ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the case of women's games in Korea and looks specifically at Cheritz's games and marketing practices. The game's only saving grace in terms of female representation is in the form of Jaehee, the game's only "romanceable" female character. In using the mobile platform, Cheritz borrows slightly from its other mobile otome game companies in the ways in which many parts of the game are made available via separate purchases. In many ways, Mystic Messenger's male romances are very similar to the romances in Cheritz' games. Gameplay for these romances all involve a certain amount of emotional labor, since all the male characters have their own issues and insecurities that the player will have to assuage. Companies figure significantly in the way women are represented in games, how female gamers are constructed as audiences, and how game communities are created for women online.
