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A tournament in Finland for the competitive digital card game Hearthstone raised attention last week when the invitation called for male players only.

A tournament in Finland for the competitive digital card game Hearthstone raised attention last week when the invitation called for male players only. Ina Fassbender /Reuters /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Ina Fassbender /Reuters /Landov

Gaming

Yearning To Be A 'True Sport,' E-Sports Group Changes Gender Rules

Backlash prompted an e-sports organization to pull an about-face last week after promoting a competition exclusively for male players, but the group's larger ambition may have been as much motivation.

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The video game BioShock Infinite took players to an alternate U.S. and a story filled with philosophy and a rich narrative — but also a lot of violence.

The video game BioShock Infinite took players to an alternate U.S. and a story filled with philosophy and a rich narrative — but also a lot of violence. AP Photo/2K Games/Irrational Games hide caption

itoggle caption AP Photo/2K Games/Irrational Games

Gaming

Modern Video Games Go Beyond 'Jumping On Blocks'

The creative director for BioShock Infinite, one of 2013's biggest video games, says as technology improves, so does the ability for games to tell complex stories with rich narrative structures.

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Actress and gamer Aisha Tyler hosted game developer Ubisoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The company was recently criticized for not animating female assassins in one of its new games.

Actress and gamer Aisha Tyler hosted game developer Ubisoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The company was recently criticized for not animating female assassins in one of its new games. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Lucy Nicholson/Reuters/Landov

The Industry

Critics Renew Calls For More Diverse Video Game Characters

Women make up a significant proportion of dedicated gamers, but they were hardly represented on stage and in games previewed at a big game industry trade event in Los Angeles.

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Nathan Drake (foreground) is the lead protagonist of the Uncharted series of games for the Sony PS3. His character is just one in a long line of games where the dominant figure is a white male action hero.

Nathan Drake (foreground) is the lead protagonist of the Uncharted series of games for the Sony PS3. His character is just one in a long line of games where the dominant figure is a white male action hero. AP/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. hide caption

itoggle caption AP/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Gaming

Gaming While Male: A 'Privilege' Few Men Recognize

Sexual harassment in the gaming community ranges from online taunts to phone calls and rape threats. Fighting misogyny is everyone's responsibility, says one gamer, but not everybody sees the problem.

People gather to play Ingress in Austin, Texas. The video game has been downloaded 2 million times and is popular in the U.S. and Europe.

People gather to play Ingress in Austin, Texas. The video game has been downloaded 2 million times and is popular in the U.S. and Europe. Niantic Labs hide caption

itoggle caption Niantic Labs

Gaming

A Video Game Meant To Take Us Back To The Physical World

Ingress, an innovative game from a Google startup, is designed to get its players more engaged with each other. And as the game evolves, the writers respond to actions taken by players.

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Marcus Ingvarsson (right) tests out the PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset Project Morpheus in a demo area at the Game Developers Conference 2014 in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Marcus Ingvarsson (right) tests out the PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset Project Morpheus in a demo area at the Game Developers Conference 2014 in San Francisco on Wednesday. Jeff Chiu/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Jeff Chiu/AP

Gaming

Sony Steps Into Virtual Reality With 'Project Morpheus'

At the annual Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, Sony announced a project that will aim to add virtual reality to its PlayStation 4 console.

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In Banished, you build gentle hamlets of wooden and stone houses. That's a contrast to the bustling urban centers of many city-building sim games, but the pace is no less hectic.

In Banished, you build gentle hamlets of wooden and stone houses. That's a contrast to the bustling urban centers of many city-building sim games, but the pace is no less hectic. ShiningRockSoftware hide caption

itoggle caption ShiningRockSoftware

Gaming

Banished Is Like SimCity Without The City (But With Cholera)

Banished is a new indie city-builder game, but instead of raising taxes and managing the affairs of a metropolis, the focus is on survival in the harsh times of a medieval era with limited resources.

Jason Munkel and his father stream their Call of Duty games online every night. In the past year, they've gained more than 120,000 followers.

Jason Munkel and his father stream their Call of Duty games online every night. In the past year, they've gained more than 120,000 followers. Twitch/Activision hide caption

itoggle caption Twitch/Activision

The Industry

A Father Plays Call Of Duty With His Son, Watched By Thousands

Jason Munkel introduced his father to the game a year ago, and their channel on the streaming site Twitch has grown dramatically. Twitch has also grown, and with millions watching games every month.