Women and computer assisted gaming
Here's a question for you women on my friends list to ponder and give me your thoughts on. But first, some background.
I reciently applied for an easter job at a computer games company. I managed to make it to interview stage, thanks to my CV making clear that I had the basic skills and showed off some clear gaming related interests (Stratics moderator and general hobbies).
The interview itself went fairly well, I thought, aside from seeming too fangirlish at the start about the industry in general (pretty normal for your first interview in your desired field of work, I suspect). The interviewer didn't seem perfectly at ease, but then as a rule male gamer geeks are outside of their comfort zone when confronted with women.
The next day, however, I received an e-mail informing me that I had been unsuccessful. Asking for feedback, it was generally actually really positive. They thought I came across well in the interview and had impressive technical skills.
The single applicant who was hired in preference owned every single console, had several demo games, and religiously and constantly played computer and console games. They simply seemed more obsessed over gaming than I did.
Now, the demo program issue could not have been helped. You simply can't study for a degree, and have a part time job and on top of all that be expected to run up loads of fancy computer games. There's nothing I can do about that, and in general this is not a major problem to fix.
Leaving aside the issue about liking having a life, friends and leaving the house on occasion, I'm not sure what to make of the "not an obbsessive sad loser" implication. I do play a fair amount of computer games, far more than the average lady. Thinking about the problem, it seems that there is a gender difference here.
I know some of you don't think of yourselves as computer gamers. But if you play flash games for amusement, solitaire during quiet moments at work, or do puzzles like soduku on websites, you are in fact playing computer games. Computer games don't have to be big, impressive and 3d. They just have to be a game or puzzle on a computer.
I strongly suspect that women will sound different to men when it comes to describing their computer gaming habits. I actually play a lot of games, and a day does not pass were a game is not played (normally at least a session of Crack Attack!, if nothing else). But I didn't sound like this at the interview.
The computer gaming industry has long had a problem in the west at producing games aimed at women (from what I hear, far east asia has happily selling games to girls). I'm beginning to suspect this lies not in a lack of knowing what to do (as there are literally dozens of comprehensive articles on how simple such a thing is), but in how the industry works. The industry hires people who love games, and so these people end up making games they want to play. But as women don't seem as obsessed over games as guys, less women are hired, so the eventual games appeal less to women.
There's only really one practical way to deal with this problem next time it comes around. I like having a life, and that's not up on the table as something that can be changed (as frankly, the industry will be in long term danger if they expect people not have a life). I have to explain to the interviewer how things are different for the female geek, and why that makes me a better person to hire than an equivalent male applicant.
I'd like to hear about your computer gaming habits. Do you just play the occasional online puzzle, or do you actually own some consoles? How do you describe your gaming habits to others? Do you think there is a gender divide in describing gaming habits? What do you prefer in your games? What are your thoughts on this problem?
I reciently applied for an easter job at a computer games company. I managed to make it to interview stage, thanks to my CV making clear that I had the basic skills and showed off some clear gaming related interests (Stratics moderator and general hobbies).
The interview itself went fairly well, I thought, aside from seeming too fangirlish at the start about the industry in general (pretty normal for your first interview in your desired field of work, I suspect). The interviewer didn't seem perfectly at ease, but then as a rule male gamer geeks are outside of their comfort zone when confronted with women.
The next day, however, I received an e-mail informing me that I had been unsuccessful. Asking for feedback, it was generally actually really positive. They thought I came across well in the interview and had impressive technical skills.
The single applicant who was hired in preference owned every single console, had several demo games, and religiously and constantly played computer and console games. They simply seemed more obsessed over gaming than I did.
Now, the demo program issue could not have been helped. You simply can't study for a degree, and have a part time job and on top of all that be expected to run up loads of fancy computer games. There's nothing I can do about that, and in general this is not a major problem to fix.
Leaving aside the issue about liking having a life, friends and leaving the house on occasion, I'm not sure what to make of the "not an obbsessive sad loser" implication. I do play a fair amount of computer games, far more than the average lady. Thinking about the problem, it seems that there is a gender difference here.
I know some of you don't think of yourselves as computer gamers. But if you play flash games for amusement, solitaire during quiet moments at work, or do puzzles like soduku on websites, you are in fact playing computer games. Computer games don't have to be big, impressive and 3d. They just have to be a game or puzzle on a computer.
I strongly suspect that women will sound different to men when it comes to describing their computer gaming habits. I actually play a lot of games, and a day does not pass were a game is not played (normally at least a session of Crack Attack!, if nothing else). But I didn't sound like this at the interview.
The computer gaming industry has long had a problem in the west at producing games aimed at women (from what I hear, far east asia has happily selling games to girls). I'm beginning to suspect this lies not in a lack of knowing what to do (as there are literally dozens of comprehensive articles on how simple such a thing is), but in how the industry works. The industry hires people who love games, and so these people end up making games they want to play. But as women don't seem as obsessed over games as guys, less women are hired, so the eventual games appeal less to women.
There's only really one practical way to deal with this problem next time it comes around. I like having a life, and that's not up on the table as something that can be changed (as frankly, the industry will be in long term danger if they expect people not have a life). I have to explain to the interviewer how things are different for the female geek, and why that makes me a better person to hire than an equivalent male applicant.
I'd like to hear about your computer gaming habits. Do you just play the occasional online puzzle, or do you actually own some consoles? How do you describe your gaming habits to others? Do you think there is a gender divide in describing gaming habits? What do you prefer in your games? What are your thoughts on this problem?