Girls In The Game Chair

The site The Game Chair, which does interesting experiential reviews of game titles, has up an editorial from new reviewer Maggie. She once again brings up the oft-discussed topic of women in gaming, and tries to throw some new light on the subject. From the article: "I always bristle a bit at the idea of creating a game that 'appeals to women.' After all, no one game appeals to all people - so why in the world would one game appeal to all women gamers? Each of us is looking for different things in a game, regardless of sex. I don't play first person shooters because the movement of the camera makes me feel nauseous - not because I'm a girl."

Comments

Hrmm

[NanoGator]

" Each of us is looking for different things in a game, regardless of sex."

Duh. I have empirical data that says gaming and sex are mutually exclusive.

The problem

[superpulpsicle]

The big problem with discussing women in video game is the word "Sex". Why can't this topic be discussed using the word "Gender". That's where the big problem start or that's where the problem is.

Re:The problem

[Meh]

Because nouns have gender, people have sex

Re:The problem

[Jacius]

In some circles there is considered to be a significant distinction between gender and sex. While sex is always based on biology/anatomy (chromosomes, genitalia, etc.), gender is increasingly being considered more related to mentality/society (although historically, it has been just a synonym for sex). While a person may be anatomically a man (for example), they may have mental tendencies which are more commonly associated with women. (Some have hypothesized that this dichotomy between a person's sex and gender at least partially explains homosexuality, trans-sexualism, etc.)

In the case of games, the most likely choice of 'sex' or 'gender' to describe what game developers are targetting is indeed gender. GTA is targetting a 'masculine' gender (aggression, destroying your foes, etc. are considered masculine), but there are men who don't enjoy that type of game, as well as women who do enjoy it. As long as someone enjoys the game, it doesn't matter what sex they are.

On the other hand, a game which (somehow...) required the use or presence of only one sex of genitalia would be clearly targetted at a sex (not a gender), since members of the other sex would be unable to play, regardless of whether they think the game is interesting. (I'll leave the details of this amazing game to your imagination. But they probably already have it in Japan.)

By the way, I 'learned' all this gender crap in "English 106: Advanced Composition". I probably would have avoided it, but I was tricked by the course title: I thought it was going to be about writing, but it was actually just a secret code-word for Social Advocacy (i.e. being sensitive to those different from you, and pondering women's rights, gay rights, minority rights, etc.).

Re:Hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

One entry found for nauseous.
Main Entry: nauseous
Pronunciation: 'no-sh&s, 'no-zE-&s
Function: adjective
1 : causing nausea or disgust : NAUSEATING
2 : affected with nausea or disgust
- nauseously adverb
- nauseousness noun
usage Those who insist that nauseous can properly be used only in sense 1 and that in sense 2 it is an error for nauseated are mistaken. Current evidence shows these facts: nauseous is most frequently used to mean physically affected with nausea, usually after a linking verb such as feel or become; figurative use is quite a bit less frequent. Use of nauseous in sense 1 is much more often figurative than literal, and this use appears to be losing ground to nauseating. Nauseated is used more widely than nauseous in sense 2.

evidence to the contrary

[NicKakaWoodstocK]

I know A LOT of gamers. I mean, I probably know more hardcore gamers than 'normal folk'. But I also know a lot of 'normal folk' who play computer games. The hardcore gamers (of both genders), play a lot of different games and aren't seperated by gender. For example, some of the girls play FPS, but some of the guys play The Sims too. On the other hand, the 'normal folk' gamers are more clearly split and defined. The regular gaming guys play mostly FPS or RTS and most of the regular girls play mostly 'the sims' and other pacificistic games.

Re:evidence to the contrary

[Neeze]

I agree. There should be no gaming lines as far as gender goes. We (female gamers) are not as rare as society seems to think we are and by creating a game or games aimed at a female audience would just be supporting an annoying stereotype.

I couldn't pass it up...

[paploo]

"I don't play first person shooters because the movement of the camera makes me feel nauseous - not because I'm a girl."

Okay, the inner sarcastic bastard (picture Dave Foley on News Radio) just has to say this: Maybe you just feel nauseous playing FPS games *because* you're a girl?

Okay, I'm done--mod me down please. I'm gonna go back to being a responsible adult now. I just couldn't pass a set-up like that. :)

Re:I couldn't pass it up...

[lordperditor]

I have to confess I thought the very same thing. And to all the blokes who say "ahhh but I feel nauseous when I play FPS games to!" well I hate to break it to you but your big girls too. Mwuahahahahaa

Re:I couldn't pass it up...

[geminidomino]

You were joking, but that seems to be my experience. Both my current GF and the two of my past who would actually play video games had the same "seasickness" issue with any 3d-style game. Never had any of my gamer buddies hork on my couch tho.

One of the exes now loves CRPGs, and the other puzzlers like Myst.

Games for Girls

[teratogenicbenzene]

Actively targeting Girls/Women as a demographic for computer games is sort of barking up the wrong tree.

It reminds me of a move made by the Lionel toy train company back in the sixties. They made a train set where the locomotive and cars were molded in pastel colored plastics. They overlooked the possibility that the type of girl who would play with model trains probably didn't want them in exceptionally unrealistic pastel shades.

As a husband to a wife addicted to both Halos and PoP, I can say that there are plenty of women attracted to video games for the same reason your average slashdotter is.
(Or maybe I just got really really lucky...yeah, that's it).

In Summary

[Flyboy Connor]

Summary of the article:

To sell games, make good games, do not try to invent a game that appeals to an arbitrarily construed focus group.

But I assume, to be a columnist, you have to write at least 500 words per article.

Re:Modded Sexist but...

[kaellinn18]

When I first started playing Wolfenstein 3D when I was about 12, I experienced this problem as well. However, the game was so cool at that time that I just didn't care. I eventually grew out of it. Now, Wolfenstein 3D is a lot less detailed than some of the current 3D games. I imagine that just learning to play first person shooters with the latest and greatest would probably cause more serious nausea than Wolf 3D did. Maybe they should start from some older games and work their way up to the current stock?

Re:Modded Sexist but...

[porcupine8]

perhaps you should be re-evaluating your presence in the group.

So I should get a sex change because I don't have the exact same opinions as all other women???