Female's and gaming.

[Dyp100]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

Well, it's a scary genre.
Don't take this the wrong way - I'm not here claiming that ALL AND EVERY female ever hates FPS'. I know some that can't get enough of 'em, but most girls I know can't play them.
I've been trying to play Fallout: NV for a while now, and I keep pussying out and switching to third person 'cause I get so freaked out.

In first person you feel like they're shooting at *you,* (and I get that it's to make it more immersive, thanks ) and some girls (myself included) really don't like that. Third person however, it's more detached, and I enjoy it more. It's less stressful, ^_^

Don't apply this to ALL girl gamers. It's just that, in my experience, it's been one of the main reasons girl's don't game so much.


D: Please don't get mad at me.

Don't worry, I won't. Was just asking about you, really, cos I know not to generalise. To be fair, I was gonna say immersion is the better points of the FPS genre, though, if you tend to get freaked out easier I can see how that could be a problem. It's a shame really, some of the better FPS's tend to play up on the horror element of games (STALKER, Left4Dead, that kinda thing) I suppose we all have our limits for creepiness. I for one get totally freaked out by a game like Dead Space, though, when I was younger I was too scared even to play a game like Morrowind, all the dark corners and underground caves and giant crabs and all....To be fair, giant crabs still scare me, giant crustaceans/bugs are pretty bloody creepy.

So, how are you liking New Vegas in 3rd person?

 

[moretimethansense]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

I once read something that said it's due to the difference in the way men and women process visual information.

In short:
Men are better at tracking targets and have better spacial awareness.
Women are better at detecting patterns and distinguishing between colours.

Hence men would prefer FPSs and similar action games, women would be better at and prefer puzzle games.

That could be part of it, it could also be due to the excessive macho posturing that is prevalent in FPSs and similar games.

 

[KindOfnElf]

...Girls do like games. Actually a lot of them do. They aren't just naturally turned off from games. That's just silly to think some gender has a chemically inclined reason to interests.

Thank you!!! Girls ARE into games.
And I'd totally want to hear how someone own arse in Medal Of Honor last night... that is if you can come to word because I am a female (talk a lot, I talk fast *is generalizing*) and I love bragging about how I owned arse in Unreal Tournament (or whatever). -_-

Most males I know are not into things I like that are more common than gaming, but it's not something to be questioned because we are not the same gender. It's an individual choice, a hobby. And I am sorry but I really dislike this generalization, it's getting old and it's a bit annoying, especially because on this forum there are lots of females that obviously proves that we are into gaming. And we play FPS's. And we are good at it!

 

[Vampire cat]

Plenty of girls play games, but the girls that play games are the shy and quiet type so you won't find them in the club when your not looking for shy and quiet girls that are not super-attractive, and admit it: you never look for those, do you? You never look in the corner of the room! Look there next time and you'll find one (unless it's the wrong kind of party, I don't know what places you go to...)

 

[Dyp100]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

I once read something that said it's due to the difference in the way men and women process visual information.

In short:
Men are better at tracking targets and have better spacial awareness.
Women are better at detecting patterns and distinguishing between colours.

Hence men would prefer FPSs and similar action games, women would be better at and prefer puzzle games.

That could be part of it, it could also be due to the excessive macho posturing that is prevalent in FPSs and similar games.

Ah yes, that DOES make a lot of sense, actually...Thanks for the answer, never thought of it like that.

 

[Aerowaves]

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

Is this just stuff like Halo, Battlefield and CoD, or does it extend to deeper games like HL2 and Bioshock? I can see why "a girl" wouldn't like the former, but, aside from personal taste, I can't really see how the latter is necessarily closed off from enjoyment by a whole gender.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

Is this just stuff like Halo, Battlefield and CoD, or does it extend to deeper games like HL2 and Bioshock? I can see why "a girl" wouldn't like the former, but, aside from personal taste, I can't really see how the latter is necessarily closed off from enjoyment by a whole gender.

The girl gamers I know tend to love things by Valve, weirdly enough, though they're the intelligent sort as well, and I suppose they don't fathom why I'd want to play something like Halo, Battlefield, or if the mood takes me, yes, CoD.

Girl gamer's aren't necessarily some sort of, cave-troll like creature with plaits, I know quite a few attractive ones, the type I could envision some dumbstruck guy stood in front of going 'Wait, you like games?'

 

[Iznat]

Don't worry, I won't. Was just asking about you, really, cos I know not to generalise. To be fair, I was gonna say immersion is the better points of the FPS genre, though, if you tend to get freaked out easier I can see how that could be a problem. It's a shame really, some of the better FPS's tend to play up on the horror element of games (STALKER, Left4Dead, that kinda thing) I suppose we all have our limits for creepiness. I for one get totally freaked out by a game like Dead Space, though, when I was younger I was too scared even to play a game like Morrowind, all the dark corners and underground caves and giant crabs and all....To be fair, giant crabs still scare me, giant crustaceans/bugs are pretty bloody creepy.

So, how are you liking New Vegas in 3rd person?

It's good, but maybe not as.. immersive xD Still trying to find a gun I like, so it's nothing but VATS for me ^_^
And D: giant bugs ;_;

Is this just stuff like Halo, Battlefield and CoD, or does it extend to deeper games like HL2 and Bioshock? I can see why "a girl" wouldn't like the former, but, aside from personal taste, I can't really see how the latter is necessarily closed off from enjoyment by a whole gender.

Games like Bioshock (1 at least <_<) look *really* interesting, and it bothers me that I don't personally have the balls to play them. L4D is meant to be kick ass, too, and I can't even watch someone else play it D: Lmao, I'm just a big scardey cat, and don't like war games, I suppose xD

I really dislike this generalization, it's getting old and it's a bit annoying, especially because on this forum there are lots of females that obviously proves that we are into gaming. And we play FPS's. And we are good at it!

D: Don't get mad at me 'cause I can't play FPS', lmao. I didn't generalize!

 

[Littaly]

Because the video game industry caters to dudes. What subjects are the majority of high profile games today about? War, sci-fi, fast cars, martial arts, in short: guy things. The medium isn't alienating girls, it's the content. Or, at least the majority of the content. If you look at the games that girls tend to enjoy, The Sims, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, it's more gender neutral stuff. But the frequency of those kinds of games is pretty low when you compare it to movies or books, meaning the frequency of gamer gals is pretty low too. It's all pretty logical.

 

[HigherTomorrow]

It's a social thing. At least, a social thing for teenager girls. Face it, something tells me not everyone on the Escapist was voted Prom King (or Queen), or was quarterback of the football team. Teenage girls are just as cruel towards other teenage girls as much as teenage boys are dicks to everyone around them.

In my year (Sophomore), at least, there is not a single girl who has never played a video game. But no one says anything about it. Guys brag, discuss, etc. I've known a girl since 3rd grade and I learned over the holiday that she owns an Xbox 360 with Live and Kinect. It's like a secret hobby for girls. They're not too interested in sharing that they play video games because they will be thought of as weird by fellow girls and (most likely) extremely hot by fellow guys.

It all boils down to the fact that video gaming in general is still seen as a nerdy, geeky, and socially awkward hobby. It's not that girls are turned off by video gaming, it's that they (and other guys who "hide" their gameplaying hobbies; C'mon, I don't believe for a second you haven't at least played a game of Madden, so stop telling me you don't play video games!) are turned off by the social aspect, or, the way their hobby is socially handled.

 

[Jonluw]

Girls do like games. It's just that most mainstream videogames are intended for a male audience.
Most girls aren't all that interested in the whole "killing people" thing (though there are quite a few that are), but there are still plenty of girls who play videogames. They just don't play the same games as you.

Edit: Hell, I know a girl personally, who has played through Oblivion, and is eagerly awaiting Skyrim (if I haven't interpreted her wrongly).

 

[Dyp100]

Don't worry, I won't. Was just asking about you, really, cos I know not to generalise. To be fair, I was gonna say immersion is the better points of the FPS genre, though, if you tend to get freaked out easier I can see how that could be a problem. It's a shame really, some of the better FPS's tend to play up on the horror element of games (STALKER, Left4Dead, that kinda thing) I suppose we all have our limits for creepiness. I for one get totally freaked out by a game like Dead Space, though, when I was younger I was too scared even to play a game like Morrowind, all the dark corners and underground caves and giant crabs and all....To be fair, giant crabs still scare me, giant crustaceans/bugs are pretty bloody creepy.

So, how are you liking New Vegas in 3rd person?

It's good, but maybe not as.. immersive xD Still trying to find a gun I like, so it's nothing but VATS for me ^_^
And D: giant bugs ;_;

Well, I imagine using guns in 3rd person mode is hard. It'd suggest going back and making a melee character, then everything becomes easyyyyyyyyy.

 

[KindOfnElf]

I really dislike this generalization, it's getting old and it's a bit annoying, especially because on this forum there are lots of females that obviously proves that we are into gaming. And we play FPS's. And we are good at it!

D: Don't get mad at me 'cause I can't play FPS', lmao. I didn't generalize!

I was expressing my opinion to the OP about the whole male-female generalization.

 

[Manji187]

I think the "standard" game structure of overcoming obstacles/ problems by destructive force 90% of the time simply does not appeal to most women.

Guys go all like: "Hell yeah, barely a scratch... I took care of that quite nicely....I am awesome! This is SPARTAAAAA"

Girls prolly go something like "uhg...I just murdered someones sons/ brothers/ fathers/ lovers for no apparent reason. Where's the subtlety? Where's the diplomacy? Where's the micromanagement? I want to talk/ control/ choose the color of the drapes...*goes of playing The Sims 3*

I KEED, I KEED ...or do I have to bring out the flame shield now *gulp* *twitch*?

 

[Megacherv]

It's the guys who play that is the reason girls don't.


You see, if it was the other way around, it'd probably be exactly the same.

 

[VelvetHorror]

The reason perhaps why women don't play video games as often as men do, or the same kind as men do, might be the same as how you think they don't. It's a stereotype that can make a women who is grown into the stereotype not want to get into video games, and want to get into things more considered girly.


But, other things that might contribute to that might be because of how we evolved as a species. In nomadic times, men were hunters, women were gatherers. Because while on the hunt, you had to be quiet, women are naturally a bit more talkative. Also, since men evolved the hunting mentality more than women, they are more apt to enjoy activities that involve killing/hunting. The aspect of outwitting an animal and overpowering it might be translated into the same urges you feel when you play a competitive game like Call of Duty or Starcraft.

 

[Halceon]

False assumption. I've had my lengthy discussions with girls about the mechanics and products of various games.

 

[Woodsey]

They do, just a lot of them don't like the exact same ones as you probably.

 

[MGlBlaze]

Off the top of my head I can only surmise that it has a lot to do with the low brow gender roles depicted in many games, or the lack of female protagonists, or that female dialouge is being done badly.

Tell me what you think, I'd especially like to hear from our lady gamer friends and hear your opinions on this...

I think that's a big part of it, actually. Very few games (not counting western RPGs or other games with character customisation) that have female protagonists that are also not clearly designed to give the guys a cheap thrill. Even compitent secondary characters, for that matter. Far, far too many games are about 'manliness'. This was actually brought to my attention recently by my mother, of all people, and it actually really bothers me.

We need more strong female characters in games. Yes, we have Samus (I'm ignoring Other M, fuck you Sakomoto. She needed characterization, but you handled it so badly.), Alex Vance (not the player character, I know, but I still think she counts), possibly Faith from Mirror's Edge and a couple of others, but there aren't that many.

The fact that most games are all about 'shoot that guy there' probably doesn't appeal to them. I myself like the chance to solve things with stealth or diplomacy sometimes. I suppose that's why I'm really enjoying Fallout: New Vegas.