This is why I should work in the games industry!
I just read this article on Gamasutra. It's an interview with a woman named Brandii Grace who is starting a game development company to make AAA titles for women. Sounds great, right? Until you actually read about what she thinks it takes for a a game to be for women. According to Grace, games for women should be:
-family and child oriented, including games meant for mothers and children to play together
-not challenging/easy/"casual"
-about interpersonal conflict and drama, relationships and the like
She repeatedly talks about "mommy bloggers" and the games she says they want. She gives Twilight as a prime example of what women want in their entertainment.
This is a bunch of sexist bullshit.
You know why AAA games largely don't connect with women on the same level as men? Because those games treat women as afterthoughts, if they think of us at all. Women in those games are shallow virgin/whore props meant to further the story about the man. It's not because Call of Duty is "hard" or because Hitman doesn't have enough romance in it, or because Assassin's Creed isn't a good fit for children. It's because in none of these games can you play as a woman. It's because the women in these games are meant only to be looked at and fulfill sexual fantasies. It's because these games already market to a narrow, stereotype-filled demographic in the first place--men in their teens and twenties.
Again, all Grace seems to do is spout sexist bullshit, except for one line in which she reminds the interviewer that woman are just as diverse as men. So why doesn't she take her own admonishment to heart? Women are hard-core and casual players. Women want to play games as a social activity and solo. Women want games with romance and interpersonal relationships and they want to make a totally sweet headshot and watch a dude's head explode. They want to solve a puzzle with bubbles or raise farm animals and they want to save the world by destroying the Nazis or killing the dragon. And you men want all these things, too. Where's the work-life balance games for men? Where are the games for fathers to play with their children?
You want to make AAA games a "better fit" for women? Make these games treat women like people, not props. Let us play a female character. Give us female NPCs who showcase a variety of types of people, not just sex kittens and innocent fragile victims who need protecting. Give us evil women who aren't witches and dominatrixes. Give us women who wear real clothing. In other words, give us good characters who happen to be female. Give us a game that treats woman as people, and women will play the shit out of it.
-family and child oriented, including games meant for mothers and children to play together
-not challenging/easy/"casual"
-about interpersonal conflict and drama, relationships and the like
She repeatedly talks about "mommy bloggers" and the games she says they want. She gives Twilight as a prime example of what women want in their entertainment.
This is a bunch of sexist bullshit.
You know why AAA games largely don't connect with women on the same level as men? Because those games treat women as afterthoughts, if they think of us at all. Women in those games are shallow virgin/whore props meant to further the story about the man. It's not because Call of Duty is "hard" or because Hitman doesn't have enough romance in it, or because Assassin's Creed isn't a good fit for children. It's because in none of these games can you play as a woman. It's because the women in these games are meant only to be looked at and fulfill sexual fantasies. It's because these games already market to a narrow, stereotype-filled demographic in the first place--men in their teens and twenties.
Again, all Grace seems to do is spout sexist bullshit, except for one line in which she reminds the interviewer that woman are just as diverse as men. So why doesn't she take her own admonishment to heart? Women are hard-core and casual players. Women want to play games as a social activity and solo. Women want games with romance and interpersonal relationships and they want to make a totally sweet headshot and watch a dude's head explode. They want to solve a puzzle with bubbles or raise farm animals and they want to save the world by destroying the Nazis or killing the dragon. And you men want all these things, too. Where's the work-life balance games for men? Where are the games for fathers to play with their children?
You want to make AAA games a "better fit" for women? Make these games treat women like people, not props. Let us play a female character. Give us female NPCs who showcase a variety of types of people, not just sex kittens and innocent fragile victims who need protecting. Give us evil women who aren't witches and dominatrixes. Give us women who wear real clothing. In other words, give us good characters who happen to be female. Give us a game that treats woman as people, and women will play the shit out of it.