Teaching A Girlfriend To Game
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Just lend a girl something & give her the game manual (if it has one).
Whenever I want to get a girl-pal into gaming, I let them borrow American McGee's Alice; an old PC game, then to spark their interest, I threaten to shave them bald if they don't return it or if the disc is scratched. If Alice isn't their thing, I buy them a cheap copy of Aveyond. If they like Alice, I tell them to go to GameTap & try Serious Sam, if they like Aveyond, I lend them Dungeon Siege. In the end, if neither shooters nor RPGs spark any interest, I default to The Sims or Sim City 3000 Unlimited, RTSs like Heroes of Might & Magic 4 or Age of Empires, & the surefire "Sam & Max." If S&M is the favorite after trying everything else, then I know they were ment to be casual gamers.
Whenever I want to get a girl-pal into gaming, I let them borrow American McGee's Alice; an old PC game, then to spark their interest, I threaten to shave them bald if they don't return it or if the disc is scratched. If Alice isn't their thing, I buy them a cheap copy of Aveyond. If they like Alice, I tell them to go to GameTap & try Serious Sam, if they like Aveyond, I lend them Dungeon Siege. In the end, if neither shooters nor RPGs spark any interest, I default to The Sims or Sim City 3000 Unlimited, RTSs like Heroes of Might & Magic 4 or Age of Empires, & the surefire "Sam & Max." If S&M is the favorite after trying everything else, then I know they were ment to be casual gamers.
Ok, I think some people already mentioned everything I ma about to say. I am just agreeing with their suggestions.
Co-op games are great because you can kind of help her out if she's having trouble. Mass Effect is great--It's fun making the moral decisions. I don't think you have to start her out on anything easy and/or casual, but some of those games are fun. Mario is always great and Katamari. I freakin love Katamari!
Co-op games are great because you can kind of help her out if she's having trouble. Mass Effect is great--It's fun making the moral decisions. I don't think you have to start her out on anything easy and/or casual, but some of those games are fun. Mario is always great and Katamari. I freakin love Katamari!
Not to mention personality. What genres of movies she likes that could be incorporated into games? likes Anime etc? try Final Fantasy Series. If she likes Co-Op, grab a easy Co-Op game to play with her and start her off. My Ex was a gamer, but not a very fun type. (She was 18 and had obsessions with Spongebob that a 9yo would. It was quite a real turn off :|)Susan Arendt said:
I got my gf to play Army of Two with me before, she said it was fun but still think the controls are too complicated for her. She can handle the running and gunning, but then when it came to getting into cover, using grenades, co-op sniping, gaining aggro, flanking etc, it just got too much for her.
Here's another good game to try out, we also played Sacred 2 on the PS3 and she got quite into that. I suspect that she feels much more comfortable in a birds eye view rather then being right in the battles. I think the questing and loot collecting was a factor as well. However I had to handle all her leveling up as she has no idea how the stats and skill trees work.
In the end she enjoys her management games like Diner Dash much more though. A casual gamer gf is better than nothing I guess!
Here's another good game to try out, we also played Sacred 2 on the PS3 and she got quite into that. I suspect that she feels much more comfortable in a birds eye view rather then being right in the battles. I think the questing and loot collecting was a factor as well. However I had to handle all her leveling up as she has no idea how the stats and skill trees work.
In the end she enjoys her management games like Diner Dash much more though. A casual gamer gf is better than nothing I guess!
Heh, I find it funny how many comments suggest that you buy her games. You don't necessarily have to buy your girlfriend any games. And if you really want to get her to learn how to play games, just pop a random game into the console, plop the controller in her hands and sit back.
The best way to teach anyone how to play is to let them learn it themselves with the teacher just showing them the basic controls, because they don't really learn if they're shown everything, since they'll just keep coming back to the teacher to ask about how to do this move or how to do that combo. Besides it's more rewarding to someone if they discover how to complete a task/move on their own.
As for the selection, just because she's a female doesn't mean she'll be instantly drawn to the cutesy games or the story heavy ones. (Hell I'm a girl and I find ultimate satisfaction in popping someone's head off in L4D or ripping them in two in Prototype.) So my suggestion is to let her play the games you do. Since she's new she'll probably develop a liking to the games you enjoy. (and if not you could always take her to a GameStop and have her play the free demos)
Like another commenter here said, females aren't too different to males when it comes to gaming.
Good luck.
The best way to teach anyone how to play is to let them learn it themselves with the teacher just showing them the basic controls, because they don't really learn if they're shown everything, since they'll just keep coming back to the teacher to ask about how to do this move or how to do that combo. Besides it's more rewarding to someone if they discover how to complete a task/move on their own.
As for the selection, just because she's a female doesn't mean she'll be instantly drawn to the cutesy games or the story heavy ones. (Hell I'm a girl and I find ultimate satisfaction in popping someone's head off in L4D or ripping them in two in Prototype.) So my suggestion is to let her play the games you do. Since she's new she'll probably develop a liking to the games you enjoy. (and if not you could always take her to a GameStop and have her play the free demos)
Like another commenter here said, females aren't too different to males when it comes to gaming.
Good luck.
She will like the game as long and you and her are having fun. Her preference will only grow if she is playing single player unfortunately. If she starts to look on her own, use suggestions, or grow curious about other games, then you are on to what she will like.
wait, she "had lots of fun with chainsaws" and yet she hates zombies? weird.PowCoJG said:
OT: I'm not a great source for this but i think of those start with Soul Calibur and go really easy till she gets the hang of it, but then again that would take alot of patience.
Simple, the shock therapy method. Plug her up to 1000 vilts of electricity, and whenever she starts talking about how she is bored or her cats you electrocute the shit out of her.
Edit: If it turns out to be a failed attempt, end it with a bang. Buy the original FEAR and dont tell her it is a horror game.
Edit: If it turns out to be a failed attempt, end it with a bang. Buy the original FEAR and dont tell her it is a horror game.
From my personal experience with a gamer sister and the few other girl gamers ive met, i'd say Sims, RPG's, JRPG's, and MMO's are what seems most popular with girl gamers. Looking at your list of games i'd say start with Fable 2 and Oblivion IV (she can play as a female, which is always good), and your ideas about KH and WOW are very good (JRPG n MMORPG).
That said, you said you and your GF are having fun with Gears 2, and ultimatley every individual is different, and when ppl play to be together (like me n my siblings) it doesnt relly matter what you play, as long as you have fun together.
That said, you said you and your GF are having fun with Gears 2, and ultimatley every individual is different, and when ppl play to be together (like me n my siblings) it doesnt relly matter what you play, as long as you have fun together.
Like Susan said, ask her what she wants to play. You don't have to start her on baby mode, and if you do she may resent you for it. Okami might not be a bad place to start, it's not ultra-easy mode and it's a little different and its got a story. But I think that your best bet would be to take her to a game store and let her pick something out for herself.