Neo, you hit it right on the nail saying that ''girl games'' are "games that required no skill, imagination or thought." That lost point is the clincher. I do know girls that would rather blast my ass in Quake3 or UT {and quite a few are pretty good at it}, but in general fems want games that callenge them intellectually.
I should know. My {older} sister and I grew up on Ataris and PCs. She''s always being playing either an adventure game or a CRPG {the type without a plot.} Right now she''s hooked on "Nox", so her tastes haven''t canged too much. As you likely know, the CRPGs were filled with mostly battle, not puzzles and plot. That kind of outs the ''constructive'' idea.
As for me, yeah I''m kind of an adrenaline junkie, but I never liked the ''twitch'' factor the gore too much {thus I never really played doom.} On top of that, I love the old push-block puzzles games. Guess that''s what happens when a guy is both a middle child and a Pisces.
Chicks and Games
While this is at the top of the forum, I won''t hesitate to post here without fear of bringing the topic back up. What does this have to do with design? I understand the good intentions of the original poster, but this feels like more of a lounge issue. Am I wrong?
I think it IS a design issue - there are a lot of "girlie-games" around and ....
is there ANYONE in favor of these?
u´re right, the thing has deteriorated to a lounge issue....
BUT YOU POSTED HERE TOO - HA HA
is there ANYONE in favor of these?
u´re right, the thing has deteriorated to a lounge issue....
BUT YOU POSTED HERE TOO - HA HA
Heh, somebody mentioned "horse riding games that require no skill" and I just had to bring up something that''s totally off-topic. Is anyone around here from Japan, or have you been there? They have the craziest racing-type games over there. One of the ones I saw, that your post reminded me of, was just like you''d normally think of as a racing game, only with horses. Heh, I thought it was interesting. There was all sorts of other things, but I won''t get into it. For all I know, the arcades over here have the same things. I never go.
Whoever wrote that article on ''girl games'' has obviously never met my girlfriend either. She''s just about the only person I know who stands a chance against me in Twisted Metal 2. ^_^
-Ironblayde
Aeon Software
Whoever wrote that article on ''girl games'' has obviously never met my girlfriend either. She''s just about the only person I know who stands a chance against me in Twisted Metal 2. ^_^
-Ironblayde
Aeon Software
Whenever I see the phrase ''girl games'' it usually irritates me because, as someone else said, it seems to be code for ''shallow, pointless, and boring''. If I remember right Cosmopolitan did an article awhile back on ''women''s software'' and included things like virtual make-over kits and kitchen remodeling software. Ugh. Note to men: don''t ever read Cosmo or take it seriously.
Now as a woman I enjoy Unreal Tournament and Quake( got my start playing Wolfenstein(remember that, anyone?)) as well as other types of games(let''s see... Legacy of Kain:Soulreaver, the Final Fantasy games save the last one, etc.). In short: I game. Not lately but I do. And what draws me is a combination of the following: action, great graphics, a well-thought out plot, a new twist on an old theme, and so on. Just like any other gamer.
What does irritate me about ''men''s games''(read, anything remotely interesting or entertaining) is that sometimes things slip through to the final version that I feel wouldn''t if any of the programmers were a woman. I''m not saying men are inherently sexist, but being men they''re so used to that viewpoint it''s hard to see things any other way. Women are the same way.
For instance, every time I see a fighting game with women in stilletos I feel the urge to mail the programmers a pair of mere three-inch heels and challenge them to walk in them, let alone kick ass. While I''m at it I might as well throw in a Quadruple E bra simulator for them to wear around their necks while wearing the heels. When I see an ad for Perfect Dark, where they show the female character and voice over ''So what are you going to wear?'' it irks me, even if the clothes closet is filled with automatic weapons.
Yeah, yeah, I know who the primary audience is, but how are you ever to increase that audience(i.e. with women like me) if you refuse to do anything but cater to the 14-year old that lives in your head?
All of this is rhetorical, by the way, I''m not sniping anyone in particular. And I''m aware of supply/demand and marketing... this is more of an idealistic rant.
--
karasu
Damn right. Play games because they are fun, not because they are targeted at your "demographic sector". Let''s face it, any self proclaimed "girl game" only exists because some tightassed executive at some interactive division of some large industry thinks that UT is too "masculine" for a female to play.
In fact, I say f*ck it. I''m sick of the stereotype (read: cliche) of women, and I''m a guy! I''m not just trying to get chicks either! I''m sick of companies thinking they can make a "good game" by creating it to fill a goddamn niche in the market! I''m sick of the view that poeple are "consumers" whose soul cause in this shallow existance is to take half assed, strategically positioned marketed goods and transmute them into profits for someone who couldn''t even make the product themselves!
How''s *THAT* for a rant?
I think that says it all... except: "What can we do to make games appeal to those "demographic sectors" and not be crappy?" Girls, I invite you to go to town on this one. Yes, I know it has more to do with removing drivel from existing games than with creating content of a different style... but humor me. There has to be something that girls (read: intelligent people) find a complete lack of in the market today, otherwise girls would play video games.
I''ll start it off. My feminine side (repressed though it may be) is crying out for some character development on a scale that exceeds that of a fourth-grade creative writing course. Maybe I''m wrong, this isn''t a gender issue, is it? No, I really am just using this as a staging ground for some more of my anarchist ideas. Crap. So sue me.
Alright, since it looks like this post will be here for a while, I''ll stop fighting it. Humph.
=)
This post was brought to you by the letter "Land", and the number "Fish!"
In fact, I say f*ck it. I''m sick of the stereotype (read: cliche) of women, and I''m a guy! I''m not just trying to get chicks either! I''m sick of companies thinking they can make a "good game" by creating it to fill a goddamn niche in the market! I''m sick of the view that poeple are "consumers" whose soul cause in this shallow existance is to take half assed, strategically positioned marketed goods and transmute them into profits for someone who couldn''t even make the product themselves!
How''s *THAT* for a rant?
I think that says it all... except: "What can we do to make games appeal to those "demographic sectors" and not be crappy?" Girls, I invite you to go to town on this one. Yes, I know it has more to do with removing drivel from existing games than with creating content of a different style... but humor me. There has to be something that girls (read: intelligent people) find a complete lack of in the market today, otherwise girls would play video games.
I''ll start it off. My feminine side (repressed though it may be) is crying out for some character development on a scale that exceeds that of a fourth-grade creative writing course. Maybe I''m wrong, this isn''t a gender issue, is it? No, I really am just using this as a staging ground for some more of my anarchist ideas. Crap. So sue me.
Alright, since it looks like this post will be here for a while, I''ll stop fighting it. Humph.
=)
This post was brought to you by the letter "Land", and the number "Fish!"
quote:Original post by Landfish
I think that says it all... except: "What can we do to make games appeal to those "demographic sectors" and not be crappy?" Girls, I invite you to go to town on this one. Yes, I know it has more to do with removing drivel from existing games than with creating content of a different style... but humor me. There has to be something that girls (read: intelligent people) find a complete lack of in the market today, otherwise girls would play video games.
It really depends on what genre game you''re talking about. For an RPG, less monster-splatting, give the player a way to earn the ability to influence how the relationship between the characters develops. Tender Loving Care is a really bad example of how to do this. It''s not satisifying to try to manipulate characters'' relationships unless you can see how they''re changing.
For an adventure game, I personally would really like to see some games that try to trigger wonder rather than horror in the player. Puzzles that require analyzing NPCs'' motives and emotions are wonderful.
For both of these types of game it''s good to have an even gender balance and characters with non-stereotypical personalities. Also putting the player where they can help NPCs rebuild after one of the disasters that are abundant in these types of games would be good.
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