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Gamers & Subcultures 2

Gamers & Subcultures 2. INFO111 S2 2010. Invisible Gamers. Girls don’t like violence... Most gamers are teenage boys... Our target demographic is... So we don’t have to worry about it. The Female Gamer. Girls do play games Considered unusual, abnormal Or rendered completely invisible

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Gamers & Subcultures 2

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  1. Gamers & Subcultures 2 INFO111 S2 2010

  2. Invisible Gamers • Girls don’t like violence... • Most gamers are teenage boys... • Our target demographic is... • So we don’t have to worry about it

  3. The Female Gamer • Girls do play games • Considered unusual, abnormal • Or rendered completely invisible • How does that affect their experience?

  4. Some Stats • 47% of gamers are female. • More women over 18 than boys under 18. • Of FPS games, 78% (of 500 surveyed titles) FORCE the player to be a male. • Of the same 500, 17 games forced the player to be female. Roughly 3%

  5. Problems Playing as a Girl • Lack of Avatars • Strong heterosexual-male based stories • Leads to difficulty immersing in the game – “I wouldn’t do that…” • In MMOs, having to prove gender or justify by being related to one

  6. Female Avatars • Do female avatars empower women, or appeal to the male gaze, or both?

  7. Male Avatars • Are there any sexy male avatars? How are they portrayed instead?

  8. Story • Are stories gendered? • What kind of balance is there? • Any films which could have the main character switched?

  9. Gendered Gameplay Genre?

  10. What and How • A large proportion of women play games casually • Others do play ‘masculine’ games seriously • FPS, RPG, MMOs, and all other genres do have female players

  11. Women & MMOs • ‘Sense of community and a social structure’ • An MMO is not an RPG with a chat room • Identity Play • Exploration of Environment • Socialisation

  12. Rules of Engagement • MMOs are an environment as much as a game • Social structures emerge within the game rules/world • Gender of the avatar vs. gender of the player

  13. Inclusive Design • You are not your audience! • Girls can design games • Girl Games?

  14. Innovation is Risky • The best-selling PC game of all time includes washing dishes and taking out garbage. • Some very terrible games contain elements of other, far more successful games. • We can’t guarantee that any game will be successful, but we can aim to be more inclusive, rather than less.

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