I second reading the original article - the formatting is divine.
It is all very interesting to hear the history and why it all started... It definitely addresses some valid issues and is overall pretty hopeful.
But it does not address the rampant misogyny within the gaming community as a whole, or the fact that games marketed to women are either the exact same as having a Barbie aisle (Cooking Mama, etc. - though some of which is mentioned in passing) or marketed to women in such a way as to make them "one of the guys" if they play FPS's or action games - because legitimately liking these games separate from our gender brings us back to my former bullet point where women are objectified and bullied if they are identified as playing these games. THAT is a really important issue that needs to be looked at as well.
ITA I thought there'd be more inches devoted to talking about the "welcome" women receive when they do play male-dominated games. The title of the article sure gave me that impression.
But I felt reading the history and hearing where the idea to market games this way came from made it worth the read, regardless.
I saw a game dev (from Bioware, maybe? i can't remember) once put it in a way that I thought really got to the core of a lot of hostility behind 'isms.
- When you're so accustomed to being catered to and having a thing all for yourself, you feel as if something is being taken away from you when it's made more equitable. -
It's like a 6 year old being asked to let his sister into his tree fort. If it had been built with the understanding that it was for both of them, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But he's used to it being his plaything. Sharing = it's being 'taken away' from him. He's not losing his playhouse in any way whatsoever. It's the same with gamers. They aren't losing their Dead or Alive gravity-defying boobs if BioShock Infinite puts Elizabeth on the cover.
This was a really good article. Also interesting to learn the history behind this:
All of its games came with the "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality" - a promise to buyers that the game would not disappoint them, and there would be no repeat of the sloppy and broken titles that flooded the market and led to the crash.
The history was interesting and does explain a lot.
Though I also had a laugh in that I despise Myst. That was Dad's game.
The article just brings back more memories for me of growing up. My mother didn't get computer games, but my father and two younger sisters and I did. We all had to share, so often we'd watch each other play, trying to figure out the Sierra logic answers to King's Quest and Quest for Glory games. It was most of the family huddled around the computer and working together (there were bad fights over whose turn it was to play some of the time, but we managed to work it out).
All of us also still play to varying degrees. And my sisters and I all date gamer guys because they seem to get us. It seems like it would be so easy to market video games today as family experiences, especially with all the MMORPGs and co-op games like Portal.
I suppose, even with the crash, I don't understand how it went so wrong.
LOL same here. Myst was something Dad played and my mother, to this day, doesn't understand how computer games are any fun. (She's extra confused that I like to watch other people playing games on Youtube or Twitch.)
I'm still a gamer as a 31 yo woman. I married a guy who games and we play MMOs together. We're always on the lookout for co-op games, even stuff like Terraria and Minecraft.
I always tell people that I'm a gamer despite the community and atmosphere. I play anonymously, avoiding voice chat with players I barely know, to avoid the harassment. Before SWTOR launched, the community forum had a thread for women gamers to chat with each other, in theory. In reality, it was full of dudes alternately whining that there's no chicks around and insisting "make me a sandwich" and "kitchen" jokes are totally hilarious and women who don't like them are uptight bitches. Once the game was live, I quit after just a month because I witnessed a public chat channel enthusing that the devs should add a minigame that lets you rape your
( ... )
"A kid in her class turned around. "Girls don't play games,""
I remember when I was 9 years old talking to my friend about Tekken 3. It was in the canteen, and this boy sitting nearby turned around and accused me of "trying to be cool". I remember being taken aback, and I didn't know how to respond, so I just ignored him and carried on talking to her.
Also, during university I took a few games programming classes. I was friends with the only other female student there. No-one else in those classes even spoke to us.
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It is all very interesting to hear the history and why it all started... It definitely addresses some valid issues and is overall pretty hopeful.
But it does not address the rampant misogyny within the gaming community as a whole, or the fact that games marketed to women are either the exact same as having a Barbie aisle (Cooking Mama, etc. - though some of which is mentioned in passing) or marketed to women in such a way as to make them "one of the guys" if they play FPS's or action games - because legitimately liking these games separate from our gender brings us back to my former bullet point where women are objectified and bullied if they are identified as playing these games. THAT is a really important issue that needs to be looked at as well.
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But I felt reading the history and hearing where the idea to market games this way came from made it worth the read, regardless.
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(The comment has been removed)
- When you're so accustomed to being catered to and having a thing all for yourself, you feel as if something is being taken away from you when it's made more equitable. -
It's like a 6 year old being asked to let his sister into his tree fort. If it had been built with the understanding that it was for both of them, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But he's used to it being his plaything. Sharing = it's being 'taken away' from him. He's not losing his playhouse in any way whatsoever. It's the same with gamers. They aren't losing their Dead or Alive gravity-defying boobs if BioShock Infinite puts Elizabeth on the cover.
Reply
Reply
All of its games came with the "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality" - a promise to buyers that the game would not disappoint them, and there would be no repeat of the sloppy and broken titles that flooded the market and led to the crash.
Reply
Though I also had a laugh in that I despise Myst. That was Dad's game.
The article just brings back more memories for me of growing up. My mother didn't get computer games, but my father and two younger sisters and I did. We all had to share, so often we'd watch each other play, trying to figure out the Sierra logic answers to King's Quest and Quest for Glory games. It was most of the family huddled around the computer and working together (there were bad fights over whose turn it was to play some of the time, but we managed to work it out).
All of us also still play to varying degrees. And my sisters and I all date gamer guys because they seem to get us. It seems like it would be so easy to market video games today as family experiences, especially with all the MMORPGs and co-op games like Portal.
I suppose, even with the crash, I don't understand how it went so wrong.
Reply
I'm still a gamer as a 31 yo woman. I married a guy who games and we play MMOs together. We're always on the lookout for co-op games, even stuff like Terraria and Minecraft.
I always tell people that I'm a gamer despite the community and atmosphere. I play anonymously, avoiding voice chat with players I barely know, to avoid the harassment. Before SWTOR launched, the community forum had a thread for women gamers to chat with each other, in theory. In reality, it was full of dudes alternately whining that there's no chicks around and insisting "make me a sandwich" and "kitchen" jokes are totally hilarious and women who don't like them are uptight bitches. Once the game was live, I quit after just a month because I witnessed a public chat channel enthusing that the devs should add a minigame that lets you rape your ( ... )
Reply
Reply
I remember when I was 9 years old talking to my friend about Tekken 3. It was in the canteen, and this boy sitting nearby turned around and accused me of "trying to be cool". I remember being taken aback, and I didn't know how to respond, so I just ignored him and carried on talking to her.
Also, during university I took a few games programming classes. I was friends with the only other female student there. No-one else in those classes even spoke to us.
Reply
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