Games For Women, By Women

[rustypup]

Congratulations Canadia! You've finally brought about Gaming Armageddon.

VANCOUVER, B.C., July 20, 2010 – Industry veterans Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes are announcing the formation of Silicon Sisters Interactive, a new Canadian video game company that will create games for a predominantly female audience.
<..>
“We’re not interested in ‘pinkifying’ games, which is how girl games are typically designed,” says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters’ CEO. “It’s no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience.”

[Translation]
Expect lots of sparkly-vampire themed sims... MMOs like World of Sparkly-Vampire Romance...
[/Translation]

[Edminster]

My sensibilities!

So what makes you think that they are just going to churn out Twilight stuff (which emphasises making a woman helpless and weak) as opposed to Mirror's Edge stuff (a game with a strong female protagonist who does not conform to the societal 'ideal' woman)?

Quit being so reactionary, it doesn't suit you.

[Cirtur]

I think Bayonetta was very progressive.

[rustypup]

So what makes you think that they are just going to churn out Twilight stuff (which emphasises making a woman helpless and weak) as opposed to Mirror's Edge stuff (a game with a strong female protagonist who does not conform to the societal 'ideal' woman)?

Simple observation. When you're setting out to sell to a market which predominantly demands Twilight, Farmville and Second Life, you're on a hiding to nothing if you invest in action games....

In any numbers game involving the fairer sex, Mills&Boon beats scantily clad nymphet prancing about like a ... well.. not a strong, female, protagonist so much as some man's concept of a "strong, female, protagonist"..

Secondly, should this concept develop the market to the extent that the pink dollar has sufficient clout, the major players would be silly to ignore the opportunities presented... and given the choice between the development complexities involved in, and return on investment of, a typical mainstream title and the monumentally simpler generic side-scroller, well... it's easy to imagine where that would lead...

My sensibilities are quite intact but my cynicism is boundless...

[Edminster]

I am sad to hear you have no faith in people who have worked on titles like Prototype and are using the premier expert on sex and gender relations in videogames as a consultant.

Also a real cynic would say that they're going to fail right out of the starting gate, you're just living up to your Title and refusing to believe that maybe (just maybe) this might turn out well.

women who would play videogames (a laughable concept) are shallow bints who just want to wallow in being the weaker sex

This is you. This is what you are arguing.

[rustypup]

women who would play videogames (a laughable concept) are shallow bints who just want to wallow in being the weaker sex

This is you. This is what you are arguing.

If the hideous shoe fits?... Nice stab at interpretation, but only moderately close...

I don't claim that all women are like this. I'm just sufficiently experienced to acknowledge that the large majority are, indeed, the sort who would much prefer to live a life of zero complex rumination and constant validation. If this weren't the case, there would be no daytime soap operas, Oprah Winfrey wouldn't have the power she has and we wouldn't have to make intellectual allowances for tolerating S.Meyer, furry boots in equatorial regions and J. Bieber/Westlife/Boyzone... all of which are marketed at precisely this type of women.

You, on the other hand, imagine that there is an as-yet-untapped horde of women out there gagging to play Doom3/CoD/Prototype?

Of the 12 or so lady gamers I know, 2 have actually surprised me by playing Diablo 2 or WoW. The balance fall into the category which you find so contrary - I hesitate to point out that these numbers do nothing for your case.

[Edminster]

Anecdotal evidence is all that I need to make judgements on anything.

[Cirtur]

Women are all disgusting whores and should be killed.

[rustypup]

Anecdotal evidence is all that I need to make judgements on anything.

Yes. You are, of course, making a valid point. I should ignore personal experience in favour of political correctness.

Oh, wait... my wife not only conforms to this, (apparently thoroughly unrealistic and distasteful), stereotype but actually agrees with my assessment.
(Actually, she falls somewhere on the border in that she enjoys the odd game of Torchlight... maybe for an hour...every other month... )

@Cirtur. Not killed. Perhaps have their sandwhich making utensils removed for punishment. I'm hardly a monster...

[Edminster]

My black friend (who likes stealing) agrees that all Colored fellers are untrustworthy

[rustypup]

Passive aggressive is the new pink. Never mind adorable...

<Am I doing this right? I really can't tell..... :/ >

[Edminster]

Except I'm not really being passive at all, yeah.

PS pink owns you raging misogynist

PPS you still up for hitting the movies this Thursday? I hear Inception is pretty good.

[rustypup]

Can't... I'm having my ears waxed... I'm that metro-sexual...

An internets misogynist!

[LordRetard]

i bury babies alive and then i set them on fire and then i piss on their graves and then i piss on their parents

am i doin it rite??

My sensibilities!

So what makes you think that they are just going to churn out Twilight stuff (which emphasises making a woman helpless and weak) as opposed to Mirror's Edge stuff (a game with a strong female protagonist who does not conform to the societal 'ideal' woman)?

Quit being so reactionary, it doesn't suit you.

QUESTION: do you really think that Mirror's Edge was targeted toward a female audience, or did it just have a female protagonist? Better yet, do you think Tomb Raider was targeted toward a female audience?

[smiley_cow]

Congratulations Canadia! You've finally brought about Gaming Armageddon.

VANCOUVER, B.C., July 20, 2010 – Industry veterans Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes are announcing the formation of Silicon Sisters Interactive, a new Canadian video game company that will create games for a predominantly female audience.
<..>
“We’re not interested in ‘pinkifying’ games, which is how girl games are typically designed,” says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters’ CEO. “It’s no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience.”

[Translation]
Expect lots of sparkly-vampire themed sims... MMOs like World of Sparkly-Vampire Romance...
[/Translation]

Actually I think what they mean by not "pinkifying" it is that there aren't going to be any sparkly vampires.

women who would play videogames (a laughable concept) are shallow bints who just want to wallow in being the weaker sex

This is you. This is what you are arguing.

If the hideous shoe fits?... Nice stab at interpretation, but only moderately close...

I don't claim that all women are like this. I'm just sufficiently experienced to acknowledge that the large majority are, indeed, the sort who would much prefer to live a life of zero complex rumination and constant validation. If this weren't the case, there would be no daytime soap operas, Oprah Winfrey wouldn't have the power she has and we wouldn't have to make intellectual allowances for tolerating S.Meyer, furry boots in equatorial regions and J. Bieber/Westlife/Boyzone... all of which are marketed at precisely this type of women.

You, on the other hand, imagine that there is an as-yet-untapped horde of women out there gagging to play Doom3/CoD/Prototype?

Of the 12 or so lady gamers I know, 2 have actually surprised me by playing Diablo 2 or WoW. The balance fall into the category which you find so contrary - I hesitate to point out that these numbers do nothing for your case.

Please tell me your joking.

It's been my experience (since we're using anecdotal information here) that the kind of women who like pink and fluffy don't play a lot of video games, whereas I have heard more than a few testimonials from women who get dismissed right out at video game stores and told they'd only play "pink" games despite the fact they are major gamers who do play video games like Halo and WoW.* Believe it or not, there is a market out there for girl gamers who want video games designed for them that are real games. If you honestly don't believe me, I can link you to online rants.**

the large majority are, indeed, the sort who would much prefer to live a life of zero complex rumination and constant validation.

That's a tad insulting, don't you think? Because all men are complex intellectuals who have such a high self esteem.

If this weren't the case, there would be no daytime soap operas, Oprah Winfrey wouldn't have the power she has and we wouldn't have to make intellectual allowances for tolerating S.Meyer, furry boots in equatorial regions and J. Bieber/Westlife/Boyzone... all of which are marketed at precisely this type of women.

Again, because all media created for men is the pinnacle of intellectuality. The transformer movies really changed the way I looked at the world, and that Grownups movie really looks like the kind of movie that makes you think. And don't get me started about all the intellectually stimulating subtexts and interesting themes of Two and a half Men.

You know, I would almost think that popular culture is just geared towards the lowest common denominator or something ridiculous like that.

*Actually I'm surprised you're using WoW as an example of real gaming. It's lowest common denominator, it's incredibly repetitive, and the community is full of idiots. Seriously, there are better MMO's out there.
**Once again, since we're using anecdotal information here.

Edited for typos