What games do women play?

[Exius Xavarus]

I played games with several female friends during high school and in my experience, they'll play just about anything, if just to try it. Most of them enjoyed Guitar Hero and Rockband the most.

...Except when they're playing with me because I dwarf their score so hard they feel like losers afterward. [sub][sub]Why can't we play games just to play them, anymore?[/sub][/sub]

Several of them quite enjoyed JRPGs, actually. We played Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss for hours on end.

That's just my experience, though.

 

[BreakfastMan]

From my experience with females who play games, it seems that most enjoy the same type of games that we enjoy, they just tend to favor games with female protagonists much more and "macho" games (i.e. Gears, GOW, COD, etc.) much less.

OT: What have I been playing lately? Well...

1) Bioshock: Infinite
2) Tomb Raider
3) No More Heroes 2/Aliens Versus Predator 2 (played both for about the same amount of time, and don't know which I have played more recently).

What is most important for me in a game? A good atmosphere. If a game doesn't have that, I really can't get into it.

 

[Fappy]

If you're ever in a similar situation I suggest you don't follow my example >.>

I know that was probably half in jest, but c'mon guys. Women are people. Different people like different things. Different people react differently to different things.

I, for one, get pissy at my fiance when he goes easy on me in anything (especially with games, because then you're just stomping on my fun), as with anyone else. While yeah, there's some differences between the sexes, let's not continually reinforce silly stereotypes. I remember Kameron Hurley had once said in an interview that she'd asked a male author (forget his name) what he did that made his point-of-view female main characters so relate-able and believable and he said he just treated them like they were people.

So while doing research (and I say that loosely, since a thread like this doesn't constitute research, though they are fun every once in awhile) is necessary and all of that, let's not lose sight of the big picture: women are human beings, the same as men are. One person's experiences and biases are not necessarily another's.

Don't worry it t'was in jest. My girlfriend's better than me at certain genres... just doesn't happen to be fighting games. I'm sure there are plenty of women out there who'd kick my ass in BlazBlue and the like

 

[bluerocker]

19 and a female game player.

My current gaming focuses are:

1) Persona 3 and 4 (they're more or less the same, mechanically)
2) Capcom vs SnK 2
3) Audiosurf

What makes a game fun for me, is a great story, soundtrack, well rounded characters and, well, fun gameplay! For the most part, I am drawn to JRPGs, but I've also gotten back into fighting games and action adventure. I have an affinity for puzzle games and survival horror. I also like music games, like the aforementioned Audiosurf and DDR for some quick easy and casual gaming. What I play is dependant upon my mood, so my tastes can vary from time to time.

Of any genre I do NOT like, it would be stealth based games or FPSs. Neither are really what I like in gaming mechanics; but it doesn't mean I find them bad. I just don't like playing that way. Some do.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

Mass Effect 3
Sims 3 (yeah, I have my moments!)
Star Wars: The Old Republic.

22 Female, and I'll say there are a variety of things I like in a game; what I want depends on how I'm feeling at that moment. Most of the time I enjoy story based games, and I'm a huge fan of first/third person shooters. Sims is just an odd habit of mine when I'm not feeling the urge to play something that requires serious focus/skill. A relaxing game.

 

[Ghostshark]

I had a girlfriend for a while (we broke up amicably) who loved MMOs. She played Guild Wars, World of Warcraft and Aion.

What she enjoyed most was the social aspects of MMOs, partying with other people, meeting new people and she loved character creation. She must have had 10 characters on each game, sometimes more. She never liked to solo anything, she was very sociable online. Offline she was quiet and a little timid and liked time to herself. But mostly time to herself meant playing MMOs.

 

[nvzboy]

I can't really speak for these people as they are just friends of mine. One of them liked the fable games and pokemon but the other played counter strike. I can't really give you the 3-game list or what makes them choose these but it certainly tells prefferences differ, among men and women.

As for myself:
Gender: Male
Games:
- Pokemon
- Team fortress 2
- Kerbal space program

Though these current games may not clearly reflect it, I usually look for an immersive experience. If a game can have me spend hours on it without me realizing it's been that long it is a good game in my opinion.

Captcha: never give up - Good luck on that school project, OP.

 

[Yeager942]

I can answer for my sister but that's the best I can do.

My sister loves RPG's specifically the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises. She used to RP on WoW, and she loves the Portal series.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

I'm a lady. I'm 23. So here goes.

The last 3 games that I've played were, in order of least to most recent:

3. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (gorgeous, gorgeous art direction here)
2. Assassin's Creed 2 (replaying in preparation for finally getting my grubby lil' paws on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood... and then my Amazon package got stuck in limbo.)
1. Spec Ops: The Line (I am still a good person. ... ...NO I'M NOT.)

I'm a sucker for quality narrative or good characters in games. Interesting or unusual design work also makes me happy (see #3 on that list up there). But, in general, I play the same games that any so-called "hardcore" gamer plays... male or female.

 

[spklvr]

That's a bit like saying to a women who likes cars, what cars do you drive. Chances are it's going to be the ones men drive for the same reasons. It's not so much the gender that makes the difference, it's the personality and preferences.

This is my hypothesis, but I need to do the research to prove it. Otherwise, it?s just a theory. Can?t state anything without proof when writing a research paper.

 

[Silvershadowfire]

Female age 38 here, and I've been gaming pretty much since I was 16. Lately my games of preference are:

Skyrim
Sims 3
Aion: The Tower of Eternity (MMO)

Why do I play them? Three different games, three different itches to scratch. I play Skyrim when I have the time to really get into a game; I love the immersion and the exploration. I can and have spent hours just riding around the countryside on my horse, looking for trouble.

Sims 3 is my creative bent. To me actually playing the game isn't nearly as interesting as designing, building and decorating the houses.

Aion is for when I actually do want to play in a multiplayer environment (which is rare for me). It's good when I'm too tired to concentrate on anything and just want to grind cash.

For the record I mostly use my PC, but also play on PS3 - mostly Guitar Hero there.

 

[gazumped]

23 year old female.

'cause I'm in my final year of uni I'm only letting myself play games when I'm already having time off visiting my boyfriend, so all the games I've played in the last year have been his games, with him, so I'm not sure talking about those would be representative of my gaming habits.

So from a year ago, games I was playing/enjoying were:

Morrowind
Knights of the Old Republic
Arcanum

Yes, I know they're all terribly old but why buy new expensive games when there are good old games on Steam for two quid?

As you may have guessed, I'm into the RPGs. I particularly enjoy games with a level-up/character customisation game mechanic as it leaves room for so many possibilities and also increases replay value. It also makes me feel like I'm working towards something, and attaining new skills is a really satisfying reward system.

It's not a necessity, though, as I also quite enjoy puzzle games and God games, when I want to take the weight off and be a filthy casual.

 

[spklvr]

Mass Effect 3
Sims 3 (yeah, I have my moments!)
Star Wars: The Old Republic.

22 Female, and I'll say there are a variety of things I like in a game; what I want depends on how I'm feeling at that moment. Most of the time I enjoy story based games, and I'm a huge fan of first/third person shooters. Sims is just an odd habit of mine when I'm not feeling the urge to play something that requires serious focus/skill. A relaxing game.

Hey! Don't feel embarrassed about liking Sims 3. If spending every night for three months building a neighborhood from scratch isn't hardcore gaming, I don't know what is On that note, I love "hardcore" games as well, such as Bioshock and Skyrim and InFamous and Silent Hill and all that crap, but "casual" games like the sims do not get enough credit. It requires a huge amount of creativity and imagination, at the same time as it is just relaxing and fun. Totally off topic, but I love this game, and have played it most of my life. I get why people don't enjoy it, but enjoying casual games shouldn't mean you can't enjoy "real" games.

 

[Raggedstar]

I mostly play platformers and such over most genres. Not because I don't like violence or guns, but it's just the playstyle (and the lighter atmosphere) I prefer, not to mention they have a lot more flexibility compared to some other genres.

Though I do play other games. Some of the games I played in recent months (that weren't platformers) were Bioshock/Infinite, No More Heroes, Skyrim, Pokemon White 2, Wind Waker, Spec Ops: The Line, Bastion, God of War, The Walking Dead, To The Moon, and I'm currently playing Infamous. Enjoyed/ing all of them.

EDIT: Oh ya, 25 year old female.

 

[Screamarie]

Mass Effect, Bioshock Infinite, and Fallout New Vegas.

A really compelling story or character. Much like a movie if I can find a character or the story itself to be something I just HAVE to find out about, then I can play just about any game.

 

[SadisticFire]

Um lately I have been playing CSS, Starcraft II, and GMod. I sunk a lot of hours into GMod, Fallout 3, New Vegas, Oblivion, and Killing Floor. (Around 200 for all of them, except gmod with 5000, what is sun?) I decided CSGO's environment was too misogynistic/racist/COD on XBox to play it, so I just stick with CSS.

I would say, "What game is fun, and has a rather open, respectable playerbase" will be a better question. Because really I dont see a difference.

 

[CriticalMiss]

Women play the same games as men! Wargarble sexism!11!

Female, 24, wltm sexy nerd girls for good times and wii.

Recently played and enjoyed:

Bioshock Infinity
Tomb Raider
Skyrim

Most important thing to enjoy in a game is the story, if there is no story then gameplay. Ideally I prefer a good mix of the two. That said, games like Minecraft which are effectively a totally blank slate are brilliant as you can make up your own story and do whatever you want (whilst running from Creepers andhiding in ditches).

 

[Zeles]

I am a female and I have a tendency to bounce around games. I'll play one for a few weeks, then another, and so on. Lately I've been playing:
Don't Starve
Bioshock Infinite
...

I... haven't really been playing much else lately.

BUT! I have 431 hours clocked in Fallout: New Vegas, 178 hours clocked (On this machine) on Fallout 3, 84 hours clocked for Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, and 254 hours clocked for Terraria.

I tend to gravitate towards narrative based games.

 

[GodzillaGuy92]

Well, I'm male and don't have any female gamers to ask, but I might as well at least try to contribute. The three games I've played and enjoyed the most lately are Minecraft, BioShock, and Mass Effect. I suppose that, strictly speaking, I would rate gameplay as being ever-so-slightly more important than story, but given that the number of games with good gameplay far outnumbers games with a comparatively good story (along with my own love for storytelling in general), I'm significantly more likely to play a game with a widely lauded story than one with widely lauded gameplay.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Male. 23.

Top 3 as of late.
1. Bioshock Infinite
2. Sly (2+3, because they're essentially the same game)
3. Metal Gear Rising: Rev-something-something.

If it doesn't have a good narrative then it has to have some other particulary kind of hook (mostly a visual design one, e.g. I like the character designs in Metal Gear Rising and Anarchy Reigns). Also I'm finding that I have a preference for third/first person shooters and action adventure games, I dont tend to hsve the patience for RPG's and RTS's and the like, I'm not a very methodical thinker, more of a go with the flow kind of thinker with video games. Mostly because I tend to plan ever other instance of my day.

My sisters also have a crack at playing platformers like LittleBigPlanet and LIMBO, but I wouldn't say they get into them heavily. But they have remarked recently that watching me play Bioshock Infinite is more tolerable than most games because of it's interesting story.