Female Gamers

[jcompton]

For example, consider the "choose your own adventure" stories. There really doesn't tend to be a lot to them, and I'd argue that this is because they tend to be completely plot driven and lacking in characterization.

 

Well, see, that's the problem.

 

A lot of early 80s interactive adventures used a nameless, faceless, sexless protagonist. Many/most CYOA books and something like 90% of Infocom games did.

 

So then there's a cry for characterization of the protagonist.

 

And then they gave you some.

 

And then some people cry "But it's not meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

 

And then they say "You know what? I'm gonna go make games for those people standing over there."

 

Unfortunately, there's a lot of "give them an inch and they'll demand a mile" risk with protagonist characterization. As soon as you get past the formless blob, you start getting people who are upset that they're too old, or too young, or doesn't have the right sex parts, or the right hair color, and on and on. And so you see why it becomes so tempting to just make games for the legions of people who are happy playing Cigar-Chomping Space Marine without worrying too much about whether or not that space marine really reflects their own moral code, psychological makeup, and jawline.

[theacefes]

Estimated release time? Year at least?

 

Since I'm so bad at estimating how long it's going to take I'm tempted to say "before I die" but the way I've felt the past week and a half, I should probably bite my tongue.

 

Now accepting slave labor applications.

 

(on topic: I join with Ace in being uneasy about this notion that the gender of the protagonist is somehow directly related to the quality of the experience delivered by the game. I continue to point this out even though everybody's younger than the game now and hasn't played it and doesn't care, but it never bothered me in the slightest that three of the four characters in Zak McCracken were female. Although I guess you could just dismiss me by saying my male ego was satisfied by the fact that the man got top billing.)

 

I don't know...I mean, look at how the Hello Kitty games did.

[BigRob]

It generally never bothers men to play as females, or so they say. I wonder if they would think differently, if 90% of the games with pre-defined protagonists were females, and every male character in them looked like a wide-shouldered Adonis wearing a pair of tight leather pants.

 

The door does swing both ways somewhat in this. Major NPC males who aren't fulfilling some specific character role (huge oaf, rat-like thief, etc) do tend to be of the pretty-boy hunk stripe, though I will admit that the tight leather pants thing is conspicuous by its absence.

 

Female characters do need more attention to role playing opportunities in game, though there are some good ones out there (Vampire: Bloodlines for example). Bioware's still pretty good for making a good gender neutral game, but finding decent RPGs with any real options is getting harder.

[Smoketest]

There are quite a few adventure games (TLJ & Dreamfall, Syberia I & II, Mysterious Island) that feature female protagonists, and they're refreshing after years of playing stereotypical male protagonists.

 

World of Warcraft has gender-neutral quests and relies on players to generate any gender-specific content (thus the "dynamic content" warning on the box cover). Also each race provides male and female options. Quite a few guys play female characters (and a few gals play males), but with 10 million "subscribers" there is a statistically large percentage of female players spread across the many servers, and I'm honored to know a few of them (and their moms, aunts, daughters and friends).

 

I'll never abandon singleplayer games though, and lately I've been playing Titan Quest, which has gender-neutral quests and male/female protagonist choices. Hopefully Dragon Age is more female-friendly.

[Caelellowynn]

I found this here to be an interesting article which I think relates somewhat to this topic. Granted it doesn't seem to take into account, among other things, the competition between Sony and Microsoft for the next-gen format standard of Blu-ray or HD DVD, but I do not think that really takes away from the author's main point.

 

I think female gamers are a largely untapped market. Bioware, among the best around to me, still sells the audience short. Anomen, Carth, Disciple, Atton, and even Kaiden. They have always struck me as not only lame romance options, but also strikingly similar in general personality construct. I would likely play out the female romance if they actually offered me someone I didn't have such a hard time buying as person my character would be interested in. Now, being male, I could be completely off base about that, maybe they really are believable romances (all the more important as that ends up being the only option).

 

More women in developmental roles. That's what I would like to see. Games couldn't help but get better, to my mind, if that 88.5% figure from the article dropped. I suppose its possible the male dominated industry could become more openminded on its own and simply start producing more female inclusive games.

Might be quicker the other way though.

 

Note: I left Liara of Mass Effect out it, she's an alien so no fair.

[Kulyok]

I am not sure I want to be thought of as a "female player", or worse, "female modder/female writer". Or, rather, I can't help if people do think so, but it's their problem.

 

Do people play games, or write games, with "these bits"? No, they use their eyes, their hands and (sometimes) their brains.

 

I'm generalizing awfully, I know, but in many cases where I've heard "They focus primarily on male 16-to-25-year-olds!", it was what I'd call bad writing, not sexual discrimination.

 

Yes, there is a certain preference - just like there're still certain patriarchal traditions and preferences here in Russia, or in the golden billion. It is there, but I have hope it is on the wane, both in the gaming world and in other areas. It will get better.

[theacefes]

I am not sure I want to be thought of as a "female player", or worse, "female modder/female writer". Or, rather, I can't help if people do think so, but it's their problem.

 

Do people play games, or write games, with "these bits"? No, they use their eyes, their hands and (sometimes) their brains.

 

I'm generalizing awfully, I know, but in many cases where I've heard "They focus primarily on male 16-to-25-year-olds!", it was what I'd call bad writing, not sexual discrimination.

 

Yes, there is a certain preference - just like there're still certain patriarchal traditions and preferences here in Russia, or in the golden billion. It is there, but I have hope it is on the wane, both in the gaming world and in other areas. It will get better.

 

Yeah, seriously. I don't get people PMing me (yet) about "So, what's it like being a female modder?"

 

Although if I did, I'd probably respond with, "It's all right...there's some serious side effects though, such as dry mouth and stomach bleeding. People who have liver problems or are pregnant should not mod. Ask your doctor if modding is right for you."

[Sephira]

It's funny. For years I played so many RPGs and the like featuring only male protagonists because, well . . . that was what was available. But it never really bothered me. I mean, it's not like the game is telling me I have to check my boobs at the door before I'm allowed to play. It doesn't un-woman me in any way, and I rarely feel as though the experience is lessened because of it.

 

Curiously, the opposite is true for me with a lot of mods, especially for NWN. Because a lot of CRPGs do have that customisability (which is a word now), I'm always a little disappointed whenever someone doesn't include that into their creation. (In the case of NWN, come on, it's a damn <man/woman> gender check, people!)

 

I guess I've always thought that if other female gamers are so disappointed at the lack of boob-friendly games out there, then they'd make their own. I know it sounds like one of those things that needs a "That's easy for you to SAY" response, but I think it's at least a little true. I don't know a lot of male gamers out there that would turn their noses up at a well-made game just because it features a female protagonist only.

 

My aunt used to complain at the lack of female content for some games. Seriously, what IS that? Female content? What makes a game more female-friendly these days? NPC men in fishnet stockings? A PMS limit break? I think there's too much emphasis put on gender, and not enough on story. If you craft some masterful piece of storytelling that will keep me enthralled for hours, I don't give a damn if I have to play a three-legged dog. When I turn off the computer, it hasn't effected me any.

 

I still look good in heels.

 

(i just can't walk in 'em)

[jcompton]

Yeah, seriously. I don't get people PMing me (yet) about "So, what's it like being a female modder?"

 

I would think that's at least partly because if BG2 modders being female isn't the rule rather than the exception at this point, it's relatively close.

 

It's worth pointing out (statistically correlated or not) that the gender balance is a feature of the WeiDU Era.

[Gabrielle]

Yeah, seriously. I don't get people PMing me (yet) about "So, what's it like being a female modder?"

They do?

 

I still consider some games and comapnaies as sexist. Just look at the Witcher. A male lead, no choice of female gender. He gets to go whoring around with the women bowing down to his very presence. Like WTF? Why can't a female lead get to go whoring around with a stable of studs?

[Domi]

Well, I've just refused to cooperate on a module because it had a male only protagonist. (Despite the author's telling me just how much female content he wants... 'cause the male protagonist meets that hot chick and it's really her story, you know the drill.).

 

Thank you, but no thank you.

[Domi]

Heh, and just to suit this topic, I came accross one of those listings shows on TV dedicated to the top 'vixens' of the movies and all that of sci-fi-ish world. Guess which characters made it? Xena, Lora Croft, Charlie's Angels, Bonds' girls en masse, Cat and Wonder- women, with lonely Leia as the only character I actually don't consider an over-sexed bimbo. Neither Janeway, nor Trinity, nor Eowyn, nor Hermoine were on the list... oh, well.

[Caedwyr]

Yes, but would you consider Janeway, Trinity, Eowyn, or Hermoine as a 'vixen'? I know I wouldn't.

[Kulyok]

I guess, but still, not including Delenn and Ivanova anywhere ski-fi-ish is a serious offence.

[Raven_Song]

In the case of Xena you have to consider that a significant portion of her votes will have actually come from women, so don't be too hard on the poor lass ...

 

I recently came across this

 

http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.html?id=2223

 

Top 75 sci-fi heroines ... I won't give away whose top, but suffice to say she's been overlooked thus far.