Otome Games: Narrative, Gender and Globalization
Abstract
The goal of the thesis is to answer the question of how otome (maiden) games, despite
their heavily cultured origins, have been able to create playable romance narratives
that a global audience can understand, relate, play, and enjoy. In order to do so,
the thesis utilizes Hakuōki: Kyoto Winds, an otome game focused on romancing the young
men of the Shinsengumi (special force who served under the military government in
the Bakumatsu period), as a focus. Chapter 1 examines otome games through its narrative
structure and gameplay mechanics, such as: avatar immersion, historical narrative,
and the visual style of dynamic immobility. Chapter 2 discusses otome games as gendered
games for women with a focus on their portrayal of traditional gender roles and their
ability to create game spaces in which women can play with their identity. Chapter
3 explores the globalization of the otome game genre, paying attention to the internationalization
and localization of the games. This is especially a topic of interest because otome
games, as their name would indicate, are culturally coded and yet that has not deterred
the game genre’s success outside of Japan.
Type
Honors thesisDepartment
Asian and Middle Eastern StudiesPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19016Citation
Lopez, Caitlin (2019). Otome Games: Narrative, Gender and Globalization. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19016.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Undergraduate Honors Theses and Student papers