Author ORCID Identifier

Cristo León, Ph.D.
ORCID iD icon 0000-0002-0930-0179

Angela Arroyo, MS
ORCID iD icon 0009-0007-7960-3128

James Lipuma, Ph.D.
ORCID iD icon 0000-0002-9778-3843

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Document Type

Article

Description

This paper explores how emotion, gameplay context, and social norms shape role choice in both digital and institutional systems. Using Overwatch as a case study, it examines gendered experiences of physiological excitement and decision-making during play. Women often describe heightened emotional engagement where victory represents both personal achievement and resistance to cultural expectations. Such emotions influence situational choices, including whether to play as a Tank, DPS, or Support, and which hero to select based on perceived risk or visibility. Drawing on feminist game studies and transdisciplinary communication, the authors argue that role preference is determined not only by game mechanics but also by cultural scripts. Comparisons with Apex Legends show how design encodes gender differently across franchises. In Overwatch, the historical coding of Tanks as masculine and Healers as feminine reinforces stereotypes even as players subvert them. Building on Donna Haraway's concept of the cyborg, the woman-Tank represents a hybrid identity that is both empowered and constrained by visibility and performance. Poor performance invites criticism, while success often goes unacknowledged. By situating Overwatch within broader systems of inequity, this study shows how emotion, design, and norms interact to reproduce or challenge bias, positioning games as laboratories for systemic equity and cultural transformation.

Publication/Submission Date

12-19-2025

Keywords

gender; emotion; feminist game studies; role choice; cyborg identity; playstyles; transdisciplinary communication

Disciplines

Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Aknowledgements
Special thanks to the blind reviewers, whomever you may be, for your notes and observations that improved the final version. The authors also wish to thank students Maximus Rafla and Keta Williams, whose perspectives during the development of this study provided valuable insights into the experiential and emotional dimensions of play and participation. Finally, sincere appreciation is extended to Angel Cazares for introducing the authors as members of the 2025 HSI BotB Advisory Board; without this introduction, the collaborative process that led to this work would not have begun.
Nonblind Peer-Reviewer
Dr. Ekaterini Nikolarea, University of the Aegean, Greece. Her insightful presentation and critical observations substantially enriched the conceptual depth and reflective scope of this paper, clarifying the systemic and affective dimensions of equity discussed throughout.
Disclosure statement
No conflict of interest pertains to the research presented above.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Playing by Feel: Gender, Emotion, and Social Norms in Overwatch Role Choice

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