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Gender Inclusive Game Design Reviewed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the girl-gamers-get-their-due dept.

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."

14 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by GregThePaladin · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Why market a game to one particular gender? Games like Beyond Good and Evil and The Sims seem like they're great for either sex, and both seem to be doing well.

    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.

    1. Re:Well... by BenSnyder · · Score: 3, Informative

      If you'll RTFA (ahem) you'll see that the book really refers to gender inclusive games, not 'girl games'. The question you ask is one the book attempts to answer with a remedy.

    2. Re:Well... by justMichael · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You seem to have both missed the point and hit it on the head in the same post.

      The book is not about developing games marketed towards women, but more about developing games that don't drive them away.

  2. Re:Why worry about it at all? by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.
  3. Games are nowhere near movies in size by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What sloppy journalism. Video game box sales are larger than movie ticket sales, IN THE US. Apples and oranges comparison. The DVD/VHS purchase and rental business is FAR larger, by itself, than the games business. If you're going to compare boxes sold/rented, movies win. If you're going to compare on-site viewings/playing then compare arcades with movie theatres. Again, movies dominate by a huge margin.

  4. Where do you work? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    From the write-up:
    I am on the beta test teams for a couple big Mac development/porting houses.


    Big Mac development ... you mean, McDonalds?

    Maybe you can ask that clown for help.

  5. Gender bias in gaming by angst_ridden_hipster · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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
  6. Doom 3 will have this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "You have encountered a level 5 Demon. Press A to attack. Press R to restyle it's hair. Press S to invite it to go shopping with you."

    1. Re:Doom 3 will have this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      As opposed to the current state of things?

      "You have encountered a level 7 Succubus. Press A to attack. Press F to post to a dozen online gaming forums looking for a code to make the succubus naked. Press M to enable the one-handed gameplay mode for 30 seconds. Press C to solicit cybersex from the succubus."

  7. More Female Avatars! by Saige · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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."
    1. Re:More Female Avatars! by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Funny

      "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."

      To be fair, all the guys are muscular, tanned, and athletic. At least your side gets the fat chick.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:More Female Avatars! by NanoGator · · Score: 2

      "Women don't choose based on the "I wanna do that character" feeling. And besides, it doesn't seem like a huge request just to have some realistic choices for avatars."

      No, it really isn't an unreasonable request. Then again, what's the BFD?

      "And what the fuck is this supposed to mean? We don't want to choose the blond sex-kitten avatar so our only other choice is a fat female character? This is just plain insulting."

      It's a joke, and obviously you missed the point of it.

      Lighten up. If you're going to get that mad over a joke (that was actually at male's expense btw)then don't expect anybody to take your feelings seriously.

      I'm a 3D artist. I may one day be involved in a game where I have to design 3d avatars. Do you want me to understand your PoV or do you want me to go "wow, there are women out there that go off on the pettiest things"? Give me a little credit, will ya?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  8. Hasn't this been done? by El · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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

  9. An answer to your question: by LordZardoz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "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