One female game developer writes “IMHO any woman who participates in such a competition is doing a great injustice to both herself and the entire female populous. If we just sit by and let this kind of stuff continue then it will just happen over and over again and the people that orchestrate this will think it totally acceptable to continue to depict women in that manner - a sexual exploit.”
Here is what the contest requires:
"We're hunting for a dangerous sexy vixen with the goods to make us moan...We want you to prove you have the stuff but you don't have to bare it all to prove it".
Here is how the contest is described in the Rules:
The "Playboy.com/MySpace.com/IGN.com Cyber Search Sponsored by Kane and Lynch " ("Contest") is a photo submission contest which will be hosted via IGN.com and Playboy.com. The Contest submission period begins on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 and ends at 11:59 PM Pacific Time ("PT") on Sunday, October 21, 2007 ("Submission Period"). The Sponsor of this Contest is Eidos, Interactive, Ltd. ("Sponsor"). The administrator of the Contest is IGN Entertainment, Inc. ("Administrator"). Playboy.com will host a portion of the Contest.
In this excerpt from the contest rules the companies involved are listed. The contest rules go on to state some eye openers that have female developers, gamers and feminists mad as hell.
Each woman who enters this contest must be submissive to Playboy for eternity, and throughout the universe. If you enter the contest you are "owned", which is not something a real gamer would ever allow.
Where it says "All media now known or hereafter developed throughout the universe". By agreeing to this basically you grant Playboy, Eidos, and any affiliates the ownership and rights to yourself, it doesn't end at just the photos submitted. It is a good idea to get a lawyer to look over any contract that you may sign if you are interested in the entertainment business. Talent contracts are notoriously bad for the models that sign them without advice. Go carefully if you should choose to enter a contest like this. Once you do, you don't own anything that you submit.
“Judgment will be passed on looks alone, nothing about game skills are in the requirements. "JUDGING CRITERIA: Photo Submissions will be scored in six (6) categories. Each category is worth a maximum of five (5) points:"
- Overall: 5 pts
- Body: 5 pts
- Pose: 5 pts
- Photogenic: 5 pts
- Sensuality: 5 pts
- Face: 5 pts
The level of exploitation in this contest is above and beyond the IGN ads. The contest has been done in the most thoughtless, heavy handed, and patronizing manner possible and represents exploitation by definition.
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