The gaming sector faces a significant gender gap, with women underrepresented in the workforce and often marginalised in-game portrayals. Despite being a substantial portion of the EU gaming community, women players frequently encounter gender-based violence, undermining their experiences and participation in online spaces.
Additionally, the use of AI and Generative AI (Gen AI) tools raises concerns about the representation of women in games. These tools can be used for game design, characters and non-playable character (NPC) creation, and storytelling generation. However, they can perpetuate existing biases, discrimination and harmful gender stereotypes.
i-Game explored the gender issue in gaming in the research conducted by KUL on the legal and ethical aspects of gaming. In November 2024, N. Krack attended the Generative AI Feminist Lab Symposium and PhD workshop. During the workshop she met fellow PhDs from different disciplines and learned new methodologies for critical design and transfeminist future thinking. These include innovative tools like the Feminist Oracle by Coding Rights, a gamified card deck designed to help to collective envision and share ideas for transfeminist technologies. She also exchanged with fellows about her research on gender-based violence in content production though Generative AI.