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| The part I add in Otome game Otome game -- Wikipedia |
The Wikipedia I chose is Otome game. An Otome game is a narrative-driven game designed specifically for female players where players take on the role of the heroine and engage in building romantic relationships with male characters (Kim, 2009; Nouvanty et al., 2023). The Otome game relates to module 4: Identity, Representation, & Selfies. The main character in Otome game can be regarded as the digital self-representation for players because players can use MC as an avatar to make choices and decide the plots in the game world. Additionally, according to Kim (2009), as gamers invest their time and energy in the game, making choices based on their personal experiences, their deepening involvement and immersion can effectively enhance both identification and gamification.
When I looked through the Wikipedia page for the Otome game, I found it has limited content. Some of the aspects it lacks include character traits, game influences, game culture, game controversies, etc. There are so many directions that I can develop in, and I am not sure where to start. As a result, I checked Wikipedia for the Gal game (which has opposite romanceable characters to the Otome game) to know if there are some perspectives I can reference. I found it has the part called "Representation of women" and "Representation of men". I really appreciated those two parts which can increase the diversity of perspectives, so I decided to mainly focus on the representation part in my editing.
I change the subtitle Gameplay to Characterises, making Gameplay under Characteristics, adding two categories: "Representation of women" and "Representation of men".
Representation of women
In Otome games, the main female character is generally categorized as self-insert and non-self-insert (Blerdy Otome,2019). Self-insert does not have personality and backstory, giving players space to insert themselves to the game. While the non-self-insert main character has a more vivid personality and detailed story, whose characteristics do not depend on the player for existence.
However, in either case, the main character in most Otome games has a fixed image. Usually, the game unfolds from the protagonist's first point of view.
In general, it is difficult to represent the female protagonist in simple terms, because the game character as an avatar of the player is ambiguous and complex, a state where subject and object coexist: they are both the player's"shoes" and admirable icon (Kim, 2009).
Representation of men
The main men characters who can develop a romantic relationship with vary from game to game. In general, however, the appearances of main men characters who can develop romantic relationships are handsome and attractive.
There are some typical character archetypes in the Otome game: Oresama, Kuudere, Childhood Friend, Shota, Mature/Older Man, Dandere, Megane, Tsundere, Yandere, Genku Guy, the flirt, and the playboy (Blerdy Otome,2019).
To summarize my Wikipedia editing journey, I found that digital advocacy is essential: Otome games as a niche game category have very limited Wikipedia content and rely on a single source. By focusing on the representation of men and women in Otome games, I hope to include more diverse perspectives, filling in the missing digital identity of men and women in Otome games.
References
Blerdy Otome. (2019). A beginners guide to otome games: Part 3 – common character archetypes. Blerdy Otome. https://blerdyotome.com/2019/06/20/a-beginners-guide-to-otome-games-part-3-common-character-archetypes/
Kim, H. (2009). Women’s Games in Japan: Gendered Identity and Narrative Construction. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(2-3), 165-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409103132
Nouvanty, V., Suryanto, T. L., & Faroqi, A. (2023). Evaluation of uses and gratifications on online Otome games. Teknika, 12(2), 120–128. doi:10.34148/teknika.v12i2.613
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