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Designing Games for Women
Author
I''ve read issues and articles everywhere about the lack of games for women. But one thing that keeps coming back to mind is that i''m a guy and i know what type of games i like due to my guyishness so how could i make games for women. I definity think it''s possible for men to make games that women would enjoy simply by the fact that we can take out women and show them a good time. But wouldn''t women still and alway be better at designing games for women anyhow?
I''d like to hear what we know about female gamers. Are there any hidden among us here at gdnet btw?
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
quote: Original post by Paul Cunningham
...
But one thing that keeps coming back to mind is that i''m a guy and i know what type of games i like due to my guyishness so how could i make games for women.
Well .. it appears I am a guy, so due to my guyishness how could I understand women pleasure ? And yet, I don''t give hope, and seem to be doing quite well so far.
OK, THAT was french humor ... But maybe if you don''t get too shocked you''ll get my point
youpla :-P
Author
Wrong way around, if i understood it then i could be shocked. But i didn''t, could you explain for this humble man please 
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
In the Lounge there is a post called "girls and games article response" from the last ten days. Several girls stated what they like/want in that conversation. I'll try to link to it:
Here's the link.
I was one of them, and it was rather a lengthy comment, so I won't repeat it here. Thanks for asking! :-)
[MadKeithV]I edited this message 'cause it was forcing the board to a width my poor monitor couldn't cope with.
Edited by - MadKeithV on August 2, 2000 5:02:24 AM
Here's the link.
I was one of them, and it was rather a lengthy comment, so I won't repeat it here. Thanks for asking! :-)
[MadKeithV]I edited this message 'cause it was forcing the board to a width my poor monitor couldn't cope with
.Edited by - MadKeithV on August 2, 2000 5:02:24 AM
Okay, you want to know what women think and want? Here is an entire room full of women talking specifically about gaming! Follow this link to the transcript. This was a panel on women gamers held at Dragoncon.
http://www.womengamers.com/articles/dragcontrans.html
http://www.womengamers.com/articles/dragcontrans.html
Actually, I realise that you put the same joke in nicer terms Paul; I was, just like you, making a parallel about men/women relationships in RealLife (tm) and the fact that if we are that bad at understanding women, then why don''t they all turn lesbians ? 
So for designing games, well, I suppose trying to be a bit more listening to the women wwould be a good start, just like in RealLife (tm). This article on Gamedev.net was excellent. Mainly because I love this approach of "human as an animal". After all, that''s all we are, a very infatued of himself animal.
As for the difficulty of designing for women, you don''t take on a task because it''s easy, do you ?
youpla :-P
So for designing games, well, I suppose trying to be a bit more listening to the women wwould be a good start, just like in RealLife (tm). This article on Gamedev.net was excellent. Mainly because I love this approach of "human as an animal". After all, that''s all we are, a very infatued of himself animal.
As for the difficulty of designing for women, you don''t take on a task because it''s easy, do you ?
youpla :-P
Author
I''ve been to womengamers a number of times and picked up the general gist of the types of games women like. I was one of those guys who participated in that "why do men play female character in games" thingy. But i really wanted to hear from the people here at gamedev.net in the gamedesign corner since this is where all the idea''s seem to be coming from
I''ll check out those links though as i haven''t been around to womengamers for sometime now. There just seems to be a bit of vaguness in the air about this topic that''s all. Plus all the women that i know who play games are very, whats the word? tomboyish very flexible in other words, and they all play tomb raider which i consider to be a guyish game with a bit of pretty tinsle around it to attract women.
Anyhow i''ll check those links for now and think up some better questions later
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
I''ll check out those links though as i haven''t been around to womengamers for sometime now. There just seems to be a bit of vaguness in the air about this topic that''s all. Plus all the women that i know who play games are very, whats the word? tomboyish
very flexible in other words, and they all play tomb raider which i consider to be a guyish game with a bit of pretty tinsle around it to attract women.Anyhow i''ll check those links for now and think up some better questions later
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
games should be designed for women in the same way you would design games for Germans, midgets, white people and children. Good.
A good game is a good game. I know girls who play far more than I do. They don''t play "girl games" because girl games are often not good.
This whole notion that there are specific games that appeal to the female market is a f*cking ridiculous product of a male driven industry trying to understand why females don''t seem to like games. Listen up! They do! And they will increasingly! And all you can do to encourage it is sit back and make better games overall!
You are still slaving over corporate created market demographics. They don''t exist. You are trying to make games for women the same way people think you should make games for kids. You ignorantly assume that kids are not intelligent and therefore can only understand stupid things. You assume women have outright tendancies and therefore cannot understand certain things. Wise up! This is stupid behavior on our part.
If I see another thing on "girl games" i''m going to puke. Are we such a product of the Hollywood system that we think in demographics now? And don''t even tell me you were considering making a "girl game" because that already betrays how crappy the result will be. You don''t set out to make something for a freaking demographic. Set out to make something GOOD, and if it happens to appeal to a certain kind of person so be it!
Oh, god this idea pisses me off. Don''t you guys ever want video games to be viewed as legitimate? ENOUGH!
A good game is a good game. I know girls who play far more than I do. They don''t play "girl games" because girl games are often not good.
This whole notion that there are specific games that appeal to the female market is a f*cking ridiculous product of a male driven industry trying to understand why females don''t seem to like games. Listen up! They do! And they will increasingly! And all you can do to encourage it is sit back and make better games overall!
You are still slaving over corporate created market demographics. They don''t exist. You are trying to make games for women the same way people think you should make games for kids. You ignorantly assume that kids are not intelligent and therefore can only understand stupid things. You assume women have outright tendancies and therefore cannot understand certain things. Wise up! This is stupid behavior on our part.
If I see another thing on "girl games" i''m going to puke. Are we such a product of the Hollywood system that we think in demographics now? And don''t even tell me you were considering making a "girl game" because that already betrays how crappy the result will be. You don''t set out to make something for a freaking demographic. Set out to make something GOOD, and if it happens to appeal to a certain kind of person so be it!
Oh, god this idea pisses me off. Don''t you guys ever want video games to be viewed as legitimate? ENOUGH!
Hey Landfish, that's probably the most intelligent thing ever said on this forum. When I saw the title of this thread I was going to post a message very similar, but yours basically said everything I was going to .
-RWarden (roberte@maui.net)
Edited by - RWarden on August 2, 2000 3:44:42 AM
.-RWarden (roberte@maui.net)
Edited by - RWarden on August 2, 2000 3:44:42 AM
Author
Ok, so if i was to sit down a try to make a game that would appeal to women in todays society then would i be just re-enforcing the social injustices to women these days? There are women though who would like games to be different, not so aggressive etc.
My brain hurts I''m not saying that i would (or would want to) make games just for women or appeal this way. I definity got to think up something more intelligent to say..
Nope, my brain still hurts
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
My brain hurts
I''m not saying that i would (or would want to) make games just for women or appeal this way. I definity got to think up something more intelligent to say..Nope, my brain still hurts
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
This topic is closed to new replies.
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