Portal 2 by Valve is the game I chose to play through, and analyze. Portal 2 was created by Valve and released for PC, Mac Linux, Playstation3 & Xbox 360 in April of 2011. It is the sequel to Portal, originally released in 2007.  Upon reviewing my playthrough, and watching Blitzwinger play a single-player game of Portal 2, it appears that puzzle completion and gender roles were predominant aspects of the game. 

 

The game is a puzzle game and follows Fullerton’s definition of a game: 

 

• “A closed, formal system, that 

• Engages players in structured conflict, and

• Resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome”(Fullerton, 2019).

 

Player experience is enhanced by the dramatic elements of the story. These elements are presented as a side story of apocalyptic nature and present mechanics of play. The art style and character development serve to create tension and affect the player to spur their continued gameplay(Fullerton, 2019).

 

I discovered I was a female avatar via screen capture. The player avatar is chosen based on your gender choice within STEAM. I had a brief glimpse of my avatar but in no way was she integrated into gameplay in a meaningful way. This dissociation of the avatar to gameplay allows the game to treat the player in a typically male fashion.

 

Although I never reached the gameplay level that allowed me to interact with GlaDOS as a character, she was portrayed as evil and wanting to kill the player. This is in contrast to her helpful demeanour at the beginning of Portal 1 as the assistant that guides you through the puzzle-based game.  She is the only female character in the game as all other non-player characters are voiced by males. The male characters are noted by Blitzwinger to be funny and helpful. This is in direct contrast to GlaDOS who is scornful and evil. 

 

GlaDOS’s demeanour could be viewed as the subversive parody of stereotypical female video game characters that often occupy the “damsel in distress” moniker, like Princess Peach in Super Mario Brothers or GlaDOS at the beginning of the original Portal (Malkowski & Russworm, 2017).  However, GlaDOS could also be viewed as the stereotypical representation of female villains as the causation of the downfall of man (original sin) since the player is generally assumed to be male(Religions - Christianity: Original sin 2009) (Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2016). 

 

GLaDOS’s “body” is seen in the opening cut scene to Portal 2 and is a very curvy, white, polished feminine looking robotic arm. In contrast to GlaDOS, Wheatly is seen as a very symmetrical, cold metal eye that dwarfs the “face” of GlaDOS insinuating male dominance and female inferiority. The art style of these characters typifies females and males and serves to perpetuate the gendered role of males and females in video games. 

   

Regardless of the intentions of the creators of  Portal 2, GlaDOS and Wheatley, stand to support the gendered roles within video games. GlaDOS is a goal to be achieved and Wheatley is a helpful, and trustworthy sidekick to the player (Feminst Frequency,  2007).