Posted with permission from: Capitalist Chicks

Originally posted in May, 2004

A bit of a rant from the Capitalist Geek: 

When I was at E3 this year, I came away with a bit of information overload. So many things to play, to experience, to question, and to read, it's a wonder I didn't just go into a happy little geek coma. I look forward to the event each year with a growing enthusiasm, and tend to chronicle the information I find there a bit obsessively. Like someone who can instantly recall sports statistics, I catalog away useless gaming knowledge because I enjoy it and might conceivably use that information some day. Some of this, I pick up from gaming related articles and magazines, which I tend to enjoy reading regardless.

This year I picked up a copy of Surge 'The Pulse of Gaming' from the magazine stack, and paged through it as my teammates and I wandered around the final day of the convention. It's a decently written magazine, with a good bit of humor thrown into the mix, but nothing I haven't really seen elsewhere. As I flipped through the middle however, I came across an article entitled 'Love & Rockets', which claims to be about the 'stuff that makes girl gamers tick'. I was interested, and expected something with some humor and a look at the growing number of women in games with a positive light. I believe my first response was to actually flip the magazine off. Not the most rational of responses, but it felt good at the time. To say the least, parts of the article really got under my skin.

To be fair, most of the quotes taken from the article are taken directly from women working in the video game industry. Unfortunately, this does not mean it doesn?t reinforce some stereotypes that have plagued girl gamers for years. Jane Jensen, creator of Gabriel Knight, goes as far as to say 'Women don't have three hours an evening to get into something heavy. They want something that's fun and relaxing to play for an hour, after the kids are in bed or on their lunch break'. Umm... excuse me?! Not some women, not a portion of women, but women.

Last time I checked, the only thing even close to resembling a child that resides in my house is one overly affectionate fur ball of a chubby housecat. And sorry, but I fall directly into that category of obsessive gamer that will spend hours on end playing through a game just because I want to get just a little bit farther, or just have to see what happens next. I wouldn't have so much of a problem with this, if it didn't make such a broad assumption about all of the girl gamers out there, or reinforce the negative stereotypes we already have to deal with. It's a bit like saying that because a certain group of men enjoy playing vicious and violent games after a long day at the office, that all men must have the same tastes, when that just isn't true. Or better yet, saying that women don't watch horror movies, but instead prefer romantic comedy and drama. It may be true for some, but not in the least for all.

To add to this, Surge includes a piece on how to turn any female into a gaming partner 'with these simple steps'. These steps include letting her win a few rounds so she doesn't feel so bad about losing, playing only cutesy and non threatening games, simplifying the games down to baby steps with props like the Sony EyeToy, and tricking her into playing in the first place. Because, you know, we as women always react so well to being tricked into things or being manipulated. Yeah, sure, that's always been a winning tactic, hasn't it? And quite frankly, the women gamers I know tend to be some of the most vicious gamers I've ever met, so I'm not sure how the cute and cuddly approach is supposed to trigger every woman into loving games. I myself found my true addiction for video games with the advent of Doom, and know many others who share the digital bloodlust. Cutesy games are often fun and sometimes interesting, but I doubt I'd have become a real gamer had I not found that niche that promotes many of the things the article specifically warns against.

Thankfully the article is rounded out near the end with a few words from Megan Gaiser, president of Her Interactive, a game company which targets younger girls with a series of games which promote exploration and problem solving skills. She mentions that there need to be as many entertainment options as there are preferences, and that believing Barbie titles are the only thing which will gather girls' attention is just pathetic. She acknowledges the value in marketing towards female audiences, but doesn't place that stereotype on the entirety of the girl gamer class that we often have to fight against.

For a bit of clarification, I work as a video game tester part time, and have a pretty serious interest in both the games and the industry surrounding them. Both at work and in my sparse social life, I've met plenty of girl gamers through the years. And yes, some of them are the stereotypical 'girl game' enthusiasts, in love with things such as Animal Crossing, Mario Sunshine and Dance Dance Revolution. The thing is, I've met just as many men who love these games and who obsess over them just as much as their female counterparts. For some reason though, these games are labeled as 'girly', and it's just assumed anyone with two X chromosomes is going to adore it.

This is a stereotype, and it's annoying. Particularly as it occasionally keeps girls from playing video games they might otherwise enjoy. Games like Halo, Unreal Championship, Doom (pick one), etc, are often seen as a 'guys' game' due to their violent nature and quick pace, and therefore somewhat intimidating to a girl who may have never played a game before. Not just for the issue of beginning a new game, but for the general assumption that girls aren't supposed to like games like those. Strangely, most of the hardcore girl gamers I've met are just as good at these as any of the other games they might play, and just as competitive as their male counterparts. Despite what some stereotypes might have the world believe, not all girl gamers are about cuddly little Japanese characters and bouncy rhythms, just as not all male gamers are about fragging and aggression.

I think I've managed to rant and say very little with a great deal of words, and for that I apologize. But hey, if you're still reading... It all boils down this though: Gamers are people with varying tastes, be they male or female. To assume personal preferences based on gender alone is foolhardy, both within in the gaming world and in general.