go-to, Amelia (The Fighter), is another great example: she’s dressed in fitted jeans and a hoodie, and her body is lean and fit, as suits her description as a Parkour enthusiast and “fitness guru.” And while State of Decay’s designers tend to default to leggings and form-fitting jeans for their female characters, choices that often highlight the hind end, if you will, this also seems realistic and not out of place — just slightly more noticeable than with the majority of male characters. But for every two women in tight jeans, there’s one in baggier pants.
Final verdict? Good job, Undead Labs, for not overloading your women and stripping them down to thongs.
Dead Rising (series)
Oh, Dead Rising. The first one has a special place in my heart, but not for its female characters. Between the wailing in the safe room once you begin collecting survivors and the absolutely ridiculous outfits on the women in the game, I’m pretty sure the real message of Dead Rising is that there’s no hope for humanity. Oh, there’s zombies? Let me grab my kitten-heel sandals and check my makeup.
While Dead Rising gets a little better in this area by the time the third installment rolled around — Annie still wears a silly outfit, but at least her breasts, in screenshots, seem reasonable — the first game really took the cake. Isabela and Jessie are buxom beyond belief, hourglass-figured ladies who should have probably been grabbed and killed immediately, considering there’s a good 50,000 zombies roaming around. In Dead Rising 2, the wildly proportioned, ill-prepared ladies were a part of the setting; in fake-Vegas, we expect women in sequined gowns and bunny ears, because that’s part of the setting as we’ve come to understand it. Glitz and oversexualization is part of the package.
At the same time, however, some of the available costumes for the male characters are, uh, interesting. It’s not all Mega Man getups. So are the games just over-the-top and ridiculous? Definitely; Dead Rising never tries very hard to scale things back. Playing the games means accepting the world, with all the ups and downs (and sexual assaults).
Final Verdict? Ridiculous. Over-the-top. Extreme. Packed with scantily clad bosoms and unbelievable proportions. But not always without purpose (and not always limited to the women).
The popular Arma II zombie mod DayZ does pretty well in this regard from what I’ve seen (I’m only an occasional PC gamer), but partly because the game didn’t even have women at first, which is problematic in its own way. Once they were added, however, the women seem modestly proportioned and well dressed, but I’m told there aren’t many options for creating women, since they were shoehorned in well after the mod’s debut. Still, it’s good to know that women are wearing clothes in some apocalypse, somewhere.
Final Verdict? It might have taken a while to get women in there, but hey, at least they don’t look like balloons on a stick. Good show.
Dead Island (series)
Dead Island is vapid, time-chewing fun here and there, but the series is full of problems (not least of which is the marketing). The game is packed with stereotypes, offensive material, and bitchy babes in bikinis along with bros in board shorts, so it’s no surprise that while the male playable characters are fully dressed (in pants or shorts, though Sam is wearing a jacket sans shirt), the women are in slit skirts. Listen, Xian Mei, I know you were working the hotel when the apocalypse went down, but taking five minutes to put on a pair of pants is a solid and acceptable life decision in times of crisis. And Purna? All that jewelry seems like a bad idea when one is sneaking around zombies.
But Jin, a secondary character, is wearing overalls (with a low-cut crop top) and gets (possibly) sexually assaulted, so maybe it’s better to go with skirts in this world… or to avoid it altogether, if you’re a woman.
Final Verdict? I mean, it’s Dead Island, the game packaged with a bust of a bust. What can you expect? But can someone please tell game developers that we can determine if a character is female without their having to wear a skirt? Might as well put a bow on it.
Resident Evil (series)
Resident Evil has a long history of scantily class ass-kicking women with insane proportions, and even when the women are fully dressed, a lingering whiff of hypersexualization seems to hover around them. Sometimes you get Jill Valentine in a hoodie, sometimes you get Claire Redfield in trousers and layers… and sometimes you get booty shorts, skimpy tank tops, slit skirts, and skintight bodysuits. And don’t forget crazy naked mutations.
Resident Evil, for all its up moments, seems born of a wild mix of Japanese culture and a long tradition of action movie women who kick all the ass while wearing one-third the clothing of their male counterparts. It’s the Ginger Rogers school of ass-kicking: instead of doing it backwards, and in heels, they’re doing it in heeled boots and
Final Verdict? It’s hard to take the ladies of Resident Evil seriously at times, but they also kick a lot of ass. But where do we draw the line that marks a problematic representation? Probably around “tribal” outfits, if not long before.
Lollipop Chainsaw
Nothing really needs to be said here, eh? Juliet says it all herself.
Final Verdict? Girlfriend, you need to wrap that biz up. You know, for safety.
