Subverting Patriarchal Narratives: A Feminist Approach to Critical Video Game Design Through Participatory Methods

Carlos Roberto Torres^1,2*Maria Juliana Florez-Florez²Roberto Cuervo-Pulido^1,2Omar Fernando Ramírez-Pérez²Oscar Fonseca²

• ¹Pontifical Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia
• ²Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

This article explores participatory design as a methodology for creating critical video games within the framework of feminist pedagogy. It focuses on the video game design of Poder Violeta 2, a sequel aimed at challenging sexual harassment experienced by women, feminized bodies, and gender and sexual dissidents in public transportation. Developed in Bogotá, Colombia, the game addresses issues in a city whose transit system is among the most dangerous for women worldwide (Veeduría Distrital de Bogotá, 2022). Building on the success of the first version while also addressing its identified limitations, the design of this new iteration prioritized two key elements: deeper involvement of feminine public transportation users throughout all stages of development and a more thorough utilization of medium-specific resources, such as multiple characters and power-ups. These enhancements aim to provide the game's protagonists with greater agency while also enriching the gameplay experience. This approach enabled a more diverse and accurate representation of marginalized groups, effectively subverting the patriarchal, heteronormative, and passive portrayals prevalent in digital media. Moreover, the participatory design process fostered continuous learning among the predominantly male project team-including researchers and developers, -while facilitating a co-creation environment.This experiment serves as a reference for creating more inclusive and representative content within the medium while also exploring the narrative potential of video game-specific elements, such as characters and their attributes, as well as power-ups. Additionally, it promotes the empowerment and active participation of historically excluded communities.