ABSTRACT
This chapter brings together the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze gaming theories on projective identity and avatar to analyse gender and representations in the Deus Ex series of games, which portray a cyberpunk future in which players can upgrade their characters with bodily “augmentations.” The chapter further develops the concept of becoming-gynoid discussed in earlier chapters, a concept that builds on Deleuze’s notion of “becoming-woman,” which describes how Woman’s being in the world transforms the world around her in potentially emancipatory ways. Becoming-gynoid relates to how the figure of the female cyborg is even more potentially subversive and transformative because she challenges established notions of femaleness and gender identity. By interacting with the video game, players form a kind of cyborg relationship with the game interface. Playing as a cyborg in a game in which one controls a cyborg avatar produces opportunities for the player to experiment with new projective identities. Through the process of projection, the player develops new identities through the experience of playing the game through the avatar. The chapter discusses how this relates to the post-human process of becoming-gynoid: the experience of playing a video game potentially effects one’s life outside, transforming it in the same way that the figure of the gynoid alters the world by challenging established structures.
