What do girls typically want out of a video game experience, assuming they want one at all?
The video game industry is a heavily male-centric environment, driven by shooters, sports games, and military games that boast nearly entirely male audiences. But breakthrough genre-bending games like The Sims are starting to bring women who are normally turned off by video games into the market, so I'm wondering ... now that they're here, what should we be making for these new players? We could make Sims clones all day, of course, but is there something broader we can learn from that game's success to create a broader range of games that appeals to the female audience?
Clearly, shooters and the like have never been that compelling to women. From what I've observed, it seems like management sims, logic puzzles, and social environments are far more attractive.
But it may well be that these types of games are only just barely scratching the surface. There may be some new genre we've yet to create that women will flock to in droves.
So, jatraqueras, here are a few questions.
1. If you are already a gamer, what games are you usually drawn to? Are you more of a gaming tomboy, going for shooters and the like, or do you lean towards the more traditionally female genres — sims, adventure games, and MMORPGs? Why, in either case? What about them grabs you?
2. Thinking of the games you play, what do you wish you could change about them, in general? What do you feel is missing or strange?
3. If you aren't a gamer, what about games turns you off?
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
I picture women enjoying something along the lines of Everquest where they get to roam around a virtual world trying to get guys to buy them drinks and looking for killer deals on designer lip gloss.
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
I like logic games best. But then I don't think I'm a typical girl at all, if there is such a thing.
I've avoided most games because I get so addicted that I don't think I would be able to eat and sleep and stuff, much less keep a job. I get addicted to even the little stupid ones. So you see what I mean. An actual good game like Civ2 or something might be seriously dangerous.
I stayed up all night playing tetris many times. Minesweeper and freecell were both heavily addictive to me. Also in the early 90s a solitaire type game of Mah Jong (like on Win3.3). My favorite computer games (of the few I have played) weren't the adventure type role playing games but always the ones that were more like logic puzzles. I like shooters too but not quite as much.
The experience of losing yourself in a game, of becoming pure reflex action for hours on end, is a very pleasant one. Any game in which you can come to do this with practice will attract me and addict me, if I let it.
There was a game years ago in which you had to use a number of elements given to build a Rube Goldberg type machine to accomplish a certain task at each level. The number and variety of the elements (e.g. caged hamsters running on wheels turning conveyor belts, candles, helium balloons, fans, basketballs, see saws, trampolines, etc.) went up at each level. It was an engineer's dream game. Totally addictive from first click. I wonder if there is some terrifically advanced successor to that game out now, and if so can I possibly avoid it and so be able to keep my job and sanity.
What would be super cool, I think, is if someday addictive games like this left you with something to show for your hundreds of hours of investment besides carpal tunnel. I would love to come away knowing something true about the real world, even if it's Morse Code or the Svengali word for belly button.
[ May 27, 2004, 05:35 AM: Message edited by: ak ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Final Fantasy is what I like. A 30-100 hour game set in another world, like a good book and movie rolled into one with an interesting plot, a lot of cool characters. And swords... Lots of awesome swords.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I have a girl friend who's addicted to Caesar & the likes. I think she plays Sims too. Other than her, all the girls I know are not very fond of computer games, besides small / logical ones.
Then again, I've had my periods of Solitaire addiction too - at my best I managed to play and win a 107 seconds one with "Vegas rules" and "Draw one" And in the old days of Commodore I was mad about BattleShips and a very simple pinball game named Flipper... Ah, those were the days ! My poor "Space" key had a hard time though
Edit: Almost forgot that I once started to play Freecell from game no.1 and gone to 200 and something, winning them all, and became bored... Too easy
Edit 2: Geoff, that was your 1000 post !!! No landmark, I guess, huh ?
[ May 27, 2004, 05:48 AM: Message edited by: Corwin ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
*wonders why girls don't like Video games that much* There are so many good ones with a lot of very good looking lead characters. I don't like shooting games that are 3 d because they make me dizzy and sick. I can't figure out what to do about that. I'm having this same trouble with Silent Hill 2... I really want to play it, but it makes me dizzy to play too long. I loved Resident evil 2. Mainly because I could curse at the screen as I tried to kill those irratating zombies.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Syn, old shooters also made me dizzy in single player mode. And I've since quit playing single player. But multi player is totally different, and totally addictive !
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
ARND, I like the OLD King's Quest, and other Sierra games. The sort of puzzle-adventures, not the fighting. I do NOT like the new surround sound, virtual reality style games.
I also like Pharoah and games like that.
I used to be addicted to Columns, a tetris-like game for the Macintosh. God I loved that game!
Like AK, I tend to get really addicted, so I have stayed away, and have discovered internet b.s.-ing as my new procrastinatory measure.
So, I guess I am the "typical girl"(even though I haven't been a "girl" in a really long time) in the gaming world.
Why do I like the games I do? I love puzzles and riddles, and that is really what those games are, more than "adventure."
[ May 27, 2004, 06:43 AM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by stacey (Member # 3661) on :
Hey Im a girl:) and I like video games. Especially games where you play against someone else, the computer isn't as fun as another person. Specially my dad, he's so fun to play with. I like shooting games and racing games.lol
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I've been playing Runescape lately. I think that for me, a game has got to involve more than killing the bad guys; there has to be some other point to it. I like the idea of quests, etc.
space opera
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I have been largely anti-video games since Atari went by the wayside for one reason: too many buttons. Despite the fact that I played clarinet for 12 years, I have the digit dexterity of a duck. However, most recently, I have played Gauntlet, D&D (Heroes, I think), and Worms.
I loved Gauntlet, especially playing by myself. "Hitting a bunch of buttons" was fairly effective. All totaled, it took me less than 24 hours to beat. A serious ego-booster for me.
D&D was strikingly similar to Gauntlet, but I had a hard time seeing what was going on. The color contrast wasn't as high, and the perspective was too far away. My hitting buttons technique also wasn't as effective.
Worms is a fun idea, but too difficult to control for my taste. My intense competitiveness (is that even a word?) combined with my lack of dexterity is maddening. I don't necessarily need to win, but don't like losing either, especially when I feel like I'm at a disadvantage.
Anyway, as far as what I like in general, I like having some kind of goal besides just upping the number of things I have to kill and the speed at which I have to kill them. I don't mind multi-player games when the players are working together. I just don't like competing when I feel like I can't win. Shoot, I have to go. More later, maybe.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I used to love Spelunker.
More recently I got hooked on Rubik's Collapse on-line for awhile... completely addicting.
I think the thing for me was when we were all growing up, I thought computer games were fun and liked to play them every now and then, whereas my little brother loved them and wanted to play them all the time. And of course, when one person wanted to play, they got to play all they wanted, and when two (or three) wanted to play, we had to take turns. So since BpW wanted to play a lot more often, he got a lot better, and when we were taking turns his turns lasted a lot longer than mine, and I would get bored and go do something else, thus never getting addicted.
Moral of the story: if you want to get girls hooked, make sure they have their own systems.
Edit: Typo!
[ May 27, 2004, 08:51 AM: Message edited by: ElJay ]
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
My wife is a big fan of Everquest and she was mighty good at Gran Tourismo...
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
ooh, this is interesting enough that I'll post (I've been a little nonexistant).
My all-time favorite games have been... the Exile series by Spiderweb Software (Jeff Vogel), Starcraft, Diablo, the Myst series...To a lesser extent, I've enjoyed Quake, Final Fantasy (VII, VIII, a few others), Tetris-like games, Lode-Runner, and computer card games (Spades, Hearts, Bridge).
I don't like games that require a high amount of accuracy/control-stick skill required. Like I have a guy-friend who really loves games like Jak and Daxter, but that's the kind of game I'd almost never play. I loved watching Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but I'd never play it myself. Too much dependence on coordination. It's too easy to get stuck at a single point and have to try the same thing over and over again. I don't get that "sense of accomplishment" for hitting the buttons just right to make a jump after executing a bunch of perfect moves.
The kind of game I would really enjoy is an RPG in which the plot is greatly affected by your actions. The super-linearity of the final fantasy series bugs me. I prefer a simplified graphics set-up to the extreme-realism that a lot of companies are shooting for. Puzzles are fun. Good plotline is well appreciated.
Starcraft I like for its group-fun replayability. It has relatively simple rules and a clean set-up. If there were hundreds of different kinds of buildings and monsters, it would be a lot less fun.
Diablo is honestly fun because of the random-item generator. It makes the game surprisingly addicting when you get a yellow item and Really Want To Know what that item is. The player goes through hours of monotonous killing just for the cool magic items.
Myst is very pretty and has cool puzzles. I liked all three of them. I don't really love the 3-d movement of the third Myst, it can give you motion sickness.
Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness post. It's too early in the morning for me to be more intelligible.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I'm still looking for the kind of game my wife would love. She seems to like leisurely affairs without many consequences, like a city-building sim in which things can't actually go too wrong. Logic puzzles are strong, and she likes adventure games that aren't too difficult or too sexist. Wargaming of any kind does not appeal to her, she avoids shooters like the plague, and she thinks RPGs are tedious. So maybe she's not a gamer, really.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
now that I've read the other posts, i'll do a little responding on games I forgot about.
Civ I/II: great games. Strategy and development of buildings/military units. Yey!
more FPS (first-person-shooters) like UT: Didn't seem like there was enough feedback on this specifically. My freshman year, I played Quake a lot. Most nights for a few hours the first semester. I got reasonably good. Sighted with my mouse, strafed with the best of them. I played some UT Tournament my sophomore year, but my computer wasn't quite fast enough for it. So I had to stop playing. Since I got my new computer my senior year, I haven't tried picking up the first person shooters again. I wasn't too pleased with the increasing realism of the characters. I thought Quake III looked kinda lame with its super-shiny metal and high-resolution levels. Maybe if the realism were actually better, it would be nicer than the old stuff. So FPS's take coordination, but only in that vague, kill-them-first kind of way. If I had to jump across moving blocks the entire time I was killing people, then I'd hate it. Does that make sense?
Worms II: This is a silly great group game. Never came out for the Mac, though, so I only played this my freshman year. Minimal coordination required.
The Incredible Machine is probably the game ak was talking about.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Civilization is great. And of course, I love first-person shooters...Unreal Tourney 2004. They're better if they have some kind of progression or storyline to go along with them, though.
Does anybody remember Fury3? I miss that game...
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
BpW has just installed Puzzel Pirates on my computer.
This could be a very good very bad thing.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
Logic -Cliff Johnson games: Fool's Errand and 3 in Three are both old, great puzzley games from a while back. He has them free on his website [url=http://www.fools-errand.com/]here[/url (I didn't like the other game, At the Carnival. I wouldn't start with that one). -Myst series if she hasn't yet. There's Real Myst, a remake of the original that came out a couple years ago. -Obsidian is a really really cool old PC puzzle game like Myst that likes to break the rules. Find this and play it if you liked the Myst series. -Lode Runner: original. I haven't played many of the newer versions... I guess I liked Lode Runner II, but I don't think I liked 3d lode runner.
Leisure building -maybe she'd like Diablo type stuff where you're constantly upgrading your cool items from items you get by killing monsters. Killing the boss monsters doesn't have to be difficult if you level up enough beforehand. Lots of "augh!" "Ugh!" "Awrgh" though, if she minds that kind of thing.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I do, I remember Fury3 ! It was my first "real" game when I bought my PC. I played it like a maniac. I've tried Descent since, but couldn't quite get the same feeling... At one time I could tell you all the worlds and all the bosses, but it's been quite a while since...
And I'm almost sure you're right, pH, when saying that ak talked about TIM. At one time it was an addiction in my class. Go figure: Computer Science class, 23 boys and 8 girls, and a lot of computers !
Edit: I realize the title says "Girls and Gaming", but I can't stop myself...
[ May 27, 2004, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: Corwin ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Eljay, which Spelunker did you like? There have been a couple of games with that title. I loved the C64's spelunker, but if that's the one you're talking about, you're the only other person I've talked to that was familiar with it.
My wife likes adventure games, and although she was only introduced to them in about 1999 or so, vastly perfers the old, King's Quest style 2D games to more Grim Fandango-ish 3D games. If there is any hint of anything needing even a moderate degree of hand eye coordination she looses interest, despite having fairly good hand eye coordination. In adventure games that have action sequences, she'll either quit playing or have me play through the action sequences for her. Tetris type games and puzzle games pull her in more deeply than any other type though. She stayed up until about 2 AM the other day playing Diamond Mine.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I think I gave you my gaming resume on the other side, Dog, but I can tell you about my 7 year old daughter. She really likes something called "Crystal Maze" but I've never actually seen it (always a good feeling as a parent) They ran out the demo tokens. Hopefully when my husband was in charge. Something else from Wildgames she likes is "Otto's blocks" and I remember liking "Q*bert". I find Blackhawk Striker to be a glorified Space Invaders. I liked Space Invaders when I was a kid, but I don't find Blackhawk Striker interesting.
These share with Tetris that the goal is coverage. Bowling has the same appeal. Doing something and getting it all done is important to a lot of women. I used to play Mario to get every coin and kill every bad guy. Now I play to get as far as I can as fast as I can and it works much better.
I was thinking about this a while back, whether there is a difference in sports between error avoidance and goal achievement. In the case of a Third Invasion war game, anything short of total anihilation would be disaster (according to the rules of that game) but there may be some flexibility in how it is done. But in the Second Invasion (with Mazer Rackham) it is only necessary to get the right ship. I guess there is a way it could be like looking for the really big "hole" in minesweeper. But imagine a minesweeper where the blocks change positions and don't give tidy numbers. Maybe it would just be too frustrating. Anyway, I don't know if you are still asking about that or just generally.
I think that beyond the basic OCD-satisfying puzzle games, women want activities that allow them to be psychologically diverse. I have a wacko theory that men tend to have a psychological archetype and tolerate physical diversity, while women tend to have a physical archetype and tolerate psychological diversity.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I loved playing The Sims--I was addicted for several months a few years ago. I thought the only flaw was that the kids stayed kids forever. I'm probably going to go back when the new edition that rectifies that problem comes out.
I also liked Black and White, but the controls were really weird. And I could never train my animal right, so I basically never used it, preferring to perform miracles myself.
Basically, the God-mode games really appeal to me. Can't imagine why.
I also really liked Diablo and Diablo 2. I knew someone who said he didn't like the game because it was just mouse-clicking your way through everything, but I disagree. I liked getting quests and reading the tomes and stuff. The story is what kept me going. And getting cool stuff, like Suneun said.
I got Diablo in a pack with Starcraft and Warcraft II. Those were cool, but I was never much on the strategy of it. I preferred to cheat and get through a level just to get the story.
My friend Courtney has Heros 1, 2, and 3--those are kind of on the same lines as Starcraft or Warcraft, with a few differences. It's fun, but I can never get on it between Courtney and another game-loving friend.
When my brother got his Xbox I played the car game a lot--you know, the one that came with the machine? That and the skating one. I'd play those against my brothers or nephews. I'd play Ghost Recon sometimes, but it was more fun to go head-to-head with one of my brothers and try to kill them first. I almost never beat my older brother, except once when I hid really well in some bushes and he was right in front of me , knowing where I was yet still completely unable to see me. I had to leave after that because after he died he came back with grenades.
I also really liked KOTOR, it rocked my socks off. Again, mostly for the story, and trying to keep the light-o-meter up was always fun.
I also want to get a Game Cube so I can play the Classic ones--Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda...I played in a Super Smash Brothers tournament that was really fun, even though I lost the first round (against the only other girl).
Basically I really like anything story driven, especially in Fantasy or, to a lesser degree, Sci-fi. RPGs are fun, as well as Control-from-on-high types. And I like playing with a group.
Posted by Jacare Sorridente (Member # 1906) on :
While everyone is throwing out their wish list for games I'll throw out mine:
I have a weakness for games with crappy graphics which are strong on strategy. As an example, I just spent several hours last night playing Axis and Allies against a friend on his computer. I also absolutely loved red storm rising on the commodore.
What I like about these games is the turn based approach and the need/ability to think out complex strategies rather than having to immediately react to game situations.
So Geoff- make more games like those, but maybe with cooler graphics.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Noemon, yes, the C64 Spelunker, although I did play another version later that was okay, too. Can't remember what, we went through several different computer systems.
Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
If anyone can find a girl who likes playing Halo, give her my number.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
You know I might play a first person shooter, though I never have, if there were really generous controls. While I realize you couldn't hit everything all the time what if there was a much more generous algorithm that allowed you to hit the target easier? Because I didn't play video games my whole life, I don't have the manual dexterity and/or the reflexes necessary to play the current first person shooters. I realize turn based type games take that out of the equation but I've stayed away from most of those because I'm afraid I'll get addicted. I loved watching Steve play Diablo though, but even then every now and then you had to fight and it happened faster than I would like.
I liked the old easy games, like frogger and asteroids. Something that you can win or at least get through some levels without a 3 hour long computer session time.
AJ
The other thing that intimidates me about the newer games that I see Steve play, is the oodles of keyboard controls to toggle between one weapon or display pane and another. I like relatively simple point and click, without a lot of complications of keyboard controls or searching through huge menus (though this isn't quite as bad with Civilization type games cause there isn't the time constraint) But if you are in a game where some reflexes are required you bascially have to have the menu set up memorized after the first 10 minutes of playing if you want to get anywhere.
AJ
[ May 27, 2004, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I miss spelunker. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
In short, I think if you want to attract more non-gaming girls, you have to lower the complexity. This doesn't mean it still can't be entertaining and challenging, it just means that the rules are simple, and stay nearly the same throughout the game, and there aren't a lot of wierd or unexpected plot twists. The girls that are die hard gamers already like the "guys" games, so they aren't really a target audience that would change sales.
AJ
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
I loved the Sims. I haven't played in years do to the ridiculous amounts of time I spent playing it. I am afraid of the power Sims2 might have of taking over my life. I've got Hatrack, I can't afford another addiction. I loved Myst-esc games. I loved Starcon. I like games that Porter and I can "figure out" together. I also liked "Worms", perhaps in part due to the cuteness factor. Girls do tend to like to "connect" with other humans, so games like Everquest seem to make sense. Sims creates the "illusion" of connecting. Many video games "isolate" the indivicual and that is not appealing to your average girl. Even LAN parties with shoot-em-up games, that is no more a social connection than playing basketball. Not that there aren't plenty of girls out there that enjoy both, but we are talking "average girl" here.
I have found that I am not very coordinated and have poor reflexes. I agree with the "too many buttons" thing. Ah how Porter loves buttons! The more the better. But I have great difficulty "becoming one" with my computer controls that way. I have my hands full just trying to point and shoot! Anything that requires timing and reflexes is at least slightly intimidating to me. I enjoy best games that don't ask such things of me.
There is definitely a stereotype and a stigma associated with video games being for boys. The sexism commonly found therein doesn't help. The stereotypes will change over time, but I'm not sure how much you can really do to speed up the process.
Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
I've been saying that for years.
You want to appeal to girls? Dumb it down a little.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I also like the Sims too... but I cracked my Livin' Large disc and that sucks.. I bought Double Deluxe but I have to sell it because I can't use it on Win 2000!
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
jebus "dumbing down" in the co-ordination arena doesn't mean anything about the mental arena. The rules of chess are relatively simple. To actually understand and master the game, you have to be anything but "dumb". And you don't have to be terribly co-ordinated either.
AJ
[ May 27, 2004, 10:47 AM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by St. Yogi (Member # 5974) on :
quote: In short, I think if you want to attract more non-gaming girls, you have to lower the complexity. This doesn't mean it still can't be entertaining and challenging, it just means that the rules are simple, and stay nearly the same throughout the game, and there aren't a lot of wierd or unexpected plot twists.
Sounds like dumbing it down to me .
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
But I like weird and unexpected plot twists. Something like that would only really appeal to really dumb girls... and some dumb guys as well.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I've played King's Quest (ages ago), Sim City 2000 (also ages ago), and Tetris. King's Quest and SimCity got boring, and Tetris I removed from my computer because I have no self control.
I haven't actually tried to play anything else.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I miss Fury3. I've been thinking about buying either a joystick or a gamepad thing for this computer, but I don't know how well that would work, considering I'd want to use it on Fury3 _and_ UT2K4.
Storyline! I say give it an interesting storyline that you can actually get into. Like in UT2K4, they have background stories behind the Assault levels, and you have teammates you have to pick and stuff, and all of them have backstories, too. I think it makes things way more interesting.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:If anyone can find a girl who likes playing Halo, give her my number.
I know one, but she's currently taken.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
quote:1. If you are already a gamer, what games are you usually drawn to? Are you more of a gaming tomboy, going for shooters and the like, or do you lean towards the more traditionally female genres — sims, adventure games, and MMORPGs? Why, in either case? What about them grabs you?
I guess I would already be consider a gamer (for a girl anyway ). I enjoy FPS (I remember playing Doom back in the day), with my favorite probably being UT (I've not had much of a chance to play UT2k, but what I have played, I've really liked - vehicles are cool!). I think I like UT better than CS because it's more abstract - weirder levels, stranger mutators, wilder weapons, stranger characters, runes - basically it's less realistic, which I guess is why I like it - if I'm going to be blowing people to smithereens, I'd prefer it be more imaginary. I've never played SIMS - I think I'd get bored with them. I really like the strategy multiplayer games like Warcraft (II and III), Starcraft, Age of Empires, Red Alert, and even Lords of the Realm. I like the strategy (I love the city bilding), though I tend to play multiple humans vs. computer controlled. I've played some more RPG-style games - Diablo I and II and NWN. They're good when I want mindlessness - bash everything - people, zombies, monsters, crates, trees, buildings, doors, etc. And getting new neato toys is fun - Grapthar's hammer of extreme platinum bashing! I also like old school games like Worms II (one of my first true game addictions - I drove all over town trying to find it the day after a friend had introduced me to it), Mario, Snood, Space Invaders, Tetris, Sherlock, Crystal Quest (my earliest memories of playing a game constantly are shooting all those bubblegum guys).
quote:2. Thinking of the games you play, what do you wish you could change about them, in general? What do you feel is missing or strange?
I guess I tend to get bored easily - I'll play a particular game for a couple months, then get tired of it, but I do come back to them. I'm not really sure if I can think of things I'd really like to change about them though.
Posted by Damien (Member # 5611) on :
Same here.
EDIT: I know a girl who likes Halo, who is currently taken...
[ May 27, 2004, 11:19 AM: Message edited by: Damien ]
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
*likes Halo but doesn't get to play it often* Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
I loved stuff like Monkey Island and Kyrandia, games where you just walk around and solve puzzles, with plenty of sarcastic humor thrown in. The game ak mentioned with the Rube Goldberg device-building sounds like a blast, too!
Most games look interesting to me, but don't hold my attention for more than two minutes. I start playing, learn what the controls are, then immediately stop caring what happens. And Suneun was dead-on with this:
quote:I loved watching Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but I'd never play it myself. Too much dependence on coordination. It's too easy to get stuck at a single point and have to try the same thing over and over again. I don't get that "sense of accomplishment" for hitting the buttons just right to make a jump after executing a bunch of perfect moves.
I've always thought that the mind game Ender played would be great. An infinite amount of puzzles and characters, constantly adapting themselves to me? Oh yeah. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I stand by what I said about the fact that simplicity doesn't mean dumb. 9 times out of ten true simplicity is much harder to come by than unnecessary complexity.
Another thought. I know many girls watch their significant other play the games. Would there be a way which you could put more "audience participation" into the regular games?
AJ
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
:lights Jebus on fire:
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
quote:I know many girls watch their significant other play the games.
I have this horrifying memory of me and my roommate spending winter quarter of my freshman year WATCHING Jason play Wing Commander. We made fun of him for ignoring girls to play the game until we realized that he wasn't lacking for female attention - WE WERE WATCHING HIM PLAY THE GAME. It was so sad.
I did used to watch my brother play Zelda, but it meant that when I went to play, I knew where everything was. Yay!
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
In my experience, the game that is the most universally liked by girls and women (especially those that don't generally like games) is Snood. The second most popular is Tetris.
My wife loves those two. She basically refuses to play any game with a story, unless she can skip all the story parts without affecting the gameplay. So RPGs are right out, as are most shooters. For console games, she prefers multiplayer head-to-head types, such as Mario Kart (in its various incarnations), Tekken 4, and Super Monkey Ball. She tends to prefer a more cartoon-ish feel over realism (for example, she doesn't like Gran Turismo 3). Another feature that is necessary is that the game can be played in small chunks of time. She never plays for more than one hour and usually less than 30 minutes. Puzzle, fighting and racing games are ideal for that kind of play because you can get right into the action and there is little to no continuity between games.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Wasn't there a recent study that showed a very high percentage of gamers were already women?
Basically, there are more women over the age of 18 playing games than there are teenage boys playing games. Specifically, women over 18 are 26% of the gaming population.
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
Is there such a thing as a video game that is funny? I think I might go for something like that.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
quote:1. If you are already a gamer, what games are you usually drawn to? Are you more of a gaming tomboy, going for shooters and the like, or do you lean towards the more traditionally female genres — sims, adventure games, and MMORPGs? Why, in either case? What about them grabs you?
I would be a gamer of the flavors RPG and puzzle with a liberal sprinking of Sims. I like pretty. And I like RPG's where my actions can affect the play.
Shooters are only fun for me on a LAN where I can actually here guys shouting "WHORE!" at me when I cut them down. Playing single player or over the internet all by myself just isn't fun at all.
MMORPG's don't appeal to me because, by and large, I am playing to relieve the stress caused by the idiots of the world. Why would I want to invite them in to mess up my little world?
quote:2. Thinking of the games you play, what do you wish you could change about them, in general? What do you feel is missing or strange?
Sims -- It isn't so much that I want a change as that I'm too lazy to learn how to make objects. Sims 2 looks so awsome that I fear for my thesis should I buy it. Aging was what I thought was missing from the first one. Heck, I even loved the GBA version that isn't even really the Sims.
Morrowind -- Still haven't beaten it. Still don't intend to. I love this game. I love the world it's in. I love the character building aspects, side quests, everything. I hope they make one that fixes the money system, and lets me make enchantments to cast recall on target. Until I played this game, I thought Ultima 9 was awsome and amazing, but this is so much better! And thank you once again, Geoff, for telling me about it.
GTA: VC -- This is stress relief as an art form. The actual plot, eh, I guess I enjoyed it. The random mayheim with a record of what you're costing the police is really where it's at. It also has the joy of Crazy Taxi built right in. Can't wait for the next one.
Tetris, PuyoPuyo, Bust-a-Move -- all lumped together as puzzle games. All are play to keep playing and pretty colors. Mmmmm. Thier flaw is that I know so few people to play against. 7th guest and 11th hour were fun for the puzzles. I know there was some story going on in the background, but so what?
Space Channel 5, DDR -- Simple Simon says games that are only challenging because I have no rythm. Oh, and SC5 is beautiful to watch, just freaking beautiful. Rez might also fall into this catagory. I've been known to play it until my eyes water. The problem with these games is simply length. Need more levels or songs or something.
I would like to try another game in the Myst family. I hated Myst, but I think it was because I didn't own the game and only got to play in 15 minute increments at a friends house. I liked that I didn't know what was going on.
Ideally, I think I'd like a game where I get to develope a character while exploring a large world I'm not sure what is about and solving little puzzles along the way. Which is the fantasy game, right?
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
Yeah I know lots of girls playing games. I agree with everyone who says they like puzzles. But I think just random puzzle games don't really capture my interest for a long time. I like having the plot as well. When we were little I played Legend of Zelda (sp?) with my little brother. He did all the killing stuff and I solved all the puzzles. I dislike games that require me to have to quickly kill something. That was actually the reason final fantasy was so great. You got to figure out how to defeat a bad guy while not having to worry about getting all the control buttons and stuff right.
Other games I've liked have been things like Myst and this other game that I have totally forgotten. I think that the character was some guy going on a quest and he had to solve riddles and puzzles to progress at each step.
Sim and Sim City are fun just because there's always something new to do. But after you've built several cities to full size and technological advancement the fun sorta...goes away. I've never beat sims though.
Civilization II and Alpha Centauri were okay except that I "beat" them both on my first or second try.
Games I never liked Mario Brothers - could never master jumping *shrug* Quake- how *do* people manage to see what is going on in that?
[ May 27, 2004, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: sarahdipity ]
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
Oh, and do you have any idea how much hatrack time I've logged while watching Bill play games. It can be fun, depending on the game, and how much attention it's taking.
Civ 3 was actually really fun to play together, him playing and me flipping through the documentation to keep up with our options and trying to keep track of all our international affairs.
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
I don't have the link, but I was reading an article by someone (Yee I think) who was doing his doctorate on MMORGs. He spent a lot of time studying who played MMORGs and what type of characters different age groups, professions, genders, et cetera played. It was a fascinating article. One of his conclusions I remember is that girls " tend " to like conversation and character interaction more then guys. Guilds with girls tended to socialize more while guilds with guys tended to "camp" more and do quests together.
It was very well done and he had all the standard disclaimers that some guys socialized and some girls camped, but there was a pattern of how different genders play MMORGs.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with my mom.
Me: Boys and girls aren't THAT different. How they act is programmed by how they are raised. If you give a boy a doll, he will play with it.
Mom: Of course boys and girls will play with dolls. Give a boy a doll and he will make it fly and fight. Give a girl a doll and she will mother it and treat it as a friend. The difference is "how" they play, not whether they will play with dolls.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
I know mack is already addicted to Halo.
I don't know, I try getting girls to look at some games, and generally they don't like them. I have no idea why. I mean, I would say that TONS of girls liked the LOTR movies, but most don't like the games. Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I suck at Mario Brothers. I kept falling into the pit and getting killed by strooms. I didn't get good at games until FF7. But I think I was good at tanks and airplanes when I was a kid.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I did manage to get my wife interested in Civ 3, which was the first strategy game I'd been able to do this with. She preferred not to encounter other civilizations, enjoying the development of cities, advancing on the tech tree, and exploring the world.
In her second or third game, she ended up right next to the Zulus. I expected her to get frustrated with their extremely aggressive method of play, and probably quit. Much to my surprise, after a few Zulu incursions she lost patience with them, and exterminated them branch and root. It was lots of fun to watch. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
RE: LotR From the brief bits that I saw of the game Aragorn was the main player. Girls want to ogle Aragorn, not BE him.
AJ
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
I think I look for plot in games as well, although not always.
Dungeon Keeper was a game I really enjoyed, although I guess there is a bit of exploration in that as well.
I enjoy building games, although strangely I like the Caesar games more than the Civ games. I forget the name of the one I did play exclusively, but I've tried Cultures and Settlers IV to little avail now.
I like the idea of RPG's, but I guess the D&D style quests just don't quite interest me, and shooting things just isn't my style.
I love Infocom games and witty text-style games.
I also play Popcap games for sheer brainless fun, but only when really bored.
I think the biggest thing is that I don't want to have a large time investment into a game, so something with hour or so short missions that build to a larger goal sound good for me. I NEVER play games to their completion regardless of whether or not I like them and once I cannot figure something out or find something tedious, I stop playing.
Just some thoughts from a not-quite-gamer type who still looks for games. Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
quote: I've never beat sims though
I don't think the Sims has an ending. It just keeps going. I mean, I'm sure once you build up all thier abilities, make them the top of every field, and romance them to every member of the opposite sex in the neighborhood before making them jump into a pool without a ladder, then you can stop playing.
[ May 27, 2004, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: sarcasticmuppet ]
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Games I've liked are Sim City, Sims, Myst, Return to Zork, Zork Nemesis, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, Age of Empires, and old games like Duke Nukem, Cosmo, and of course all those addicting card games.
The game I'm really into right now is Neverwinter Nights (a lot like Everquest).
I guess I'm kind of a gaming tomboy. And I liked games like Myst, where you have to solve puzzles. But I mostly like games like NWN and Diablo where you have a character that runs around and beats stuff up. But it does get to the point where it's all the same and I get tired of it.
(edit: sarcasticmuppet, I think it can be beaten. At least that's what I heard.) *returns to Neverwinter Nights*
[ May 27, 2004, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: Eruve Nandiriel ]
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I once got so far that every day there would be this little popup talking about the Making of the Sims. But I think that was just after a certain number of days in the game (100? 500? I'd hate to think I played it for 1000 days).
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
I'd like a game that was just fun - exploration, colonization, using resources, but not war where you have to waste so much time battling. I enjoy Civ 3 on the easy levels where I can influence other countries with my culture.
I enjoyed Myst and its brothers.
I don't like shooters, because I'm severely un-hand-eye-coordinated.
The Sims was fun but it got boring when you had to manage their jobs and life. I just wanted my Sim to get it on with someone, but it took too long.
I guess I want a fun game that I can put away when I'm done and start a new one the next time I have 2 hours to spend. Most games take so long they are addictive, and your family gets mad because you haven't cleaned house or got dinner on the table.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
D'oh! How could I forget Lemmings! That game rocked! And Worms Armageddon, The coolest game ever! Unfortunately it's on a broken computer, and I haven't been able to play it for a while. Posted by Misha McBride (Member # 6578) on :
I don't know if I"m exactly what you would call a typical girl, but I play MMORPGS (FFXI currently, I used to play Everquest) some first person shooters if I'm playing on a LAN, and real time strategy games like Command and Conquer. I play the Sims on occasion but I get bored with it after playing a couple days.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I remember one of my friends liked to torture his Sims. He would do things like remove all the windows and doors from their houses, then steadily decrease the size of whatever room they were in and see what happened. As I recall he had a lot of Sims die.
Another friend of mine spent several weeks trying to get two female Sims (who were roommates) to become lesbians. I don't think it ever worked out, though.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I enjoy games that are more about thinking than reflexes and coordination. I played Halo once, and I sort of liked it, but I don't think I would ever be good at it.
My favorite games are the puzzle-type games. I remember playing The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain when I was younger and enjoying it very much. Ak, were you referring to a game called The Incredible Machine? I love that game. So games that require lots of thinking and not a lot of being able to manipulate a mouse well are good.
I also enjoy real-time top-down strategy games (I tried Civ2 and Alpha Centauri but for some reason turn-based strategy just didn't work for me). My current favorites are Age of Empires II and Starcraft. I intend to try Warcraft3 if I have the time.
Recently I've been trying RPGs. Actually, Geoff, weren't you the one who recommended A Tale in the Desert? Anyhow, I've been playing that for awhile. I like that game because its about building rather than fighting. I also just started playing Knights of the Old Republic, and I'm completely addicted. I enjoy games with good stories, and this one has a very good plot. I just hit a HUGE plot twist (not going to say what because I don't want to spoil it--those of you who played the game should know what I'm talking about). It was brilliant.
In summary: Thinking--good, complex plot--good, requires coordination--bad.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
sax, your friend clearly wasn't trying hard enough. The mayor of my first town spent too much time at work, so his wife struck up a lesbian affair with the local hussy Posted by Damien (Member # 5611) on :
hussy... Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I'd tell him that, Geoff, except that I think he might throw himself back into the game with the same vigor he did the first time. Back then he only had to worry about failing classes.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
quote: The mayor of my first town spent too much time at work, so his wife struck up a lesbian affair with the local hussy
This definitely sounds like a feature that some males would find compelling and most females would not.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
I noticed it was nigh impossible to make two men kiss but it was nigh impossible to keep the women off each other. Maybe my cousin just had the lesbian version and didn't tell me.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
quote: I remember one of my friends liked to torture his Sims. He would do things like remove all the windows and doors from their houses, then steadily decrease the size of whatever room they were in and see what happened. As I recall he had a lot of Sims die.
That's when it's the most fun! Lock them in a box with nothing but a servo. Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: If you aren't a gamer, what about games turns you off?
Boredom. Computer games- in fact, many games- bore me. I can only play games to the point where I am doing well, yet I do not like to spend so much time at them so I can play them on the "hard" level. Simcity and The Sims, both games I played at one point, went this way.
Other than that I always feel like I'm wasting my time playing computer games. I like to feel like I'm actually doing something. For some reason, reading etc., feels more useful.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
I like games that involve puzzle solving, have a plot, and are set in really cool fantasy worlds. I like lots of atmosphere, relatively complicated plots, and a well-developed story that can go in many directions.
Beyond Time was really annoying because the puzzles were often not logically related to/integrated into the structure of the game proper. (Also, if I'm in a Tibetan monastery, I want to be able to explore the place, rather than being confined to two or three rooms.)
I'm currently playing Myst:Exile, which I had to painfully stop cold turkey so I could finish my coursework for the semester.
Other favorites, in no special order: the entire Myst series, Lighthouse (though the anti-technology message got irritating after a while, the world was COOL), the Infocom Zork games and Trinity, Star Trek: Borg (mostly because of the hilarious sarcasm of Q, who serves as a "companion" to the player), and the old Space Quest games (especially the one where you're crawling through the cave maze and suddenly a squid appears for no apparent reason and devours you, which is a hoot).
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
The Sims bored me silly. Took....too....long...
I'm a bit impatient.
I suck at KOTOR but it's my first shot at an RPG, so I'll keep trying for a bit longer. I just get..impatient.
HALO is great fun. I love FPS games. mmmm. shooting.
I've got MVP baseball 2004 and love it because I love baseball. Also, need for speed underground is great. Mmmm. racing.
GTA:VC kept my interest for awhile since it's like being in an episode of COPS. But then I hit a wall and can't kill that damn pizza delivery guy.
SSX3 is also a great game, but I think that's also in part because I love snowboarding.
I have an old school nintendo with tetris (LOVE tetris), tiger heli, super mario bros, track and field, duck hunt, kung fu, and teenage mutant ninja turtles. I used to spend hours playing ninja turtles. I beat top gun as a kid.
For computer games I love Worms World Party. Just makes me laugh. I beat Caesar II and III and Starcraft. Loved played those head to head.
So, I do love video games, but most of the time I would rather be playing outside.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"the old Space Quest games"
I played one of them and loved it. My husband ordered some old games, King's Quest 5(which was the one I had played, dang it all) and a couple of others. (Torin, I think?) Anyway, it was a bummer, because I could not get them to play on our new dumb nonMacintosh computer, which is apparently too FANCY for old games.(you have to change the screen colors, and it just doesn;t run well.)
Ironic, since I finally have a fast computer which can't play the 6MB games which used to eat up all the hard drive space.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I like MMORPGs the best due to the cooperative nature of them. Though I just had to do a quest in Lineage II that involved delivery someone some succubus panties. I screamed when I got to that part that "No wonder more women don't play these games!"
Tetris type games are fun if I don't have a lot of time.
I also like games like simcity/civilization/rollercoaster tycoon becuase I like building things.
I like RTSes for the same reason, but I always end up enjoying the building up part and neglecting the "going to war" part which makes me a weaker player than I should be. If you ever play me in Rise of Nations with the Diplomacy option, be my friend or kill me first because I WILL "out-boom" you. (or at least I would when I played the game every day.)
Pix
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Wow. Being a somewhat hard-core gamer girl, the first few posts on this thread kind of offended me. I mean, there's a lot of repressed sort of misogynistic comments going on here.
In particular this one:
quote: I picture women enjoying something along the lines of Everquest where they get to roam around a virtual world trying to get guys to buy them drinks and looking for killer deals on designer lip gloss.
Although I think Frisco may have been joking.
As for girls playing games, it all depends on their personal interests. I'll play pretty much any game, but a game has to be well-made for me to continue playing it. For me, I want to be able to care about the characters in the game. It is always good when it's even a little bit story-driven. My favorite types of games are RPG, Action-Adventure, Strategy, Fighters, Shooters, anything as long as it has a good story. Genres I stay away from are usually Sports, (not interested) SOME FPS's, Racing games and Wrestling titles or any other ridiculously licensed out and repetetive types of games. Also, licenses sometimes turn players off, if only because it's so hard to find a good licensed game, since the platformer genre's been done to death with those things. Platformers are usually hit-and-miss for me. Newtypes like Jak and Daxter are good, and Mario games and some other Nintendo games can hold my interest, but sometimes it just don't work.
But truthfully, I can play nearly any type of game if it's good. As I believe Fugu already said, women do play a fair amount of games already.
To answer your question, though I didn't really appreciate the way it was asked, I'll generalize and say that you can attract women gamers by not pandering to the lowest common denominator, and by caring about the stories/characters you're animating and designing. Thanks for asking, though. And thanks for listening.
[ May 27, 2004, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Ryuko ]
Posted by Pepek (Member # 3773) on :
Yah.. mind games..
Heh, nah, that goes both ways- but I know alot of girls who love to play video games when they come over, I wish there was more though..
Okay- Anyone play Bushido Blade 2... it's this extremely awesome playstation 1 game with crappy graphics that you get use to, but it's set up like Mortal Kombat, one vs. one but in a bit of a 3d-ish enviroment, and you only have 6 different weapons to choose from and about 20 characters to mix and match with the weapons, and the greatest thing about it, is it's one hit kills. So, basically whoever lands the first good hit wins, and you can rematch super quick-- but I just love it when I play someone and they don't move before I throw my katana into their gut and they die a second after the round started... Anyone know of a game that might compare?
~Sir Montague
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I have Bushido Blade, and I love it. :3 It's just so much fun to run through the bamboo grove, cutting the bamboo and your enemies down. Posted by Pepek (Member # 3773) on :
::nods::
That and snake cliff are my favorite areas to fight. You are my favorite person of the day Ryuko. I commend you.
~Sir Montague
-Edit for mispelling my new favorite person of the day's name. *slaps himself*
[ May 27, 2004, 07:11 PM: Message edited by: Pepek ]
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
My mother refused to buy us any Nintendo or Sega or anything of the sort when we were growing up. I never managed to get past a second-hand Atari set. Anything requiring a controller with more than three buttons is asking too much of me.
As for computer games, I like the puzzle-solving kinds best, like The Incredible Machine. I loved that game to pieces. Still have it somewhere, actually. What an awesome game.
The only role-playing-type games I ever got into were the ones that had some sort of puzzle-solving element to them. Like the older Quest for Glory games, or this one I still have somewhere called "Rage of Mages." I'm not into the shooter-types, and those ones where you can have multiple perspectives often are too confusing.
Excuse me, I'm going to go play my Joust-clone for a while...
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
Ryuko, I really hope my initial post wasn't one of the ones that offended you. I tried very hard to make it clear that I was drawing from what I knew of people's actual behavior — ie, most women are less likely than men to develop a strong interest in video games, and tend to congregate within a few genres when they do. My questions were designed to find out what it is about most video games that turns this particular group of women off, and what might be done to cater to what they actually enjoy doing.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I never got into Myst. I played it for a while, but I got bored pretty quickly. I never really saw the point of it, I guess.
Posted by Pepek (Member # 3773) on :
Yah.. about Myst.. i'm all for the puzzles in games and things like that, great fun and all.. but when the AI interaction is so low, no NPCs hardly anywhere- it drives me absolutely nuts- I want someone to care that i'm roaming around in places I probably shouldn't, I want things to attack me and stuff inbetween the puzzles every now and then.. but when the only thing that seems to be alive is plants, dear god.. y'know?
~Sir Montague
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
I like all the Spyro games, though my dexterity sucks, so there are some things I make my husband do for me. I was first sucked into video games by my husband and Mario 64. Loved that game, but again, there were some things I couldn't do.
I like Dynomite. Insaniquarium over at popcap is great. Qbees is a hoot. I like the Sims, but they are a bit boring. I love Rollercoaster Tycoon and if I weren't so cheap, I'd probably get the Mall and Zoo ones, too.
Currently, I totally hooked on Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town. I've been playing it about 8-10 hours a day since it came out. Man, I'm pathetic. I loved Neverwinter. I don't like pointless violence or stupid things. If it's cute or has a point, I like it. I like goals. Like in Rollercoaster Tycoon. There was a goal. In Harvest Moon, there is a goal. And by goal, I don't mean a stupid goal, like winning the game. I like it when there are different things to do, different levels, different goals that aren't about death and destruction. There has to be some logic, point, fun to make it interesting. Having to figure something out is more fun that trying to get my fingers to do what they need to do to be the fastest, or whatever. I'd rather they made more games that depended on brains rather than dexterity. That's one of the things I love about Harvest Moon. There's absolutely no dexterity involved. I can deal with that.
So, a non-bloody goal, and less finger dexterity works for me. Basing the game on something interesting or intelligence is a bonus. Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Oh, I also love Golf, (but not Tiger Woods' golf) but that's just because I can't play it in real life. (I play HotShots, all versions, and SwingAway. I'm still mad they scrapped the second version of SwingAway.)
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I _love_ Spyro! And Crash Bandicoot.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
quote:I never got into Myst. I played it for a while, but I got bored pretty quickly. I never really saw the point of it, I guess.
It doesn't do anything, that's the beauty of it!
BTW, people should definitely check out Fool's Errand and Obsidian if they like puzzle, logic, or Myst type games.
[ May 28, 2004, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: dabbler ]
Posted by Lime (Member # 1707) on :
I'm gonna post in here for Vána 'cause I don't think she'd do it herself.
My dear wife is definitely attracted toward standard "girl" games. She likes puzzles, logic puzzles, adventure games. She loves the Harvest Moon games, and is currently addicted to a web-based game called Neopets.
She also loves playing DOAX: Extreme Beach Volleyball, and liked playing Doom when it first came out.
She's also more likely to enjoy a Nintendo made game than one for the PS2. She really enjoys Super Monkey Ball, Mario 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and I think that she'd get a kick out of the Zelda games if she game 'em a spin. She also is inclined toward Nintendo games, because there are a lot of games for the Cube that are multiplayer games.
Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
I just thought of a modern game that really, really had me hooked.... the Oddworld game on the Xbox. I couldn't tear myself away from the screen. It was just the right combination of platformer-type-gaming, humor, puzzle-solving, and story to keep me interested. And it was pretty pleasing to the eye, to boot. Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Oddworld was really cool.
Posted by St. Yogi (Member # 5974) on :
I don't think Guy-gamers and Girl-gamers are that different really.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I think we like things that really allow us to think and maybe have strategy.
I hate first-person shooters.
However, I like to play some war games like Civ and Age of Empires, because there is more to it than just killing the enemy -- it is the care and creation of a nation.
And I like Sims, to a point. And I play some RPG's.
So I guess as a female, I like something with a big more substance that a shooter, and something that allows me to "become" the character, and that character has lots of options, like creation of a community or a nation, etc.
Farmgirl
edit: oh yeah, and I love puzzles. And I liked Myst because it was like one big puzzle
[ May 28, 2004, 12:24 PM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
Someone at my company — I think it may have been the head of our QA department, but I don't remember — said that he'd asked a lot of women over the years what we should do to make our games appealing to them.
The most common answer: "Make them fun."
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I'm thinking about buying City of Heroes...
Oh, and does anybody know if I can get Fury3 back to put on this computer? I miss that game so very much.
Posted by Ninja Squirrel (Member # 6508) on :
First off, yes, I am a girl. And here are my top five gaming picks:
# 1 on my list has to be Halo. I guess I'm just a violent sort of girl, but I really love this game. Especially the multiplayer...awesome! # 2 is Marathon (and its sequels Durandal and Infinity). For those of you who don't know, this game is an old FPS made by the same guys who made Halo. The graphics are old and ugly by today's standards, but this game has a fascinating storyline. # 3 is Myth: The Fallen Lords (and Myth II: Soulblighter). These are medieval strategy games, oldies but goodies. # 4 is Starcraft (and the expansions set Brood Wars). I really like this game (I like the strategy game genre in general...yay, wasn't that a nice alliterative sentence?) # 5 is Diablo (and Diablo II) Just an all-around fun game.
The above games are by no means all the games I play, just a few of my all-time favorites. I like brainfood games (like chess) but I prefer to play them live rather than with a computer. It's just more fun that way. There are also some *really* old games that I enjoy playing. Take "The Humans" for example...haven't heard of it? I'm not surprised. I tend to enjoy racing games as well.
I'm probably not the typical female gamer though.
The types of games I do not like are horror games (they're just not my thing - I like horror movies, but not horror games) and Sims. I simply detest the Sims. Oh yes, and sports games...I just don't like them. Wrestling, football...yech.
[ May 28, 2004, 01:10 PM: Message edited by: Ninja Squirrel ]
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
I wonder if you could make a game where you can nurture a being of some sort - kind of like raising it, and having it interact with a rich world. Black and White was like that, and I loved that game. Unfortunately, my computers are too slow to be able to play it well.
But what if you could take a baby and raise it to be a warrior or shaman or whatever, and basically be its mom? You could give it certain "genetic" characteristics, but then the game would be to provide the "nurture" for the growing individual. You'd encourage the child into certain areas and away from others.
You could play at being a good mother, or an abusive one, or a neglectful one. It might be really fun to intentionally raise a pyromaniac, for instance. Or to help a bad kid turn around.
You could create your "nature" part based on horoscopes or something, to give the babies somewhere to start (i.e. Tauruses are stubborn, Virgos are perfectionistic) and then have a wide variety of actions available to the parents. You could have some sort of storyline. I think the parents should have to have some way of making and spending income. Parents with higher incomes would have access to museums and zoos, but low-income families wouldn't have the same opportunities to enrich their child's life.
I think I could really get into a game like this...
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I could get into that game. I usually only play tetrus.
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
It would basically be Risk-Free Parenting.
If you consider that other games are Risk-Free War or Risk-Free Gambling, this would work well.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
*would raise an army of sadistic pyromaniacs! Mwahahahaha! Burn them! Burn them all!*
Edit: It sounds like Tamagotchis. Except possibly less annoying.
[ May 28, 2004, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: pH ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I would *love* to play a game like that. It would be incredibly interesting. Well, could be, anyway.
Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
The Sims is at least a little like that, although (sadly) the kids, properly speaking, don't grow into adults.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Well, the Sims is kind of like that except that I wish there was more depth to their characters.
That, and my Sims take forever to make friends. They're just so antisocial.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Ninja Squirrel --
Diablo?
I can, and have, played Diablo. But I can only play it with the sound turned off. I just HATE the battle sounds on that game when you're doing combat. Makes me feel --- evil or something.
I wish Sims had real dialogue
Farmgirl
Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
Several of my Sims have clear personalities, though not all. (Bella, you wicked woman!) If you listen closely you can make out some of the "words" which sound as though they match the attitude the Sim is portraying. Of course, I have been called a Boogensnot too many times to count...just who do those Sims think they're talking to out here, anyway?
Since I got Hot Date it has been much harder to get Sims to marry; that's not all bad, as it was too easy before, but now it is very difficult. Also, I don't seem to be able to get "just friends" to move in together, which has wreaked havoc on the sorority and fraternity houses.
[ May 28, 2004, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: Mabus ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I really got to get a new copy of Livin' large because I am starting to miss that game.. (Has also made a lot of gay sims male and female)
Posted by dawnmaria (Member # 4142) on :
I am a game addict. I love Civ's and the like and all kind of card/logic crap, but my GAME is now and always will be DIABLO!!!!! It is my all time fav and if Blizzard doesn't put out a third version I will not be responsible for what happens to them. They have to hurry before my baby comes and I have no more time to play! I don't think I can click the mouse and breast feed. Posted by Chizpurfle (Member # 6255) on :
I don't like spending my parents money, so buying video games are pretty much out of the question. None of my friends are very interested in games, so I can't borrow anything from them. Simply because of my pride, I refuse to go up to casual friends and ask if I can borrow their games. So no, I don't game that often but if I could, I can imagine it developing into a hobby.
I just started playing gun bound recently and love it- it's pretty much the only thing I can afford to play (free). RPG games are my favorite: I've played Harvest Moon, a bit of Zelda and Final Fantasy at my friends house and a lot of old games that I had in one cd such as the HUGO trilogies, Dave Dude, Sam and Max, Pizza Tycoon, Monkey Island, and tentacles. As a kid, I played nintendo a lot. Later, I got a gameboy and started playing Wario and of course, Pokemon.
I like playing group games too, like GLAD (I am always the druid- I make trees. *snort*) and Super Smash Brothers.
My brother doesn't let me touch his games but while he is away, I use to sneak to his computer and tried my hand at Doom, Diablo and more recently, Counter-Strike. Out of sheer terror of what he will do to me if he finds out, I tend to stay away from his computer and never played more than a couple of times.
I am aware that this is a bad, bad thing but since I can't afford games, I download most of the ones I play. More recent games, are very difficult for me to get a hold of so I usually don't even bother. I usually download old classics or abandonware games which I think are nearly, if not just as good and addictive as recent games.
Posted by Toes (Member # 4603) on :
Gaming has been a huge part of my life since I was probably about 6. I would always force my older brother to let me tag along when he got a new game, and then I would sneak onto it when he was gone. It's not like I wasn't allowed, but he refused to let me play when I asked. He told me to go do girly things. Now that I'm 18 he encourages me to play, and we get the LAN hooked up every once in a while so we can take out some sibling agressions. I've played mostly FPS's but I like just about everything. Through the years: Nintendo Wolfenstein 3D Duke Nukem Jedi Knight Sims Tomb Raider Quake 3 Diablo 2 and LoD Counter-Strike Halo GTA (Vice City Especially) CoH ...And far too many others to count.
My favorite of all is Counter-Strike. I love the tactics involved, teamwork, cooperation, and commaraderie. My only wish about changes in the game would be that there are female skins. That goes for a lot of games I like as well.
I adore Halo, but wish I had it on PC instead of Xbox. I'm much more familiar with keyboard controls than the xbox controller.
I suppose by now I am quite adept at picking up any game. I've never had any major problems with reflexes or anything. It seems I'm mostly attracted to games where you can work with a group of other people and interact. The only difficulty I've had is finding other females my age who enjoy playing, and also feeling accepted into games without harassment. Rock on Lady Gamers!
[ May 28, 2004, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: Toes ]
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
dawnmaria,
Yes, you can. I got really good at one-handed typing and mouse control when my daughter was at the breast.
Posted by dawnmaria (Member # 4142) on :
Jenny Gardener, Thank You! I see a ray of hope! My husband and I are like very large children. We like cartoons and before I got preggers and couldn't keep my eyes open past 10:30, we liked to play games late into the night. I wonder how old the kid needs to be before we get them into Diablo. We need a necromancer in our party! He/She can be of some help! Posted by littlelf (Member # 6145) on :
My gaming resume began with good ol' Atari, but my dad didn't want to spring for new games, so I got really good at the games that came with the system.
When I was eight, my folks bought this great stand-alone game called Electronic Detective, which was a murder mystery game that pre-dated the PC.
In late elementary school, I loved the original Oreagon Trail. I also had an uncle who had coleco vision, which I played Hamberger TIme on any chance I could get!
In early high school, I had a neighbor who had this great puzzle/text game called Wish Bringer. We played it for hours.
Of course, once I graduated high school, Super Mario Bros. III was all the rage!
My X and I used to play/map Wizardry games on his MAC SE until dawn.
There was a period of time where I could do nothing with my waking hours but play Myst and Riven from beginning to end.
Now, I own a PS2 and seem to play one game at a time until I just can't play them anymore. Presently, it's Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. I also enjoy my quick game fixes online, with games like Bounce Out, Collapse, Avalanch, Text Twist, and the like.
I not a big fan of first person shooter games (Hit Man, Medal of Honor, etc.) or puzzle/logic games that are impossible to figure out (Monkey Island, etc.).
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
What do I want out of a game?
Non-linear, completely immersive story line and interesting characters/baddies. I like atmosphere over graphics, though good graphics are a plus. By atmosphere, I mean whatever the situation warrants. Like the dark, grainy atmosphere of the Thief games. Or, the cheeky, campy feel of the NOLF games. Or, the building tension created when the music starts to drive right before you hit a baddie in Half-life.
I don't want button-mashing, as I like to be able to feel good about the skills I develop through the game. I like rewards when they're warranted (after spanking a baddie), I like progressively gaining better and better weaponry, and I like it when my bad guys are slightly cooler than me at any given time. I'd rather two hard guys then a billion easy ones, as a challenge is better than a bloodbath. However, whatever the situation, I want to be able to BUY INTO IT. So, if it makes sense that there would be a billion way less cooler than me guys than me around, that's what I want to run into. I enjoy plot twists and turns, but they aren't necessary.
I'm not a fan of adventure games, because I hate how linear they are and I hate trying to figure out what someone else thinks is a logical progression of steps. I've never played Sims, so I have no opinion on those types of games. I'm not a huge fan of RTS's, but I'm not a huge fan of Chess, either. My preferred gaming is FPS and the like, third-person action, and RPGs.
(Notable exceptions to Adventure games and RTS's: the Zork games, because they're funny and/or they pretend they're not completely and utterly linear (plus, good atmosphere), and Dungeon Keeper, due to cheek and the twist that you were now the bad guy. Plus, slapping lazy imps. Loved that.)
Do you need more stuff like that, Geoff? That's just off the top of my head, but I can really think about it if you want me to.
edit: OH! And screw all y'all that say Quick Save and Quick Load is for sissies. I WANT QUICK SAVE.
[ May 28, 2004, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: Ralphie ]
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Geoff, you damned ingrate - I put some good stuff in there.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Didn't read the whole thread, just skimmed, but here's a quick list of what I like.
1. RPG's that aren't heavily fantasy-oriented, like Mother 2 (Earthbound). It's fantasy, but there are no knights or fairies or whatever.
2. Stealth games like Metal Gear Solid and the others, and especially the Tenchu games.
3. The only shooting game I really love is Siphon Filter 2, probably because it's way more involved than just shooting. Goldeneye made me dizzy, as do many other first-person view shooters where you can only see the gun. (I know other people said that already.)
4. Harvest Moon and similar sims.
5. Most driving games like Gran Turismo and Mario Kart Double Dash...it doesn't have to be realistic for me to like it. Drift mode is a huge plus.
I used to like GTA3 but the gratuitous language, violence, and sex turned me off completely and I'm never going back. Similarly, games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame used to be my faves but the heavy occultic references eventually turned me away.
(Logic games (except for Tetris and Dr. Mario) are best played on a board or with paper and pencil. Sorry.)
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
Ok, having looked at what I want and what is out there (curse you Jebus), I want Fable. Which means I want an X-Box.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Ralphie is right that atmosphere is more important than graphics. I've played some games with cool graphics that were utterly boring..
...and then at home much of the time we play ADOM, which is basically a DOS-window type of game, dos-type graphics, but it has so many different possibilities that we never tire of playing it.
Farmgirl
Posted by Jaiden (Member # 2099) on :
Hmmm....
Diablo 1 and 2, Warcraft, Starcraft, Final Fantasy 2, Battlefield 1942, Splintercell, civ 2 and 3, pharaoh, James Bond games, Halo, unreal, fallout 1 and 2, tetris, zelda games,
*will add more as she thinks of 'em*
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
I want Zork with pictures. Find the loot, take the loot home, solve the puzzles. Wishbringer was another good one for the same reason. When I was little, my favorites were Mickey's Space Adventure and Where in (the World, the US, Time, wherever) is Carmen Sandiego. I like feeling like I've learned something.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
For the record, I don't want to ever have felt I've learned something. Make my game so that I actually lose learned information while I play it.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
AvidReader, you are the first person since I was in the fourth grade that I have heard mention Mickey's Space Adventure, including people that I remember seeing play it. I was starting to think that maybe I made the whole thing up.
Was anyone else a big fan of Oregon Trail back in the day?
[Edit: Um, by that question I'm attempting to corroborate my observation that many girls when I was a kid enjoyed Oregon Trail, not to say that I'm a girl. Although it's probably too late to say that now, and saying it just makes it more likely that somebody will make fun of me. OK, fine. Do your worst.]
[ June 04, 2004, 11:14 AM: Message edited by: saxon75 ]
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I loved Oregon Trail - spent hours playing it.
This thread is starting to make me think I would enjoy Civ II.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I think I liked Civ II better than Civ III. I think 3 kinda showed More is Less.
I hear there's a Civ IV in the works. I hope it's good.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
I hated Oregon Trail - was forced to spend hours playing it.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
quote:I loved Oregon Trail - spent hours playing it.
This thread is starting to make me think I would enjoy Civ II.
Civ 2 is AWESOME! I don't know that I prefer it to 3, and I enjoy both. But yah. . I think Civ2 is better overall. I think you'r love it Kat.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
celia how were you "forced" to spend hours playing it?
You know this thread has actually made me consider buying a game for my own use rather than Steve's. Or digging out one of his old ones like Civilization and trying it. I always look at computer games normally as a possible present for him, not as something that I would ever buy for myself.
Though I have this generally huge guilt complex for spending money on something that is exclusively for my pleasure.
AJ
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Magson: Really? Hhmm... I should be doing other things right now (a la the Superior Entertainment thread), but it does sound like fun. I wonder if I can get an old copy off of eBay? *goes to look*
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Banna, I don't know if this is what Celia was referring to, but in my elementary school Oregon trail was a required activity.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I found a Civ II on eBay for the buy-it-now price of $1.25. Could that be for real?
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
I used to think Oregon Trail was just something people in the PNW were forced to play. I think I was in my early twenties when I ran into an East Coaster that mentioned they played it and I was stunned.
I mean, other people know how to search for berries and get dysentary? I felt like I'd lost my identity.
(btw - Oregon Trail is based on the Columbia River Gorge, where I grew up. I LIVED berries and dysentary, baby.)
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
? It was?! hmm, the joys of being homeschooled. Though Carmen SanDiego was supposed to be educational too cause you had to look stuff up in the mini encyclopedia. Problem was we lost their one that the level advancement was coded to the page numbers.
AJ
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
The Carmen Sandiego games were FUN! Not as much fun as the PBS show, admittedly, but close.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
Yes, Ralphie, thank you very much Sorry, I've been dealing with horrors at work, and my own gaming thread has been a bit too intimidating to open
So far, I've never worked on a game in which we had to develop an "atmosphere" from the ground up. We've always tried to imitate an atmosphere from a TV show or movie (since that's what the game was based on). But I'm trying to pitch some new properties right now — I should give that some thought ...
Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
Now that I think of it, I enjoyed Oregon Trail until I realized I was never going to get to finish it. Computer period always ended well before you could get anywhere.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
Yeah, what dkw said. We randomly got either Oregon Trial or Carmen Sandiego.
Except that it wasn't random so much as we got to pick, in alphabetical order. Which was a lot like saying, screw you celia! You never get to pick!
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And in the old days of Commodore I was mad about BattleShips and a very simple pinball game named Flipper... Ah, those were the days ! My poor "Space" key had a hard time though ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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