{"id":{"repo_id":"houston","oai_identifier":"oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/19990"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/houston/oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/19990","repository":{"repo_id":"houston","name":"University of Houston","base_url":"https://uh-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Akane Kurashiki and the Humanization of Female Characters In Video Games","abstract":"The popularity of video games continues to expand within both broader popular culture and academic research. Similar to the films and television shows before it, the medium has the ability to shape a player’s perceptions of the world around them, particularly with regards to gender. How women are framed within the narratives they center in, especially those who transgress, provides the opportunity to either subvert or uphold hegemonic understandings of gender roles. Scholarly research into the topic consistently highlights the presentation of women in video games as sexualized objects whose purpose is to serve as a reward or an obstacle for the male protagonist via their character designs or roles within the narrative. In this analysis, I wished to further the discussion surrounding female characters in video games, specifically the ways in which games can humanize their female heroines. To do so, I conducted both a qualitative content analysis and an auto-ethnographic exploration into Akane Kurashiki, the lead female heroine from the game 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (999). The results underscored how both ludic and narrative elements, such as visuals, diction, multiple routes, and female narration, humanize Akane by framing her as a complex female character who possesses agency, motivations, and (moral) ambiguity.","abstract_html":"The popularity of video games continues to expand within both broader popular culture and academic research. Similar to the films and television shows before it, the medium has the ability to shape a player’s perceptions of the world around them, particularly with regards to gender. How women are framed within the narratives they center in, especially those who transgress, provides the opportunity to either subvert or uphold hegemonic understandings of gender roles. Scholarly research into the topic consistently highlights the presentation of women in video games as sexualized objects whose purpose is to serve as a reward or an obstacle for the male protagonist via their character designs or roles within the narrative. In this analysis, I wished to further the discussion surrounding female characters in video games, specifically the ways in which games can humanize their female heroines. To do so, I conducted both a qualitative content analysis and an auto-ethnographic exploration into Akane Kurashiki, the lead female heroine from the game 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (999). The results underscored how both ludic and narrative elements, such as visuals, diction, multiple routes, and female narration, humanize Akane by framing her as a complex female character who possesses agency, motivations, and (moral) ambiguity.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Moujaes, Maya Ruba 1998-"],"institution":"University of Houston","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Journalism and Mass Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Olson, Beth","Yamasaki, Jill"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Gheni Platenburg"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05","date_published":"2025-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:32Z","subjects":["Communication"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19990","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Olson, Beth","Yamasaki, Jill"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Gheni Platenburg"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Moujaes, Maya Ruba 1998-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-30T17:14:09Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Journalism and Mass Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Houston"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19990"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The popularity of video games continues to expand within both broader popular culture and academic research. Similar to the films and television shows before it, the medium has the ability to shape a player’s perceptions of the world around them, particularly with regards to gender. How women are framed within the narratives they center in, especially those who transgress, provides the opportunity to either subvert or uphold hegemonic understandings of gender roles. Scholarly research into the topic consistently highlights the presentation of women in video games as sexualized objects whose purpose is to serve as a reward or an obstacle for the male protagonist via their character designs or roles within the narrative. In this analysis, I wished to further the discussion surrounding female characters in video games, specifically the ways in which games can humanize their female heroines. To do so, I conducted both a qualitative content analysis and an auto-ethnographic exploration into Akane Kurashiki, the lead female heroine from the game 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (999). The results underscored how both ludic and narrative elements, such as visuals, diction, multiple routes, and female narration, humanize Akane by framing her as a complex female character who possesses agency, motivations, and (moral) ambiguity."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Akane Kurashiki and the Humanization of Female Characters In Video Games"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Olson, Beth","Yamasaki, Jill"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Gheni Platenburg"],"dc:creator":["Moujaes, Maya Ruba 1998-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-30T17:14:09Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["The popularity of video games continues to expand within both broader popular culture and academic research. Similar to the films and television shows before it, the medium has the ability to shape a player’s perceptions of the world around them, particularly with regards to gender. How women are framed within the narratives they center in, especially those who transgress, provides the opportunity to either subvert or uphold hegemonic understandings of gender roles. Scholarly research into the topic consistently highlights the presentation of women in video games as sexualized objects whose purpose is to serve as a reward or an obstacle for the male protagonist via their character designs or roles within the narrative. In this analysis, I wished to further the discussion surrounding female characters in video games, specifically the ways in which games can humanize their female heroines. To do so, I conducted both a qualitative content analysis and an auto-ethnographic exploration into Akane Kurashiki, the lead female heroine from the game 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (999). The results underscored how both ludic and narrative elements, such as visuals, diction, multiple routes, and female narration, humanize Akane by framing her as a complex female character who possesses agency, motivations, and (moral) ambiguity."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19990"],"dc:language.iso":["English"],"dc:subject":["Communication"],"dc:title":["Akane Kurashiki and the Humanization of Female Characters In Video Games"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Journalism and Mass Communication"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Houston"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:32Z"}