Women and Video Games : Game Devs Hate Chicks

Developers Don't Make it Easy for Them

from JoeUser Forums

     I am a gamer and my wife is decidedly not. Nonetheless she makes an effort to play a few games with me. Lately though it seems as though game developers are going out of their way to keep her from finding any appeal in their products.

     Our favorites are games that support local multi-player in cooperative mode. The most notable of these in recent days has been Gears of War. Gears has a simple split screen coop view and a solid system of gameplay. She and I played through the entire single-player game on coop mode and enjoyed it despite the fact that she couldn't choose a female avatar to represent her. Instead she played as Dom the hulking ultra-male soldier. This is far from an exception in video games.

      Rainbow Six : No female avatars for utterly no reason. Additionally the coop story mode inexplicably has no briefings or voice-overs.

     Raw Vs. Smackdown 2007 : A game that comes within a rat's whisker of being a great game for couples. You can make incredibly detailed character models of either sex and customize everything from their move sets to the motion of their walk (Really I wish I could post a movie of the Gay Negrodamus wrestler's entrance... it still cracks us both up). She and I really got into the game initially as I was playing through the Season mode and she would help me along in coop mode or fight against me when I got tired of the AI's fighting style.

    The game's humorous (often unintentionally) setting helped keep her interested too. Unfortunately this game's developer really doesn't want girls to play. Why do I say that? Well they actually added code to prevent you from using female character models in Season mode and about 80% of the game's standalone modes as well. Want to have your wife fight someone in a cage match? Tough shit, they have disallowed it. The part that kills me is that they very obviously did this on purpose! What for? To ensure gamers and their wives/girlfriends can't do things together? To decrease sales and online play? Why?? WTF???

    These games would seem to be custom made for women. My wife loved the character generator with it's amazing array of choices and options but then is not allowed to use her creations? Plain retarded.

     We also play a lot of the Samurai Warriors franchise of games. She likes the system and hordes of baddies to kill. the games even have a few female characters to choose from! Good step. Then the most recent iteration comes out with the option to create your own character again! "Great!", I think to myself as I buy it. "She can play with her own avatar! That will be fun." Of course the character generator has roughly 3 female models with about 0 options for customization. Not bad but still pretty lame considering that and earlier iteration of the series had a more full featured system. No one reuses code anymore? 

     Crackdown: No female avatars, no local co-op. Back in the store 2 days after I bought it. Great game, poor attempt to appeal to couples.

     Most of the time the inclusion of female options in these games comes at little to no cost to the developer. In other cases the community of modders would be all too happy to do the damn characters models for the developers for free  yet most game devs simply don't put forth the minimal effort it would take to vastly broaden their game's appeal. 

     In Smackdown's case the developer actually expended additional time and effort to keep women from playing. What's the deal guys? Are you that frightened of girls or do you just hate those gamers who actually have wives or girlfriends? Figure it out and get some counseling.

 

 

 

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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Just to be a bit contrarian, Rainbow Six Vegas has several characters that wind up looking like females.  Even though some unintentionally wind up looking that way
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm a woman and love video games. My favorites are GTA: San Andreas, Super Mario Bros. and The Sims series.

However, I don't like role-playing and fighting games all that much (older and new alike) for the reasons you mentioned. At least in the GTA series, they are honest that the women are objects.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You don't like role-playing games? Surely you mean PC RPGs, and not Japanese console RPGs.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

Surely you mean PC RPGs, and not Japanese console RPGs.

Console RPG's from Japan suffer even more among non-gamer women due to the horrible storylines, stupifyingly dumb female characters, and often impenetrably detail oriented game mechanics. Classic RPG's are not real condusive to non-gamer couples playing them.

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Not to mention the outfits....*shudder and drool*
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Have you heard of the "hot coffee patch" for GTA San Andreas? My guess is that the fallout from that has left some publishers/investors skittish.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

My guess is that the fallout from that has left some publishers/investors skittish.

I think it is actually simpler than that. The game industry leans heavily towards guys who haven't a clue about girls.

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Obviously you don't own Soul Caliber III. Or you'd mention it here, at the least as the exception to the rule.

P.S. Rainbow Six is a Tom Clancy thing, go yell at him.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The lead developer of Galactic Civilizations II is a woman.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Actually, Rainbow six is accurate (well, liberally.) Most world military powers still don't allow females in special warfare units. Most gamers are men, and sadly most of those men aren't socially adept, and all men are horny (don't lie), so all that means most games are made for guys, and most girls in games will be objectified. While most of the violence is cartoonish in nature, games that allow unbridled violence of men beating women attract more protester's than just the usual misled crusaders.

Aside from games like the Sims and Zoo Tycoon, my girlfriend enjoys playing some of the simpler Rpgs, like Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance 1&2, and a few Dungeons and Dragon Games. Also X-Men Legends and Ultimate Alliance. I know they aren't really true RPG's, but the simple action, bragging rights, and moderate skill upgrades keep her interested. All of those are co-op, so you can try them. She LOVES the GTA series, not co-op, but usually she'll just BS, drive around, "sit next" to hookers while the car rocks, and then hand me the controller to do a mission or to get away from the cops. That can be a fun night, competing for the best cop chase or most kills, etc.

She made a character in Oblivion, but I just cheated for her so she can do what she wants, which is pick flowers and decorate houses without fear of dieing.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The lead developer of Galactic Civilizations II is a woman.

Yes, well, we all know that the adorable and lovable CariElf is, when it comes right down to it, just one of the guys.

Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
No, wait...


Did I just say that out loud?
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I guess it depends what kind of games you play. I know quite a few girls who play games, but it usually seems to be RPG's and The Sims (which I also love BTW, the new Seasons pack is good fun). My sister likes playing Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, and the Resident Evil games.
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
They should all get the Wii and play that kareoke game-thingy.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I know more than a few females that play Neverwinter Nights, and its a solid fantasy RPG (IMO, the best out there) with tons of customization ability to get unique looks for your avatar. Oblivion, with its gorgeous graphics, comes close, but still is not as customizable, and lacks multiplayer.

Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My cousin is a woman and she loves video games.
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My lover has always enjoyed playing that old Worms World Party game with me. Sometimes she even kicks my ass at it. It's a lot of fun trying to outwit and outgun each other.

And yet she has never once complained that there aren't any girl worms, or that all of the team voice sets that you can pick seem to be male.

Oh, yeah, and even though it's really cartoonish, the game is full of guns and bazookas and bombs and fire and explosions and exploding animals and other shit that only boys are "supposed" to like.

I guess she just understands that it doesn't really matter whether a character in a damn video game has a penis or not.

(Although, in fairness to you, that Raw vs. Smackdown thing where you can create girls but not play them in so much of the game is weak. I mean, why bother allowing it if you can't do anything with them? That doesn't make sense.)
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My wife plays at www.pogo.com. That game site has chick written on it all the way. I feel gay just playing it.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think it's more the market myself, It's not so much the devs its the corporate philosophy behind the marketing. So if your looking for a scapegoat look no further than the end user.

Even when the lead character is female as in Lara Croft it seems to only inforce the feeling of a male dominated user base influencing the development and marketing of games.

This situation isn't going to change overnight, If ever. But I don't find any problems with playing games that have female leads , Like Dreamfall.

All I can say is it's a tricky situation for the games manufacturers when the game players are so overwhelmingly males. almost a catch 22, the industry desperately wants more women to play more games but where do they begin.

Another problem is computer gaming reputation, it still has the image of teenaged lads spending their lives in their bedroom playing games. until you break that image for good then it will be difficult to get more women interested.

I know everyone is different but it's the masses they try to please, It's all about sales. The more units they sell the more money they make and women aren't a big part of that equation yet.

So yes computer games are as sexist as the audience wants them, no more no less.
They wouldn't sell so well otherwise.



Reply #20 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I know everyone is different but it's the masses they try to please, It's all about sales. The more units they sell the more money they make and women aren't a big part of that equation yet.


Yes, and women are a huge and untapped market segment. Or more specifically, ugly women--that's a huge market segment. Particularly in Massachusetts. muahahahahhahahahaaa
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Yes, ugly women--that's a huge market segment. Particularly in Massachusetts. muahahahahhahahahaaa


I guess you wont too much trouble pulling then . muahahahahhahahahaaa

Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Or I bet you could market existing games very easily by changing them just a little bit. Like Mortal Kombat. Just create a new, big lady sumo wrestler wielding a purse. Then not only do you market to the women, I think it would be kinda fun to lose.

Reply #23 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Or I bet you could market existing games very easily by changing them just a little bit. Like Mortal Kombat. Just create a new, big lady sumo wrestler wielding a purse. Then not only do you market to the women, I think it would be kinda fun to lose.



Hmmmm.
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
For most commenters: RTFA. Not talking about gamer girls here at all. Not a bit. Most of commentary here seems to have completely missed that point.
Actually, Rainbow six is accurate (well, liberally.) Most world military powers still don't allow females in special warfare units

Accuracy is not the issue. Fun is.

Additionally the article is about non-gamer females not girls who are out there playing NWN all on their own. There are far more casual gaming customers out there as wives or girlfriends of gamers than there are gamer girls.

No I don't own soul caliber III and it wouldn't matter if I did as it's two-player modes are competitive only. Not sure how man of your non-game wives enjoy playing competitively with you but mine certainly doesn't enjoy it.

Reply #25 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The genre is also the problem. Males are most likely to do the most exciting things. I.E. war, fighting, racing, scifi type stuff. so ladies, get your asses into jets, strap on guns and kick Captain kirk ou of his seat and well play games about you, maybe