Girls and Gaming

January 29, 2002 12:45 AM

Girls and Gaming Yes, there are women involved in the gaming industry but always behind the scenes. Does more social interaction through online games mean that more women will become leading game designers?
posted by AsiaInsider (22 comments total)

not necessarily.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:22 AM on January 29, 2002

Though it is possible.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:40 AM on January 29, 2002

Answer unclear, ask again later.
posted by rodii at 6:44 AM on January 29, 2002

More important, does it mean you can hit on a chick in a bar by talking about Metal Gear Solid? Or will that remain forever on the same level as talking about your new custom headers? Never mind, I know the answer already.
posted by jfuller at 7:49 AM on January 29, 2002

I've been running into more and more women playing on HomeLanFed's (link) Counter-Strike servers. In fact, a few of my female friends locally just started playing there. I realized a few days ago that if I put together a lan party at my apartment, it would be half guys and half girls.

And by the way, who in the game industry isn't behind the scenes except for the 'leader' of the group, who typically has the most experience or the most money? Most women do not fall into either of those categories... just like the other buildings full of male programmers and artists that you never see.
posted by SpecialK at 8:22 AM on January 29, 2002

The first two comments should automatically be prepended to every MeFi thread from now on. Would save us a lot of discussion time.
posted by ook at 8:23 AM on January 29, 2002

the gaming market is in such a recession that it's difficult to say. i wish more women were into gaming, but when computer games were first commonly produced many girls didn't seem to play. i blame that on bias; computers bought for the sons and implicit assumptions that girls should not play video games. now, i think one of the biggest problems is that a lot of the "social interaction" taking place on games today is largely male to begin with. do you know many girls that say, "oooh -- sausage party. let's you and me go, julie"? i wish i had good suggestions...
posted by moz at 8:23 AM on January 29, 2002

Oh, missed my point in the first para:

I think a lot of girls will play the same online games as a lot of guys, if you give them a place that's free of cheaters, overtly masculine conversation, and 13 year olds trying to pick them up and. not. quitting. All are regularly booted off or permanently banned by HomeLan admins... who sit at the right hand of god, in my book.
posted by SpecialK at 8:25 AM on January 29, 2002

I know my wife kicks my butt at Quake 3 with a merciless and cold-blooded fury. But I still own her at Worms: Armageddon.

Seriously though, she is in the game industry and has a bird's eye view of this stuff. When we play on a server, she uses a non gender-specific name for fairly obvious reasons.

We're getting ready for a big LAN party in a couple of weeks, where she will be one of about ten girls out of fifty people. That's not a terrible percentage. And she will, of course, beat the piss out of me.
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:40 AM on January 29, 2002

So are you all saying that I should succumb to my boyfriend's wishes and play Everquest with him? ((shudder))
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:54 AM on January 29, 2002

Definitely not. Next thing you know he'll want you to have virtual gnome sex or something.
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:10 AM on January 29, 2002

oh god.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:18 AM on January 29, 2002

"Does more social interaction through online games mean that more women will become leading game designers? "

No, it means more leading game designers will become women.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:31 AM on January 29, 2002

oh god.

Is that "oh god" as in "oh god" or as in "oh god, oh god, oh god"?
posted by rodii at 11:47 AM on January 29, 2002

crouton, you should play if you're interested. (i think.) though i admit i don't play everquest or any MMORPG because i don't want to pay money to isolate myself from outside social contact. or i am too cheap. quite possibly both.
posted by moz at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2002

eh. As much as I'm for equality of the sexes, gaming just seems kind of ... lame to me. Instead of more women, I think we need fewer men involved. I'm not trying to be a troll here, it's just my opinion.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:50 PM on January 29, 2002

Based on data from my friends who used to work with Sony's Everquest, most of the new users are women. When last they were there 30% was a female audience. Games like Quake and Counterstrike are still almost all men.

In Asia, most game players are women (anecdotal information). However, they don't play CD-Rom single player games like males. They prefer gameboys, key chain puzzle games, cell phone diversions and free games like minesweeper and solitaire.

I'm just bringing up the possibility that online gaming may cause a reshuffling of audience target demographics as more women get sucked in by the MMORGs.
posted by AsiaInsider at 5:15 PM on January 29, 2002

All I can say is...Diablo II roxors! *grin*

Okay, something relevant? Girl Gamer scholarships. Link via User Friendly.

Jen (Note: That's not a guy's name)
posted by NsJen at 6:13 PM on January 29, 2002

> Jen (Note: That's not a guy's name)

It is in The Dark Crystal. (Which was also, once upon a time, a game.)
posted by jfuller at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2002

mmm!

Gelfling!

mmm!
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:16 AM on January 30, 2002

jfuller: I'd forgotten that. Oh, boy. Here comes another gender/identity crisis!

Jen
posted by NsJen at 6:33 PM on January 30, 2002

Here is the continuation of that report part 2
posted by AsiaInsider at 6:21 PM on January 31, 2002