Jenova's post
"Game Makers Aren't Chasing Women"
asks a good question: what do girls want from games? i don't know myself really. i've been noticing pre-pubescent children in parks and school yards lately (with a new perspective so that i can try and have new insights into 'gaming') and it is the case that more often than not, the boys and the girls play seperately from one another - a kind of voluntary segragation. boys play rougher generally and take control of the ball or whatever else is the main object of power within the game. they enjoy it more. girls seem happier giving it up, not having to take the heat involved with the procurement of power (which of course lasts a fleeting moment anyway).
so, what do little girls, teenage girls, young women and mature woman enjoy?
surely, there are girls and women who enjoy the same thrills as gamer boys and men, this is true.
but for the millions of other girls, what can we offer them? do girls want to escape reality? do they enjoy power struggles? do they enjoy killing? do they enjoy driving cars fast? speaking personally, these activities bore me - sometimes i wish they didn't, it'd be fun to have fun, but it's not the case.
i think that games that foster collaboration can be intriguing - girls grow up in this world struggling to be equals to boys instead of realizing that they can be different because there is basically only one model of societal success - other possible models just aren't accepted as legitimate. it's hard and not fun trying to play someone else's game - you'll probably always lose.
i left yesterday’s 511 forum curious about
There - i think I’ll check it out - it’s true that TSO (The Sims Online) attracted "large" numbers of women.
Comments
on a related note, I think, do you know the women in technology blog: http://www.misbehaving.net/
Posted by: will | October 30, 2003 3:40 PM
i knew of it but seldom looked at it. now i will more. thanks!
Posted by: susana | October 30, 2003 5:25 PM
"There is basically only one model of societal success - other possible models just aren't accepted as legitimate. it's hard and not fun trying to play someone else's game - you'll always be behind." from susana
Personally, as a male player, I also suffer from some games by the same reason. For example, I'm not a driving master. Whatever efforts I made, I could not become the best driver while some other guys can easily achieve that. I told myself, it's not my type of game.
But still I find many types of game that fits me. There must be many type undiscovered that fits for female players.
Posted by: Jenova | October 31, 2003 11:53 AM
I think it's generally understood that women tend to be attracted to more "thinking" games - ones that involve, or are puzzles, or games involving a lot of strategy more than shooting or racing. This is even true on the playground - coming from a background in elementary school education, girls tend to strategize more, even in the most basic games of tag. Of course,the playground was used more for gossiping and creating/ending friendships by the girls. Always, there are exceptions to these generalizations.
Brainstorming a bit here, a good equalizing game was always red light/green light - maybe because it involves trickery and physical prowess that both sexes enjoy.
What I find now is that my female friends who grew up with no boys in the household who had a computer or game system don't even consider playing video games for recreation. This is where I see the great divide - after a certain age, if you haven't already started playing video games, I don't think you are very likely to suddenly get into them. And with our generation, video games = boy toys and dolls = girl toys. That's changing more now, which I think will greatly change the demographic of the gaming audience in a decade or so.
Posted by: kellee | November 3, 2003 5:16 PM