Thoughts

What would women want in a game?

WOMEN IN THE PICTURE.  Please. Nag your publishers to move their advertising away from the kid in the basement, or how gnarly (nasty) the game is, and START some advertising to reach women and show women in a player role.

In all my discussions and surveys with women who DO play games, the consistent comments are that:

1. Current marketing is alienating and discouraging women from wanting to try video games. Images of men in dirty t-shirts and dank basement environments not only hurts our overall image of gaming as an acceptable social practice, but it's not inviting to women who are trying to picture themselves in a new peer group;.
   
2. Women are not portrayed as players by advertising. They're treated like exceptions or outsiders.
   Reinforced by the same advertising, men don't see women in the picture either.

Multiplayer

At QuakeCon 2005 I interviewed every woman who wasn't in the middle of a match, and these are the responses:

Mostly playing multiplayer involved spending time with real-life friends or family, but part of this preference was a result of the hostility and abuse they had encountered with random players on the net. The female players I spoke with expected their allies to be intelligent, polite, and to treat them as equals. Bad spelling, profanity, and flaming made them leave the game.

There was a big preference here with women for games with team dependencies; and a distaste for games which encouraged competitiveness within the group. Also; there were many women who enjoyed playing in a supportive role, such as a medic or assisting with kills without claiming them. women want to add strength to a team, and don't want to have to struggle for dominance within it.

I have also been surprised at how many men would like to see more cooperative game-play options in games of all kinds, because they see it naturally as a way to introduce gaming to their partner.b

Women need avatars in which they can project a reflection of themselves. I heard many complaints that most avatars were either male; or female avatars were derogatory. There were also numerous comments that related to adaptable character creation and individuality. Women's ideas about themselves change from day to day, and they want that flexibility in their characters as well. This wasn't about changing clothes, it was about visual changes in attitude; some days you're a mouse, some days you feel more like a giant lizard. 

Masculine avatars also seemed to be considered more legitimate by male players. One woman in tournament competition said to me: "If I want to be a giant lizard; how come I can't be a female giant lizard and still be respected? The guys laugh at my alligator in the skirt and move on to play with other 'real' players. Even if I can kick their ass in the game."

Games seem repetitive and uninteresting  to women if they are all gameplay with no story or context. This sums up the many opinions I heard on the topic: (aside from an overall aversion to sports games)

"How many war games or mutant lab monster games or kill the terrorist games can a person play?" groaned one woman. "And sure, there's usually a story introduction, but then what...that's it? I need things to change in the game to keep me interested."

Every woman I spoke to at QuakeCon (except for two that had begun gaming during college) had been introduced to playing video games by a trusted male person in their lives who simply included them. They'd been encouraged to join the game by their Dads, brothers, or boyfriends. This inclusive atmosphere was pivotal to their taking up the activity with long-lasting dedication. Women joined because it was a group activity in a safe environment.

What age for introductions are we talking about anyway? When I see developers wanting to break into the female market, they target young players. Because everybody knows that all guys who love games started playing when they were little. When I stroll through the cubicles at my game company, most of the men working there (even the ones who make gory FPS) have children's action figures and dolls all over their desks. I scorn this, because I know that if I saw a woman's desk covered with Barbie dolls and little ponies, I; and everyone else would run the other way. Women have different rules about their pasts. It might NOT be good to have them lump game playing into that category.

The other entertainment I derive from listening to the enthusiasm for making young girls' games; is that who are we kidding? Girls just don't have the time. The loneliest times in a man's life are before he's eighteen, and after he retires. Naturally games can find a big niche in those periods. The BUSIEST times in a woman's life are from about the fourth grade until college, and then during motherhood. So those are the SILLIEST times to try and get her attention. The highest chance for game developers to capture the interest and loyalty of women for video gaming is between their ages of 20 to 30, and then again after 40.

Aha. Here we find the similarity of interests in content and gameplay that are common to both inexperienced female players and long-term maturing hard-core male players. Lets call it adult thought process. Obviously immature content is going to be a turn-off for both these groups. And crap! Now we have to think about advertising in yet another way. Someday I'll write a different essay about demographics over 60 who are RIPE for a new entertainment choice, but for now; just remember that the market for adults with time on their hands and money in their pockets is largely untapped.

ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION

They are into environment big-time. So how do you design game-play for extra time and activity in the environment? Here are some  thoughts on female interest: First, Throw out the idea that a game is about the challenge, because to women it’s about the experience. 

ALTERNATIVE GAMEPLAY

Consider that females in general tend to evaluate before making decisions, so the constant need for reaction  in games can be irritating. Also, mature players  have more of an instinct of evaluating the odds before reacting, so lets consider that gameplay could include the premise of:            Interaction = Evaluation for action choices *See 'Cross Purpose' section below 
With the emphasis on the process of evaluation.

The lack of choices in combat games often makes them unplayable to women because they are forced to use violence that they cannot relate to in real life. It doesn't matter if the game is a fantasy; this is a fundamental characteristic that takes the fun out of a lot of games that women try. I see a lot of developers of women's games interpreting this as a need for control. Allowing your player to have more control definitely will make games more playable to women, but that's not the root of the issue. It's control over choice. I was amazed at QuakeCon to see so many women playing in mmorpg's which allowed them to be a medic, or other choices to participant and still rack up points for their team.

PLAYER EMPATHY AND CHARACTER IDENTIFICATION

‘Where are we going? Who will we be with? And what will we doing?’ A woman is interested in clothing, fashion, and appearance because she wants to make a statement in the context of her environment. So in a game for women, it shouldn’t be about how idealized the character looks; it’s about what the character is DOING. It shouldn’t be about the costume; it’s about where they ARE. It shouldn’t be about socializing; it’s about STRATEGY of alliances. Because for a woman, those are the factors. In real-life her appearance is both a means to an end and a strategy to adapt favorably. The goal is to solve for the equation. 

Obvious to some, but not to others; is how NOT to dress your female avatars. The more challenging and threatening your game, the less your female player will want to attract attention. Women instinctively don’t want to stand out in the face of danger. So a red dress and cleavage  is not a comfortable choice of projection for women under threat.

Even with a choice of male characters, you’ll see the women choosing the agile avatar dressed in brown over the flashy muscle-man. Also consider the tendency to dress for the environment. Your female player will want a female avatar with appropriate safety gear, clothes that they could climb a tree in, and shoes they can run in. Scarier games need warm and protective costumes, but less combative and threatening scenarios can show more skin.

And be careful about portraying your female avatars as versions of sexy women that are all too often inherently negative; evil, malicious, deadly, distrustful, bitchy, nasty and naughty or dumb. Looking at the spectrum of video game products, many women think: 
"This is what the game industry thinks of me (as women in general). No thanks." 
Culturally, how game developers handle sexuality should give them pause to take careful thought. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. It just shouldn’t be used without thinking.

MANUAL SKILLS

I have run into player after female player who plays exclusively old console games because the controllers are simpler and smaller. And hardware manufacturers might also consider making a controller with a minimum of buttons.  I’d recommend this for PC games as well. It isn’t that women are non-mechanical (they have great dexterity); it’s a result of playing habits. Men will play right through a game, sacrificing big chunks of time to intensify their skill and reach the goal. Women, on the other hand may play for only a few hours at a time, then put the game aside for a week, or even longer.

CROSS PURPOSE

Probably you don’t want to make games JUST for women, but games that appeal to both sexes. One underutilized possibility is to have dual-purpose games which allow for different kinds of gameplay. A great deal of the alternative premise of Interest = Evaluation would be possible simply by by increasing environmental interaction. “Far Cry”  is a good example of   a game with  single purpose (combat player) but broad focus which gives it adaptable gameplay:  An action player can charge around and enter combat. An evaluation player can be more of a sniper, creeping out of sight, evaluating position and risk, interacting more directly with the environment, even having the ability to kill from a distance, if preferred.

Another approach is to make a game with dual-purpose (dual purpose, dual focus) “Air Buccaneers” is an URT2004 MOD from Finland, and has excellent potential to be a dual-purpose game. It's genre is action/strategy, carried out in air balloon battles. A little slow to start, a skilled player can nevertheless build some very good action gameplay. Beneath the action, Air Buccaneers has a dense and interesting terrain; full of thick forests, narrow streambeds, poisonous mushrooms, and intriguing bridges and structures. We have found in my household that the evaluation players are interested in the forest, and are often running around looking for things, and evading the mushrooms. When the balloons float up to an aerial vantage point, it's these players that speak up and point "Hey, fly over there. I want to see what that is". or "Give me the spyglass!"

The "Air Buccaneers" terrain as built was obviously not meant for this ground navigation, and it's a challenge to get around in; but foraging is satisfying because every nook and cranny is very detailed and there is continuing challenge and interest as you proceed. Like PoP, the atmosphere is deeply fictional, and the essence of visual yearning "What's over there?" is well paced and communicated. The mild dynamics of the poisonous mushrooms keeps the player moving. With very little work (some story, clarifying the alternative purpose) this title could double it's audience with a small outlay of assets. Even though the dual purposes are wildly divergent, the environments are nevertheless complementary and add further enriching details to one another. The focus is also not entirely dependant on either purpose. For example, several different purposes could be chosen.  

It would be very cool to have  a game with the same environment and assets but playable with different focus or multiple purposes. More people could play together who have divergent needs. And women like to play with others. And damn! We game developers could sell two games for the development cost of one.

HIRE A DIVERSITY

My last word about diversity and on getting females AND additional perspective into making games is that the industry could be more open-minded about receiving people from different walks of life who have an interest in games.  Yes, they should have previous production work experience and applicable skills, but adopting an attitude that the industry is welcoming to women and others as a place of employment would make a big difference in attracting them.

Thirty-something career woman just home from work. Clean, light apartment. Shoes on the floor. Briefcase against the coffee table. Still in her work clothes, she's on the couch with her feet up, controller in her hand, unwinding with a console game on the TV. (message: intelligent mature women can enjoy this)

Family at home spread around the couch. Cozy middle-class living room. Kid doing homework on the coffee table. Dad reading. MOM has the controller. Younger child snuggled up with her is pointing at the TV but looking up at her. 
(message: You are allowed,  it won't hurt your family; you can play games and still be a role model)

Three women in their 40's are clustered in front of a computer monitor (we are looking at the back of the monitor) with the glow lighting up their faces. One of them is pointing at the screen and talking. Another is making notes or maps on scratch paper, and the one in the center with the keyboard and mouse is totally absorbed, alert, and listening intently.
(message: This is fun with friends, this is mentally stimulating, you can manage entertainment via technology)

Ha Ha; what I would really like to see: A woman reclining in a bubble bath. Her dainty feet with painted nails propped up on the faucet. Hair piled up gracefully on her head. Reading the latest video game magazine with a feature on game tips.

This essay authored by
Jess (Jessica) Bates
Seattle WA  2005

Reproduction allowed with attribution
www.jessbates.com    
jessbates (at) gmail.com       

Making games with adaptable playability.

Seeing if there's a different kind of game.

Because we all know that there's a market out there of different players.

Links from this essay:
http://www.ludocraft.oulu.fi/airbuccaneers/
www.farcry.ubi.com

HOME                                                        Ramble Contents                                 Activities