Why #WomenAreTooHardToAnimate: Exploring gender and identity in communities of play

This thesis examines why gender is such a significant issue in the video game industry and communities of play, and produces the tensions that cumulated in Gamergate. Using Deleuze and Guattari's work, this thesis examines: how gender influences the content and production of video games; the affects that video games amplify, and how they can impact identity; and how these affects flow throughout communities of play. I argue that for some gamers, increased diversity of games, their producers, and players challenge their 'gamer' territory. Highly reliant on the gamer identity, they resist new experiences and affects, and turn to destruction.