The Forest for the Trees: Girls and Gaming
Posted Tuesday, June 7th, 2005 by Maggie
Since I’m currently waiting for the first game I plan to review to be released, I thought I’d talk about some of the issues that I’ve been contemplating and discussing in the past few weeks. While a number of the ideas I’ve been batting around are matters that affect the game industry and community on a very broad level, I’ve been approaching the issue from the angle of female gamers, since I think it’s easiest to approach really broad topics from a really narrow angle (at least initially). Right now, I’m going to focus on the issue of “appealing to the female gaming market” - and why, as a twenty something gamer who is a girl, I think that creating games “targeted towards women” is barking up the wrong tree.
I have rarely had problems finding games that I want to play - I’m looking for games with well-drawn back stories, nice game play, and plots that pull me in (RPGs tend to hit all three of those for me, and that’s what I play the most - but I have a number of games from other genres that I’ve played and loved). I hardly think I’m unique. Women who game are doing so because they enjoy it, not because we’re masochistic people trying to prove the point that women game, too. While the industry currently meets my needs, there are a lot of things I’d like to see in future games - and most of what’s on my “wish list” is completely independent of my gender.
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. I gravitate towards RPGs because I like a really epic experience, with an expansive plot that I can really get into, and characters that are as well developed as those in a great novel or movie - not because I’m a girl. I would like to see more games that featured strong female leads, but I don’t want a game that just banks on “appealing to women.” What I really want to see is more diversity and creativity, regardless of who - or what - is starring. A lot of RPGs follow a pretty tried and true formula, in which a young hero goes on a quest to find himself, save the world, and maybe get the girl. Along with shaking up the formulaic gender roles often found in games, I want to see a more or less fundamental change from the standard plot, character development, and game play.
The last game that I played that featured a strong female lead - one who I felt was well-drawn, integral, and indispensable, more than just a pretty face - was Suikoden III. While it was nice to see a strong female lead, the reason the game is on my list of favorites is because I thoroughly enjoyed the way the plot developed in a relatively novel way (certainly different from any game I was playing at the time or have played since). I’m going to play RPGs regardless of who stars in them, but I might be tempted to pick up something in the action/adventure genre (types of games I tend to shy away from for a number of reasons) if it featured a kick-*** female lead that was more than just a console-based pinup with a gun. I’d probably be more tempted to pick it up if it featured a rich back story and well-developed plot and characters, something that a lot of the action/adventure games I’ve played have been lacking.
Right now, I’m willing to trot out and plunk down full price for a game as soon as it comes out in only a few cases. I do it for RPGs, and I do it for niche market games like G1 Jockey. I usually wait to buy used (or when the price starts dropping precipitously) on games that fall outside my genre(s) of choice because I’ve invested $50 in one too many games that have sorely disappointed me for various reasons. With some out-of-the-box thinking and some genre-breaking games, the industry could probably hook me for a lot more money right away. After all, I’m willing to pay money for RPGs that may - or may not - meet my expectations, because, more often than not - I have been satisfied. Based on discussions with my non-console gaming female friends, I also have some ideas on what they could do to tap into the market of adults (not just women) who may want to take a foray into console-based gaming - and it all comes back to diversity and thinking outside the limits of games that are currently available, not necessarily marketing towards one specific demographic. The industry really needs to take a long-term view on the issue of expanding its base of gamers, be they casual or hardcore. Creating games that are “radical” in aspects will probably result in some games that get a so-so reception initially, but it will probably pay off in the long term. We can’t just consider the health of the industry right now. What happens ten or fifteen years down the road?
I think the point here is that while the game industry should be concerned about trying to increase the number of female gamers (and retaining the ones that are already fans) - the 18-35 year old male demographic that everyone talks about is not going to be able to support the industry forever - the way to do this is not to focus on the development of a mythic “game for women.” The industry needs to focus on developing games that are innovative, genre-crossing, and mold breaking. By doing that, they will be creating games that appeal to a cross-section of gaming demographics - perhaps attracting current players to new genres, people new to gaming, and so on. By expanding options for all of us, the game industry can expand their appeal to women - not by marketing directly to women through a specific type or formula of game, but by giving every single one of us, regardless of gender, more options to pick and choose from.
Posted Tuesday, June 7th, 2005 by Maggie
Since I’m currently waiting for the first game I plan to review to be released, I thought I’d talk about some of the issues that I’ve been contemplating and discussing in the past few weeks. While a number of the ideas I’ve been batting around are matters that affect the game industry and community on a very broad level, I’ve been approaching the issue from the angle of female gamers, since I think it’s easiest to approach really broad topics from a really narrow angle (at least initially). Right now, I’m going to focus on the issue of “appealing to the female gaming market” - and why, as a twenty something gamer who is a girl, I think that creating games “targeted towards women” is barking up the wrong tree.
I have rarely had problems finding games that I want to play - I’m looking for games with well-drawn back stories, nice game play, and plots that pull me in (RPGs tend to hit all three of those for me, and that’s what I play the most - but I have a number of games from other genres that I’ve played and loved). I hardly think I’m unique. Women who game are doing so because they enjoy it, not because we’re masochistic people trying to prove the point that women game, too. While the industry currently meets my needs, there are a lot of things I’d like to see in future games - and most of what’s on my “wish list” is completely independent of my gender.
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. I gravitate towards RPGs because I like a really epic experience, with an expansive plot that I can really get into, and characters that are as well developed as those in a great novel or movie - not because I’m a girl. I would like to see more games that featured strong female leads, but I don’t want a game that just banks on “appealing to women.” What I really want to see is more diversity and creativity, regardless of who - or what - is starring. A lot of RPGs follow a pretty tried and true formula, in which a young hero goes on a quest to find himself, save the world, and maybe get the girl. Along with shaking up the formulaic gender roles often found in games, I want to see a more or less fundamental change from the standard plot, character development, and game play.
The last game that I played that featured a strong female lead - one who I felt was well-drawn, integral, and indispensable, more than just a pretty face - was Suikoden III. While it was nice to see a strong female lead, the reason the game is on my list of favorites is because I thoroughly enjoyed the way the plot developed in a relatively novel way (certainly different from any game I was playing at the time or have played since). I’m going to play RPGs regardless of who stars in them, but I might be tempted to pick up something in the action/adventure genre (types of games I tend to shy away from for a number of reasons) if it featured a kick-*** female lead that was more than just a console-based pinup with a gun. I’d probably be more tempted to pick it up if it featured a rich back story and well-developed plot and characters, something that a lot of the action/adventure games I’ve played have been lacking.
Right now, I’m willing to trot out and plunk down full price for a game as soon as it comes out in only a few cases. I do it for RPGs, and I do it for niche market games like G1 Jockey. I usually wait to buy used (or when the price starts dropping precipitously) on games that fall outside my genre(s) of choice because I’ve invested $50 in one too many games that have sorely disappointed me for various reasons. With some out-of-the-box thinking and some genre-breaking games, the industry could probably hook me for a lot more money right away. After all, I’m willing to pay money for RPGs that may - or may not - meet my expectations, because, more often than not - I have been satisfied. Based on discussions with my non-console gaming female friends, I also have some ideas on what they could do to tap into the market of adults (not just women) who may want to take a foray into console-based gaming - and it all comes back to diversity and thinking outside the limits of games that are currently available, not necessarily marketing towards one specific demographic. The industry really needs to take a long-term view on the issue of expanding its base of gamers, be they casual or hardcore. Creating games that are “radical” in aspects will probably result in some games that get a so-so reception initially, but it will probably pay off in the long term. We can’t just consider the health of the industry right now. What happens ten or fifteen years down the road?
I think the point here is that while the game industry should be concerned about trying to increase the number of female gamers (and retaining the ones that are already fans) - the 18-35 year old male demographic that everyone talks about is not going to be able to support the industry forever - the way to do this is not to focus on the development of a mythic “game for women.” The industry needs to focus on developing games that are innovative, genre-crossing, and mold breaking. By doing that, they will be creating games that appeal to a cross-section of gaming demographics - perhaps attracting current players to new genres, people new to gaming, and so on. By expanding options for all of us, the game industry can expand their appeal to women - not by marketing directly to women through a specific type or formula of game, but by giving every single one of us, regardless of gender, more options to pick and choose from.