Designing for Feminism

From the first moment when Nick Day thought of our game it has had a feminist-driven perspective.  The game started out as a "save the knights from the dragon" game.  A direct reversal of the usual dragon fighting scenario.  It later drew inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords.  Cooperation and teamwork we decided would be core to our message.

We have been working with the Women's Center on campus to double-check if our message is clear and in line with feminism.  Their input has really helped us stay focused on what our game should say.

Another decision that was made early on was that we should avoid combat, and instead focus on problem-solving.  To further connect with our theme of feminism by showing that violence is not the solution to problems.  So we have set up a system that focuses on the puzzle-solving of Zelda and not the swashbuckling.  This has led to the game being further immersed in cooperation because all the princesses will be needed to get through the levels.

We also decided to publish our level editor as a way to say to our players: "You are welcome to not only play our game, but you can make games too."  They will be able to try out their own level ideas and set up challenges for them and their friends.  The last element we decided on had to do with our final enemy.

The concept is still up in the air, but whether we have a dark lord or a dragon as our "big bad" we will not defeat them through violence.  After finding ways to avoid their attacks or turn them against the "big bad" the princesses will be able to talk things out with the enemy and come to a aggrement where everyone is happy, they will also be able to see why the "big bad" did the things they did and understand their viewpoint.

All in all the game will show a team of empowered individuals deciding to save the kingdom themselves, through wits and compassion.