Shame, there are no games for women

[Chaos2Frozen]

Is the fatal frame series female oriented then? All of its main protagonists are female.

[Flying Dagger]

Originally Posted by creb

It's not like there's a ton of games aimed at adult (30+) men either.

:O what kind of games would I be playing when I get older? :O I don't see myself giving up on my current taste of games which has been there fore the past many many years...

I can also argue there are not that many games tailored towards hardcore gamers. The thrill of playing dark souls and conquering new levels are rarely met in games these days: most (single player) games seem to just hand you a victory even on highest difficulties.

[SilverSyko]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Is the fatal frame series female oriented then? All of its main protagonists are female.

A female protagonist doesn't instantly mean it's for women, though it's true how that character is presented can largely affect who they're trying to appeal to.

Fatal Frame is definitely gender-neutral. Survival Horror is something both men and women are capable of enjoying to a pretty equal degree. Though from what I've noticed I do think women tend to gravitate to that genre more than men do.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

And you don't need yuri undertones for the yuri fags to come running over the hills.

I take exception to her comment to begin with because not everyone who wants yuri is male.

Despite the popular stereotype, lesbians do not universally love yaoi. I don't have any interest in two bishies ramming each other in the ass.

I am a yuri fangirl--we exist, dammit.

[RRW]

So you saying you want game that only girl that will play but not boy. or at least majority of player is girl.

that will be hard since:

-Like I said majority of gamer is boy. but different boy have different taste so dont think every boy play CoD. some play Cod, others play Cooking Mama

-Creating that type of game mean you alienating majority of customer which mean less money to make.

-It seem you okay action game but you want it more "girly". well that like a girl asking to have soccer without tackles

Originally Posted by Joyce_Steele

Here's my ideal game may look like: You play as four girls stranded on uncharted island(either tropical or temperate). Each characters have unique personality to each other such as a tomboy, a snotty rich girl, a crafty girl and very feminine girl who good at cooking. The tomboy one is the bravest and able to explore the parts of the island which other girls can't reach(she's the one who wear pants while others wear skirts) and able to chase away wolves and feral dogs(the only closest thing to combat in that game). The snotty one have expendable supplies which the crafty one can exploit and also the smartest one which can tell which plants are edible or poisonous. The crafty one can made anything which other girls brought to her like building a hut or mosquito net for examples. The feminine one is an expert cook and can cook anything as long as the tomboy one brought for her and the snotty one tell her it safe to eat. All of them need to develop 'trust meter' among each other and please it is nothing to do with yuri undertones(while most male gamers would love that idea). While doesn't sound like it going to be a good game but at least you play as "girls", which I don't think it exists outside doujin gaming.

It seem you asking a Visual novel with gimmicky stuff.

But your idea seem close to Harvest Moon or Atelier Series. collect this to make this. ask this person to do what you cannot do etc. but it seem you dont like romance so that kinda hard if you want to have "peaceful" game.

Thought Atelier series tend have very little romance (but sometimes there is hint in it).

also I dont think it will be much different if you replace 4 Female to 4 Male

Originally Posted by Xagzan

Someone might have to educate me a bit on how the Uncharteds are gender neutral...

It still mainly a "male" game but i dont think a female gamer to feel offended when she play uncharted. unleash if that person dont like violence.

[momobunny]

Originally Posted by RRW

you just have to admit that each hobby have difference gender preference. Flower arrangement for girl and soccer for boy for example. obviously there is some exception but that pretty much the case

while agree that gaming industry can be more gender equal. it just nature of human that the will be more boy than girl

beside Casual game is still exist for girl to play

Social conditioning does a lot to influence what boys and girls will find acceptable to engage in for themselves and others... other than that, yes our brains all develop differently and the effects of hormones can do a lot... but I fail to see how that somehow means that video games are somehow inherently a boy's hobby. The industry has been pioneered by men and made incredibly difficult for women to enter... if more women could enter the field without fear of sexual harassment, extreme ridicule and prejudice then then maybe the women out there who are interested in entering the field but feel like they can't would be able to make some sort of impact and make games that can appeal to both girls and boys.

I will agree that a good portion of the traditional average male will have different interests than the traditional average female, I'm not denying that... but flower arranging and soccer playing? The differences shouldn't really be applied to activities all together but rather just how we view situations and go through problem solving... and everybody can problem solve, growing up everybody liked playing games, I don't see why this has to be different with video games than say... a playground game or board game. I know you already acknowledged that there are exceptions, but I feel the need to emphasize that the exceptions to the rule probably happen more than just 20% of the time... the numbers are large and I'm willing to bet that if developers and designers really put their minds to it they could tap into a relatively untouched market by focusing on making games with everybody in mind.

[Key Board]

regarding social environment..

I think it's further complicated because there is also gamer vs non-gamer layer that makes things worse.

For example, mainstream dictates that it's not acceptable for a grown man to play games. To a non-gamer female this kind of man is a childish thrash to be shunned.

I've known more than a few people who keep their gaming hobbies a secret from people they are dating. When asked about it, they would claim that it belonged to their cousin or nephew.

Likewise grown women who play games are considered weird.. unless it's Angry Bird.

I hope time will change things, but I'm not expecting a miracle.

Not only does video game have to fight its own industry, it also has to fight TV and Hollywood who control the spin on videogames. It's an uphill battle.

[momobunny]

Originally Posted by Key Board

regarding social environment..

I think it's further complicated because there is also gamer vs non-gamer layer that makes things worse.

For example, mainstream dictates that it's not acceptable for a grown man to play games. To a non-gamer female this kind of man is a childish thrash to be shunned.

I've known more than a few people who keep their gaming hobbies a secret from people they are dating. When asked about it, they would claim that it belonged to their cousin or nephew.

Likewise grown women who play games are considered weird.. unless it's Angry Bird

society is judgmental

I agree... it isn't helping things. I wish there wasn't such a stigma associated with playing games...

[Key Board]

As said.. not only does video game have to fight its own industry, it also has to fight TV and Hollywood who control the spin on videogames. It's an uphill battle.

yes, TV and Hollywood will side with games when the 1st amendment is threatened, but that's only to save their own hide. I think if they had the chance, they would due away with videogames altogether.

just look at how the media desperately tried to connect the Sandy Hook tragedy with videogames

so we are on the NRA's shit list too now? wonderful

[momobunny]

Originally Posted by Key Board

As said.. not only does video game have to fight its own industry, it also has to fight TV and Hollywood who control the spin on videogames. It's an uphill battle.

yes, TV and Hollywood will side with games when the 1st amendment is threatened, but that's only to save their own hide. I think if they had the chance, they would due away with videogames altogether.

just look at how the media desperately tried to connect the Sandy Hook tragedy with videogames

so we are on the NRA's shit list too now? wonderful

Many believe that video games aren't a valid source of entertainment... that they somehow do nothing but promote violence and rude behavior. I don't agree with this at all, I actually look at video games and see them as art... I know most people probably don't, but the amount of time that goes into developing games, the amount of effort put into them, and the amount of not only visual but performing art present in games makes it just as artistic to me as a movie, a picture, a painting... now I mean, some art isn't really my taste and some of it isn't really all that good in my opinion, but eh that comes with the territory.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Alright then what do girls do for fun that can't be mistaken for male focus? Make a video game around that then.

[larethian]

^ Otome games?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Apparently they want more than that....

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by momobunny

I know you already acknowledged that there are exceptions, but I feel the need to emphasize that the exceptions to the rule probably happen more than just 20% of the time... the numbers are large and I'm willing to bet that if developers and designers really put their minds to it they could tap into a relatively untouched market by focusing on making games with everybody in mind.

They do make games with everybody in mind. Most of the games in the mobile/social platforms are gender neutral. They just aren't making games that are targeting women exclusively. Well, there are games targeting young girls (Barbie games, MLP games, dressup games, high school social life simulators, etc) but I don't think those are the kind of game you'd want to play as an adult woman.

Anyways, if there's one thing you should know about most publishers, it's that they are extremely greedy and risk averse. They're not going to gamble on a new franchise when they can just keep on milking the cash cows they have. Why do you think so many studios are moving to kickstarter to get their more 'niche' titles funded?

Games for women would have to start there if it's to ever get off the ground.

[Solace]

I'm not really sure you can make a game targeted to girls without being accused of sexism. If you go with the stereotypes (lots of "female" colors, fashion, hot guys and dating, etc.) you'll be accused of pandering. If you don't, it's really not that different from the average video game.

I think the bigger problem is that games with female avatars, who don't act like men with breasts, just don't sell well. Publishers don't think they sell, and gamers (predominantly male), don't like the idea of playing as a woman. Someone like Lara gets a pass because she's "tough like a guy", and having a nice figure helps. Samus gets a pass because you never really see her outside the armor anyway. But imagine playing Bioshock Infinite and it's all from Elizabeth's perspective.....the game changes a lot.

There's a game coming out soon called Remember Me, where the developers actually said that no publisher wanted to touch it because it had a female protagonist. Luckily Capcom picked it up, but it's a sign that not only does the industry think female leads are for the most part toxic, but that they don't know what to do with such characters even when they exist.

I personally wouldn't mind more games approaching things from a female perspective, and at the very least it would be nice to see stories that aren't about rescuing damsels in distress or with women who are pretty much men except in their "assets". The less video game covers with a half shaven white guy looking badass while holding a weapon, the better.

But that's a writing issue, and then ultimately a marketing issue. There shouldn't even be a divide really. The whole idea that there should be "boys" and "girls" games, as if they should be separate, is just as silly as "chick flicks" and "guy flicks". As a society, we often seem very desperate to segment and separate the genders, as if it's something to be threatened by.

And this is coming from a guy who likes watching cute girls do cute things. And cheesy romance plots. And I cried when the dog died.

All very "manly" things, I assure you!

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Personally I think labeling a game male or female only to be somewhat archaic (maybe even insulting these days). People are going to like what they like regardless of gender. Maybe certain genres could be expanded upon to increase appeal to a wider audience but designing something specifically for one gender these days is a failed ideal. I just point at the success of the MLP series as an example - on the surface its something for young girls, but yeah it has a... surprising amount of male viewers.

Saying that though, I think the fact that most developers are male (which is changing) they just don't quite get female psychology, so they just go with what they know or assume, with varying levels of success when they try to make a rounded and appealing character on concept. As such those that are interested in making games that would appeal to "girly" women are few and far between and those willing to play them are quite the minority at the moment - no matter how vocal. But even so those women need to realise that not every woman wants those types of games and doesn't want to get lumped in with that group - just like every man doesn't want to get lumped in with the COD, FPStard, console loving crowd (c wut I did thar). Sure, hopefully those interested in that type of game can get games that will appeal to them, sooner rather than later, but I don't think they should expect anything from the dev houses owned by big publishers. It's probably going to take some indie stuff to really get the ball rolling.



ed: bah, ninja'd. /shakefist

[synaesthetic]

I would be really interested in the option of playing Bioshock Infinite from Elizabeth's perspective. It would be a completely different game.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Personally I think that would have been awesome. But I could be biased.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

Personally I think that would have been awesome. But I could be biased.

Oh, don't worry, I noticed.

[Alchemist007]

I'm thinking about how I, a male, got into gaming. Were the games I started playing so male oriented? (Sonic The Hedgehog). Was it the male associated likes with the games? (Destroying baddies, having superpowers, speed). What attracts girls? Talking, hanging out, drinking coffee, watching some drama...I know a couple that play games like Resident Evil, among a lot of games that guys like, but I'd probably consider them tomboys to an extent. Is that the demographic to be aiming for? Because simply based on my personal experience, not many girls care for gaming at all, unless it's something on their phone (which I don't use for gaming of any kind nor have an interest in).