As part of an assignment a few weeks ago, I had to write an opinion based article on anything related to the game industry. There are very many issues that plague the industry, but I’ll use the word “issue” sparingly because some of the “issues” may not be issues at all to people. They range from poor support that PC players receive from many of the major gaming companies, to business-first games-second mentality that many publishers have managed to instill into their development houses. The issue I wrote about and I found interesting at the time was how gaming has transformed from an exclusively male past time to a more open, accessible and broad choice of entertainment for many. Firstly I’d like this post to sound less scientific and more informal, so I’ll replace male/female with men/women. I’d also like to note that my interest in the topic of this article was during International Women’s Day (yes, its a day that exists).

The issue (or what I think is an issue) that I found is that many of today’s major games don’t cater much to women. Now after reading that sentence, the title of this post may be slightly unclear or misleading, so I’ll clear it up. I’m not talking about designing games exclusively for women, I’m talking about taking into account that there are women out there who want to play many of these “triple A” titles, but more often than not are unable to for various reasons. As mentioned before, gaming has grown dramatically in both reach and accessibility. More and more people are playing games on new platforms that continue to grow as technology advances. No longer is gaming primarily about just manipulating simple primitives on screen. It now involves many different principles, from audio and visuals to story telling character development.

To help illustrate the issue I’m talking about, picture this scenario. You’re working on a game (could be an original IP, a sequel or even a combination of the two). Coming up with game mechanics, stories, characters and art themes are all fun and good (and arguably the most fun part of game development). However, how often do designers ask themselves “How would the game be viewed, perceived, played and enjoyed by women?”. Many of today’s major games would would have you think that such a question never really comes up. Some games by nature are exempt (to a certain extent) from such questions (e.g. you wouldn’t expect to see women running around on the field in Madden or FIFA), but many games out there could do more to gain a larger following among women who play games.

Personally, I’ve always wondered how some games could actually affect their player base by adding more female-friendly content. Ever wondered what would happen if games like Battlefield or Call of Duty had female soldiers? What if Max Payne was a female cop with a husband and kids? Or how about Sam Fisher being a female agent? Those are probably measures on the more extreme end of the gender friendly spectrum, but its food for thought. There are more subtle ways to go about it. For example, that game cover that features scantily clad or hyper-sexualized women could be toned down or altered to make it something that most women could relate to.

Try buying a copy of Duke Nukem for your girl friend and see if she likes it

One game in particular that I think is a good example of this is the Tomb Raider series. Early versions of Lara Croft from Tomb Raider presented her to the player as a seemingly virtual porn star (tight, revealing clothing, ample bosom and behind, e.t.c.). Over the years, Lara Croft slowly began to gain more detail with each game that came out. Whether this was due to technological advancements or more of a focus on Lara as a character rather than an object for guys to ogle at (or both) is anyone’s guess, but the fact of the matter is Lara Croft has slowly changed from what she used to be (hyper-sexualized) to what she’ll soon be in the up coming Tomb Raider game a shown in the image.

Lara Croft - Then and Now

Now as you can probably tell from the image, the Lara on the right would appear to be more well developed and people may find her easier to relate to as opposed to the earlier versions of Lara on the left. That being said, I wont deny that men will be men and there are certainly men who’d prefer to play a Tomb Raider game with the left Lara rather than the right Lara (see what I did thar?) As a test, why not grab the nearest girl friend and ask them which of the two Lara’s they would be in the game.

I think one of the most important ways that game developers can make their games more appealing to women who play games is by the use of depth. Depth in this case can mean rich story, well developed characters and justifiable violence. I’ll put those into perspective starting with justifiable violence. Many games today feature a lot of violence that would be more than questionable in real life. For example, Saints Row The Third lets you go out and beat down the nearest civilian with a near human-size dildo for no real reason but to appeal to the inner sadist in you. Hopefully everyone can recognize that it is just a digital world that bears no meaning on the real one and the actions they take in there are just for the sake of entertainment (and entertaining they are). In such a case I’d imagine that (most) women would find it difficult to find any fun in that, and not because it is a dildo being used, but because the violence in it isn’t really justified or reasonable.

Beating people with a dildo was part of the fun

In contrast, a game like Dragon Age which features just as much graphic violence most likely has a larger female player base. I haven’t actually looked at stats on that, but I’m working with an assumption based on the few women I know to play games. The main difference between these two games (besides the obvious game types) is that Dragon Age has a lot more depth to its story and characters, and the violence in the game ties in closely to the two (as it does in Saints Row). When you go out and fight enemies in Dragon Age, the right-versus-wrong element usually plays a role in the story behind the fight and choice in the game allows players to decide the outcome. In contrast, Saints Row is much more straight forward. Money, revenge and power are central to what is going on.

Heads flying in Dragon Age

Now I’m not suggesting that every game out there should present rich story, multiple dialogue options and plenty of choice to the player. I’m merely highlighting some ways in which designers can make their games more appealing. I’m sure many companies will still priorities the demographic that will bring in the most financial gain at the end of the day, but I’d like to think that some day that will change and the games we play may have more to them than the new level of simplicity that we have. Either way, games will still be entertaining and I hope you enjoy yours.

Happy Gaming!