Slashdot Mirror
Gender Inclusive Game Design Reviewed
BWJones writes "iDevGames has posted a book review on Gender Inclusive Game Design that should prove an interesting read not only for game design, but also for the sociological perspective. I've long wondered why the game design community has not paid more attention to gender issues given that the gaming industry has now eclipsed the movie industry in terms of overall sales. While I am not a gamer per se, I am on the beta test teams for a couple big Mac development/porting houses. I have wondered how some of these games would appeal to different demographics and what the gender demographics were. I am sure that given the financial motives, this data is available somewhere."
One thing I keep hearing from girls is that games like Barbie Horse Adventure suck. These people play The Sims, which dosen't seem marketed at any particular gender.
Iduno. When I handed my GBA with Golden Sun to my girlfriend's younger sister, every five minutes or so, she'd complain, "I told it my name is Sarah. Why the hell does it keep calling me a he?"
Personally, I could give a fuck what sex characters are if video game writing was about 4000x better. Maybe we outgrossed movies recently, but video games aren't exactly approaching the artistic merit of, say, 21 Grams. Games aren't even approaching the artistic merit of the best comic books. imnsho.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
So I wrote a puzzle game for the Palm Pilot. It involves simple geometry, spacial manipulation of tiles, and a consistent (if arbitrary) set of rules for scoring.
According to all the research, males are supposed to be "better" at spacial organization type operations. Whatever.
In any case, 90% of the people who register the software, write me email, or confess to addition are women. I have no explanation for this. I don't understand it. But more than one woman has said that the game "intrudes into her dreams," and becomes an obsession to the point where it's disturbing. I haven't had one man say either of those things.
I don't get it. But there it is.
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
www.fogbound.net
The review and book make a good point - that us women DO prefer to use female avatars when we're playing (exceptions for online play, where the harassment by the socially inept "a/s/l" types makes hiding the fact valuable). Yet so many games either don't give us the opportunity, having only a male character, or when they do choose, the choices, seem to be clearly made for 14 year-old boys, with women that are endowed as if they were full of silicon/saline.
Diablo II is a great example of what there could be - three female characters, none of them looking ridiculous. Or some of the Quake 3 characters.
It seems like adding such a choice couldn't really hurt the game in many situations, except for the FMV-loaded games - though even some of them could probably be done differently to allow that kind of freedom.
"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
I recall in the old Infocom game "Leather Godesses of Phobos", the first thing you did what decide which restroom to go pee in, which established your gender for the rest of the game. If you went into the ladies room, you got to rescue a hunky (but dimwitted) male later in the game...
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
"I've long wondered why the game design community has not paid more attention to gender issues given that the gaming industry has now eclipsed the movie industry in terms of overall sales."
Simple enough to answer. Game designers like to make games that they want to play. The team morale for a group of 22 - 30 year old programmers working on a barbie title is just slightly less enthusiastic then the guy who scrubs toilets for a living.
END COMMUNICATION