Video games have been long perceived as male orientated. Game designers, target audience and characters in games are mostly male. Even if there are female characters in a game, their role is insignificant or they only obtain certain abilities. James Newman (2004) suggests that since there is a lack of role models in games, female players ultimately lose interest in playing video games. Issues on gender and video games create debate among scholars and players, and this involves a lot of ideas and suggestions. In this entry, I will first talk about gender and video games in general, then I will focus on female identification with games. Finally, I will discuss some of my questions and concerns.
It is a stereotype that girls are not into video games. In fact, female do play video games and some of them are passionate with it. There are lots of websites that are created by female gamers to talk about their opinions on any issues on games. Some of them are like gamegal.com, game girl advance and game girlz.
Female gamers are usually being stereotyped. Generally, female players are not welcomed into the game world. In a study carried out by Sue Morris (2006), most of the female players are insulted by male players in an online game. These female players have been addressed as ‘lesbians’ and received personal attacks. Maybe it is due to these personal attacks and negative comments, female players are not comfortable with the gaming space, so eventually they stop playing a game (Cassell & Jenkins, 1999). Besides, female gamers think that the true turn off for them to play a game is the semi-pornographic images presented in games (Morris, 2006).
Recently, Rika Nakamura and Hanna Wirman (2006) point out a few elements that may increase female’s anticipation and identification in gameplay. They suggest female would like to play a game that:
1. Is non-violent (Girls do not prefer aggressive games, or games that involved killings. They think repeated killings in games are boring)
2. Provides alternative pathways (The game should offer multiple ways for the girl gamer to play and interact with it)
3. Has character developments (Girls found building up their characters or customize their characters appealing)
4. Requires co-operation between several players (Girls like to play with each other and co-operate in games)
5. Consists female characters (So girls could identify more with the character and enjoy the gameplay)
6. Has multiple, complex narratives
7. Has realistic settings (Girls dream of something that is more close to real life, so a realistic setting in games increase the level of identification of female players)
8. Has a relaxed pace (Girls like game that is not too fast)
Nakamura and Wirman’s study makes me question a few things. Firstly, I do not think there is such a perfect game which fits in all these elements that have been mentioned above. Secondly, as a female gamer, I play all kinds of games. Therefore, there is a generalization on the preference of female gamers in the study.
James Newman (2004:57) points out that female preferences on playing video games should not be generalized. Age, is also an important element which contributes to the taste of female game players. Older and mature female gamers feel that they are comfortable with the technology and are more confident, therefore, they may want to explore in various types of games. Moreover, the above study points out that female is more likely to play a game with a female protagonist in it. But, Newman (2004:129) also suggests that the gender identification only exists within a short period of time. Gender identification usually exists during the beginning of gameplay, while one is still exploring the mechanisms behind the game. After a certain period of time, as a player becomes more confident about his or her ability, he/ she will choose a character that suits his/her gaming style the best.
I think as long as there is a comfortable gaming space for female, female players will enjoy the pleasure of gaming as a male player does. Also, what makes female keeps playing a game (also for a male as well), is the challenge and the satisfaction gained during gameplay.
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References:
Cassell, Justine and Jenkins, Henry, 1999. Chess for girls? Feminism and Computer Games. In From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: gender and computer games, eds. Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins, 2-45. Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Morris, Sue, 2006. Essay on gender in online gaming (online). (Cited on 3 November 2006). Available from http://www.gamegirlz.com/articles/quakewomen.shtml
Nakamura, Rika and Wirman, Hanna, 2006. Counter-Playing Tactics of Female Players. Game Studies 6 (1), http://gamestudies.org/0601/articles/nakamura_wirman
Newman, James, 2004. Videogames. London: Routledge.
Hi!
I would like to specify that the girls’ playing preferences studied in part of three games in our research (the one you’re referring to) were pointed out from the earlier game literature concerning girl’s playing habits and interests. They were not found or proven by us. Instead, our attempt was to find out if these preferences, found by other researchers, can be used as effective playing tactics in computer games. I very much agree with you that general rules for making games for girls/women cannot be found and that there is still a lot to study and discuss until we get rid of the stereotypes. Happily, there are a lot of differences between girl players.
All the best for your studies!