Games for Girls!?

[Aqualung]

I am a gurl and I liek Peggle. Lololololol.

When will these threads ever end? ..It's like the guys want equal rights more than I do..

 

[tishy19]

Why does a game need to target either sex? Sure there are some differences, but an excellent game will be excellent no matter what genitalia you have.

Designing games to cater to either is actually sort of patronizing.

So as for the OP, just good games.

Amen.

There's really no rhyme or reason behind my favourite games. I love shooters, hack 'n slash, adventure; basically if it's a good game, I'm there.

 

[WestMountain]

Isn't all mainstream games unisex?..

 

[Uilleand]

There are girls in every gaming community. Girls - women - play everything from old-school text RPGs to the newest shoot-em-ups.

Having said that, however, if you want to find a community of dedicated hard-core female gamer fans ... just check out any group/club/forum around BioWare. That company knows how to not only get women playing their games, but become rabidly obsessed with their games...and it's mostly about just telling good stories, evoking real emotion within the gameplay, and giving us a reason to come back to the computer/console again ... and again...and again...
One girl-oriented gaming forum I belong to has separate sections for each BioWare game. It's not planned...it just evolves that way because that's where the discussion happens.

 

[Ignignokt]

Probably any of the ones that don't require you to plug in your penis to start the game up.

 

[Little Bo Peep]

That rambled a bit, but I guess my point is this: instead of trying to define "games for girls", why don't we just define games in terms of their main focus? If the main focus of the game is action and badassness, call it that. If the main focus is relationships and deep characters, call it that. But let everyone decide what they want. I'm male, and I've always gone in for more of the "girl games" and "girls anime". I've also known women who really just want to play something where you shoot people gruesomely.

You talk a lot of sense. I personally prefer the "male anime" and often prefer "male games".

Everyone likes different things so we can't keep sticking things in a boy box and a girl box. Sometimes I just want to blow things into tiny pieces, other times I want an indepth story with well thought out characters. It can depend on all sorts of things like how busy I or what mood I'm in, blasting aliens is very theraputic though.

But if it helps, games I've been playing lately are:
-Mass Effect
-Half Life 2
-Left 4 Dead
-TF2
-Dragon Age
-Portal
-Oblivion

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Why does a game need to target either sex? Sure there are some differences, but an excellent game will be excellent no matter what genitalia you have.

Designing games to cater to either is actually sort of patronizing.

So as for the OP, just good games.

This is my stance on the matter down to a T. Stole the words outta my mouth.

 

[Moonmover]

And thus the RPG. Men get to kill things and watch jiggly boobs while women get to collect items and gossip with the villagers.

 

[Seldon2639]

That rambled a bit, but I guess my point is this: instead of trying to define "games for girls", why don't we just define games in terms of their main focus? If the main focus of the game is action and badassness, call it that. If the main focus is relationships and deep characters, call it that. But let everyone decide what they want. I'm male, and I've always gone in for more of the "girl games" and "girls anime". I've also known women who really just want to play something where you shoot people gruesomely.

You talk a lot of sense. I personally prefer the "male anime" and often prefer "male games".

Everyone likes different things so we can't keep sticking things in a boy box and a girl box. Sometimes I just want to blow things into tiny pieces, other times I want an indepth story with well thought out characters. It can depend on all sorts of things like how busy I or what mood I'm in, blasting aliens is very theraputic though.

But if it helps, games I've been playing lately are:
-Mass Effect
-Half Life 2
-Left 4 Dead
-TF2
-Dragon Age
-Portal
-Oblivion

First, welcome to the site. Your first post was a response to one of mine, that makes me feel special... Moving on.

I'm not sure how much I'd put the swords-and-horses fantasy of DA:O or Oblivion (or the space-cowboy of ME) into a "deep character/stories" framework, but that's part of the issue in the entire medium. Even the games which are the closest things to "girl anime" have so many elements of "big strong hero kicking ass" that it's a difficult distinction to credibly make.

Still, if we look at it already handicapped; realizing that even the more character-centric games are still going to be about dudes with armor and big guns/swords destroying the forces of evil, Half-Life, Mass Effect, and DA:O count more in the girl's genre than boy's. It's sad though, I think, that we have to specifically admit that even games which should be all about introspection, relationships, and (yes) even angst, have to be filled to the brim with bad things you can shoot/slice before people will pick them up.

I suppose the closest thing I can think of to a true "girl's game" in the way I think of D.N Angel as a girl's anime would be something like either TWEWY or Trauma Center.

 

[Uilleand]

But if it helps, games I've been playing lately are:
-Mass Effect
-Half Life 2
-Left 4 Dead
-TF2
-Dragon Age
-Portal
-Oblivion

I'm not sure how much I'd put the swords-and-horses fantasy of DA:O or Oblivion (or the space-cowboy of ME) into a "deep character/stories" framework, but that's part of the issue in the entire medium. Even the games which are the closest things to "girl anime" have so many elements of "big strong hero kicking ass" that it's a difficult distinction to credibly make.

Still, if we look at it already handicapped; realizing that even the more character-centric games are still going to be about dudes with armor and big guns/swords destroying the forces of evil, Half-Life, Mass Effect, and DA:O count more in the girl's genre than boy's. It's sad though, I think, that we have to specifically admit that even games which should be all about introspection, relationships, and (yes) even angst, have to be filled to the brim with bad things you can shoot/slice before people will pick them up.

When "big strong hero kicking ass" is also a wise-cracking Fem!Shepard or female dwarven noble Aeducan tank, it detracts *nothing* from the story-driven gameplay of Mass Effect or DA:O. (Maybe notsomuch Oblivion, tho...there isn't much to that game other than turning stuff into a fine, red paste.)
The slicing is FUN, fighting for characters you actually CARE about is motivating. I'm SOOO looking forward to Mass Effect 2, where if you don't plan, if you don't slice effectively enough...those characters will DIE. It makes my tatical combat brain go gooey with joy.

 

[Little Bo Peep]

That rambled a bit, but I guess my point is this: instead of trying to define "games for girls", why don't we just define games in terms of their main focus? If the main focus of the game is action and badassness, call it that. If the main focus is relationships and deep characters, call it that. But let everyone decide what they want. I'm male, and I've always gone in for more of the "girl games" and "girls anime". I've also known women who really just want to play something where you shoot people gruesomely.

You talk a lot of sense. I personally prefer the "male anime" and often prefer "male games".

Everyone likes different things so we can't keep sticking things in a boy box and a girl box. Sometimes I just want to blow things into tiny pieces, other times I want an indepth story with well thought out characters. It can depend on all sorts of things like how busy I or what mood I'm in, blasting aliens is very theraputic though.

But if it helps, games I've been playing lately are:
-Mass Effect
-Half Life 2
-Left 4 Dead
-TF2
-Dragon Age
-Portal
-Oblivion

First, welcome to the site. Your first post was a response to one of mine, that makes me feel special... Moving on.

I'm not sure how much I'd put the swords-and-horses fantasy of DA:O or Oblivion (or the space-cowboy of ME) into a "deep character/stories" framework, but that's part of the issue in the entire medium. Even the games which are the closest things to "girl anime" have so many elements of "big strong hero kicking ass" that it's a difficult distinction to credibly make.

Still, if we look at it already handicapped; realizing that even the more character-centric games are still going to be about dudes with armor and big guns/swords destroying the forces of evil, Half-Life, Mass Effect, and DA:O count more in the girl's genre than boy's. It's sad though, I think, that we have to specifically admit that even games which should be all about introspection, relationships, and (yes) even angst, have to be filled to the brim with bad things you can shoot/slice before people will pick them up.

I suppose the closest thing I can think of to a true "girl's game" in the way I think of D.N Angel as a girl's anime would be something like either TWEWY or Trauma Center.

I agree with you there, I don't think any of the games I picked out scream girly. Maybe that's a good thing though? That slashing and shooting can be added easily to a game with tons of relationships and a heap of angst as well? I think games that do that become popular with both genders because it usually tailors to everyones taste.

But that's just a generalisation of course.

I think it's near enough impossible to find a game which classes as a "deep character/story" game without any of the Forces of Evil-ness. But DA:O got me hooked not only for the easy gameplay but because I found the story genuinely interesting and the characters well thought out, so maybe the characters don't have to be deep as long as the stories immersive. So maybe that's why Mass Effect, DA:O and Half Life are considered girls games, because it's more about the story than the gameplay?

What about more puzzle based games, would you say they're gender specific? Just curious.

And thank you, been lurking here for a while now, but only just got brave enough to post!
Feel free to stop me if you think I'm talking nonsense.

 

[DariaMorgendorffer]

I'm a girl gamer, I've always loved games since I got a game gear when I was 9.

I'll enjoy playing almost anything but if I suck at it then I usually give up pretty quickly, this mainly includes anything first person. I get flustered

I'm playing DA:O at the moment. I've also been obsessed with evil WoW and the even more evil Sims. The gaming love of my life will always be the Baldur's Gate series however.

I supposed I'm probably a total cliche since I'll be happy with any ego-appeasing storyline, nice hair, long limbs and an impossibly massive sword. But I've never actually met another girl gamer in real life so I guess I don't feel that bad about being 'cliche'.
Walking around villages seducing people or, even better, killing them with one hit just then taking their gold and buying an even bigger sword makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I loved God of war but honestly I was just so bad at it I just sat back and watched my man play it, sorry

I think like all things in life there are some games in which the elements appeal more to one gender than the other because our brains do after all work in quite different ways.

 

[Seldon2639]

When "big strong hero kicking ass" is also a wise-cracking Fem!Shepard or female dwarven noble Aeducan tank, it detracts *nothing* from the story-driven gameplay of Mass Effect or DA:O. (Maybe notsomuch Oblivion, tho...there isn't much to that game other than turning stuff into a fine, red paste.)
The slicing is FUN, fighting for characters you actually CARE about is motivating. I'm SOOO looking forward to Mass Effect 2, where if you don't plan, if you don't slice effectively enough...those characters will DIE. It makes my tatical combat brain go gooey with joy.

It doesn't detract, no, but nor does it add to it. The question is less "story-driven versus gameplay-driven" and more "relationship driven vs story driven". A relationship driven story is one in which the conflict is based on how the characters interact. A story-driven story is one in which the conflict is outside of the character's control. Saren is "evil" and "must be stopped" so everything else takes a backseat. But, then, look at any shojou anime, and see the difference. The story of Full Metal Panic is driven by the character's relationships to each other, not the other way around.

I'm not denigrating your tastes in games. You enjoy the action, and being pulled along by a plot. You also enjoy being the one "in" the story. I enjoy being told a story, and being shown relationships. It's a difference in taste, not in quality.

That's even without considering that when we're talking about WRPGs, you can throw any story-about-the-characters out the window. Your character is so arbitrary and capricious that it's impossible for the story to actually be based on who he/she is. Instead, the story and the personalities are segregated. What drives your character forward is (a) entirely up to you as a player, and (b) entirely irrelevant to the story. How your character reacts doesn't influence the story, and there's no way for any kind of character growth to happen aside from you (as a player) deciding that you want your character to change. I call that escapist fantasy about being a badass with big guns.

I agree with you there, I don't think any of the games I picked out scream girly. Maybe that's a good thing though? That slashing and shooting can be added easily to a game with tons of relationships and a heap of angst as well? I think games that do that become popular with both genders because it usually tailors to everyones taste.

But that's just a generalisation of course.

I think it's near enough impossible to find a game which classes as a "deep character/story" game without any of the Forces of Evil-ness. But DA:O got me hooked not only for the easy gameplay but because I found the story genuinely interesting and the characters well thought out, so maybe the characters don't have to be deep as long as the stories immersive. So maybe that's why Mass Effect, DA:O and Half Life are considered girls games, because it's more about the story than the gameplay?

What about more puzzle based games, would you say they're gender specific? Just curious.

And thank you, been lurking here for a while now, but only just got brave enough to post!
Feel free to stop me if you think I'm talking nonsense.

Responding above got me thinking about the real difference. It's not so much a division between "forces of evil stuff" and "deep characters/story", but a question of what drives the story forward. All due respect to Bioware, but they suck at making character-driven stories. They went so far toward freedom that they neglect those of us who don't really like being forced to make up wholecloth backgrounds and personalities for our characters.

The question is this: what makes the story progress? In a shonen anime, it's progression for progression's sake. The characters either don't care, or aren't shown to be cognizant enough to care, and instead just go from adventure to adventure, advancing the plot. In a shojou anime, the plot is progressed because of who the characters are. Their motivations are of prime important. Sousuke Sagara goes through growth and development, going so far as to defy orders to rescue Kaname. His personality informs the story.

I want a game in which the story is deep, but in which the story is based on the characters. Otherwise I feel like I'm just playing with action figures. Cardboard cut-outs whose personalities are irrelevant to the need for the story to move forward. *shrugs*, the organic progression of "what would the characters do" feels more realistic and fun than "we have to go from point A to point B and accomplish this goal".

We talk a lot about gameplay and story segregation, maybe we should talk about gameplay/character story segregation.

 

[Axolotl]

Having said that, however, if you want to find a community of dedicated hard-core female gamer fans ... just check out any group/club/forum around BioWare. That company knows how to not only get women playing their games, but become rabidly obsessed with their games...and it's mostly about just telling good stories, evoking real emotion within the gameplay, and giving us a reason to come back to the computer/console again ... and again...and again...
One girl-oriented gaming forum I belong to has separate sections for each BioWare game. It's not planned...it just evolves that way because that's where the discussion happens.

Don't most RPGs have a much larger female fanbase than other genres? That's always the impression I've gotten from most RPG fan-forums (except Fallout and Troika games they seem to hae less).

On topic whilst games shouldn't be aimed at one gender they generally are because thats just the way marketing works. It's partly a self-perpetuating cycle, companies don't think women buy "hardcore" games and thu don't market them to women which encourages that image which encourages them not to market them and so on.

 

[funksobeefy]

Why dont we make games with great stories, interesting characters and believable worlds and make all genders happy?

 

[Uilleand]

Your character is so arbitrary and capricious that it's impossible for the story to actually be based on who he/she is. Instead, the story and the personalities are segregated. What drives your character forward is (a) entirely up to you as a player, and (b) entirely irrelevant to the story. How your character reacts doesn't influence the story, and there's no way for any kind of character growth to happen aside from you (as a player) deciding that you want your character to change.

Oh wow...I so disagree with you there...especially in BioWare games. How my character reacted made the difference as to whether the game ended with various characters being alive or dead...including herself!

But as for this:

You enjoy the action, and being pulled along by a plot. You also enjoy being the one "in" the story. I enjoy being told a story, and being shown relationships. It's a difference in taste, not in quality.

Yes. I want a narrative I can participate in, that ends up reflecting the choices I have made. I think that's why Oblivion always irritated me - action gameplay aside. Nothing *changes* no matter how I act. No-one reacts to the character differently if you save the world. Of course...that just allows for heaps of random killing stress release