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The question is inherently flawed. It's making a massive generalisation about women as a group. If their individual tastes happen to vary, then yes, they can be accomodated, but essentially, when playing games, the habitual definition of the individual as "gamer" is considerably more important than their gendered identity as "female".
Since the male-orientated focus of gaming as an exercise is beginning to break down over time, eventually the question won't just be flawed but will be irrelevant. The idea that women want different things from their games than men is constructed within the social parameters of gaming, and as those begin to change, perceptions of taste will change too. Eve if currently there is a bias towards certain types of games, then this bias rests on foundations that are increasingly becoming outdated.
In conclusion: women are people. Women want what people want.
Since the male-orientated focus of gaming as an exercise is beginning to break down over time, eventually the question won't just be flawed but will be irrelevant. The idea that women want different things from their games than men is constructed within the social parameters of gaming, and as those begin to change, perceptions of taste will change too. Eve if currently there is a bias towards certain types of games, then this bias rests on foundations that are increasingly becoming outdated.
In conclusion: women are people. Women want what people want.
That's pretty much it. When they try and target women, it usually comes off as sexist because they aren't thinking about female gamers, they're just thinking about women in general. They make a few quick assumptions, like women like the color pink and horses and clothes, and try and make a game out of that. That's not what we are looking for. We don't want a game thats girl-only, we just want one that allows us to be included without making us uncomfortable. Most games do that just fine. Although it doesn't bother me personally as much however, I know a lot of women who hate the fact that armor on a female character is often a bikini while on a male character it is a full suit. That's just not practical. It's little things like that which get annoying. It's hard to feel like a badass when you're worried your character is going to fall out of her nipple tassles.HardRockSamurai said:
(some exaggeration may have been employed, but sadly not as much as you might think).
This, mostly.... there are women that are the exception to the rule, but most women do not like hardcore violence and that excludes them from most of the heavy hitting titles out there. My girlfriend likes Mario, Rock Band, Boom Blox and the like, but she gets bored easily when I throw on Borderlands, Dragon Age or Gears....Kollega said:
Edit: Gone Gonzo!
For consideration: The games that I've really enjoyed so far are the Heroes of Might and Magic line, Rise of Nations, EQ, WoW, SWG, LOTRO, Oblivion, Dragon Age, King's Bounty the Legend, and Wild Arms 1&2. So basically turn based strategy, real time strategy, MMO's, and RPG's. Strategy games are safely gender neutral, MMO's provide social interaction that I like, and RPG's bring strong story lines. I personally could never get into FPS games that much and the guitar hero/rock band stuff is kind of a joke to me (though very successful). So yeah, most of you are on track in what girls like in games. I feel like I've repeated this point a hundred times so far in other threads, but really the only thing I want is the ability to pick a female character. With the exception of king's bounty and the wild arms games, I usually don't play games if I can't play a girl. Which is irrational, I know, but it's true. I like the character customization bit a lot because I like to feel more immersed in the game. I come up with a mini story in my head for her background, and I just can't connect with playing a lead guy that well. Plus, it makes me kind of uncomfortable to play a guy and have a bunch of NPC women throwing themselves at me (cough WITCHER cough).
I like the same thing as any gamer...a good game with a good story. If the characters are well written, I don't care what sex they are. I'd appreciate it if less games objectified women and focused 30% of their budget on boob physics, but whatever. I don't have to play those games, and typically don't.
I've never heard of all of these gamers who are female complaining nobody is making -games- for them. There's a difference between 'can I have a shooter without the sexism, crap female characters, etc', and 'I need an entirely new genre, to reflect my femininity, because these nasty violent games simply make me feel faint!'
Though, if we simply must generalise based on anecdotes, I'll chime in. The gamer friends I have who are girls tend to want games with strong narratives that make sense.
Actually, the gamer friends I have who are guys want the same thing too. I'm bad at this.
Though, if we simply must generalise based on anecdotes, I'll chime in. The gamer friends I have who are girls tend to want games with strong narratives that make sense.
Actually, the gamer friends I have who are guys want the same thing too. I'm bad at this.
I don't think it's the games that girls aren't interested in, it's just that most girls would rather spend time doing other things. I think there's this massive misconception that all girls are just itching to find a video game that they want to play. My girlfriends aren't interested in gaming in the slightest and they wouldn't give a flying fuck about any game that came out, even if it was geared specifically to their interests.
I think girls are under-represented in the video gaming world for a reason: the vast majority just aren't interested.
I think girls are under-represented in the video gaming world for a reason: the vast majority just aren't interested.
And why is that? It can't be genetic, videogame liking isn't an evolutionary trait. So what's the deal?JanatUrlich said:
I think it's most likely the difference in mentality. It's true to say that girls and boys typically aren't into the same things. There are obviously lots of exceptions such as myself, but I think that the thought of investing copious amounts of time in what they see as pointless endeavors just isn't attractive to a lot of girls. I've found that other girls will sit for an hour or two and happily play a video game with friends, but as soon as the friends leave, they will stop. Therefore, it could also be a social thing.Serenegoose said:
Plus there's the whole content of video games. Girls are less likely to be interested in killing people and racing cars than boys are, but there aren't many alternatives that wouldn't just be condescending for girls. Lets face it, most games geared towards a female audience are just fucking patronising. I think girls just don't care enough about whatever merits you can gain from gaming.
Hard thing to generalize. But, I've only met one girl player online, and she was playing on her brother's account. Maybe you prefer to stay quiet, lest you get unwanted sexist nerdy attention. I dunno.
I am quoting this from the linked video below by the way, "just because girls are being targeted does not mean they feel welcome" its been such a boys club for so long that just saying "LOOK LOOK ITS PINK" isn't going to make anybody feel more at home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZVZRsy8N8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZVZRsy8N8
What about Sims games? They earn A LOT of money and girls love those games (well, girls that i know). I know girls who like Spore, World of Goo and stuff like that.It seems to me that they want to be in control, they want the customizing options, they want they're games to be easy and uplifting.scifidownbeat said:
Of course they are not all like that and i meet a lot of girls playing Zombie Panic: Source. Some of them are rather good players.
I don't want to look like some kind of fool, but my guess would be that 10 % of female gamers want action packed entertainment (just like males) while other 90 % of female gamers want something relaxing, easy to play and positive.
Some girls are like guys in that they know what they like when they play it. I noticed that girls tend to like relatively simple games and any game with a lot of customization.
I don't really know what "girl gamers" are supposed to want. I personally like a lot of the games aimed at men, though I tend to spend more time customising things.
Sometimes I want cute and cuddly things, sometimes I want evisceration or sneaking about stealing things, it depends. I never like half assed attempts at appealing to my demographic though.
Sometimes I want cute and cuddly things, sometimes I want evisceration or sneaking about stealing things, it depends. I never like half assed attempts at appealing to my demographic though.
