gender inclusive game design
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TRANSCRIPT
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Gender Inclusive Game Design
What it is and why we need it
Sheri Graner RayScreenBurn
SxSW Interactive FestivalMarch 10, 2006
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Sheri Graner Ray Game designer since 1990 Author of Gender Inclusive Game Design:
Expanding the Market Worked with Origin Systems/Electronic Arts, Her
Interactive, Sony Online Entertainment, Cartoon Network and more
Chair and Co-founder of Women in Games International
Recipient 2005 IGDA's Game Developers' Choice Award for work in gender and games
Hard Core Gamer (20+ hours/week)
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Pink Poison
a brief history of the girls’ game
movement in the U.S.
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1995
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“Why should we make games for girls?”
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1996
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“How do we make games for girls?”
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1997
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1997-1999
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March 1999
Big Pink Buys Purple Moon
Oct 2001
Mattel Sells Interactive Division
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“See? We told you girls don’t play computer games!”
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Why did this happen?
The industry took an entire market of women and defined it as a genre of “fashion, shopping, and makeup games for girls ages 6-10.”
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Computer game revenues have topped 9.4 billion dollars, outranking Hollywood box office receipts.
Salon magazine.
So what’s the problem?
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The traditional target market of males ages 15-25 is not growing as fast as the games industry.
Salon Magazine
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Today, females between the ages of 15 and 25 control over 14 billion dollars a year in disposable income.
-Newsweek Magazine
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“Houston, we have a problem”
Girls don’t play games
Gir
ls d
on’t
mak
e ga
mes
Girls don’t like gam
es
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Girls don’t play games
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We can identify and remove the barriers that prevent women from accessing the titles we are making today.
What does work?
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An example of areas where barriers exist in our games
Learning stylesAvatar representation
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WarningThe following information is based on
broad population generalities. It is highly likely you will know of someone that does not fit exactly into these profiles.
(If you are female and you are in the audience today…then that person will most likely be you!!)
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Gender Differences in Learning StylesMales Females
•Risk-takers•Explorative
•Want to know how it works first •Modeling/Imitative
Most of the tutorials in today’s games are designed to appeal to an explorative learning style.
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Avatar \Av`a*tar"\, n.1. An image representing a user in a virtual reality space.
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Because they represent “heroes”, male and female avatars will often exhibit exaggerated physical signals of youth strength, and fertility/virility
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Youth, Strength and Fertility/Virility
Males Large Shoulders Slim waists Slim hips Large thighs and
calves Long, thick hair
Females Large breasts,
placed high on the chest
Slim waists Round derrières Long, thick hair
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Very often female avatars display exaggerated physical signals of sexual receptivity.
Male avatars rarely display these signals.
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Sexual receptivity Red, full lips Heavy lidded eyes Heavy breathing (usually indicated by a
slightly open mouth) Erect nipples
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Design tutorials that use imitative models as well as evaporative models
Use educational software as modelsMake your female characters heroic, but
do not hypersexualize themUse female athletes as body models
Solutions
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Gir
ls d
on’t
mak
e ga
mes
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Sometimes the best man for the job is a womanThe game industry isn’t on women’s
career radarMust recruit in non-traditional areasBuild today for employees tomorrow
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Production Environment
Quality of life issuesWomen have less leisure timeBenefits are very important
Physical spaceKeep it cleanAppropriate facilities
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SolutionsUnderstand you will have to recruit
women – and get creative in your recruiting
Address quality of life issues in your office including - but not limited to – over time, benefits, and actual physical space
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G
irls don’t like games
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Traditional channels do not reach female consumers
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Traditional box and ad images can actively stop female consumers
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Ad messaging can adversely affect not only product but corporate image
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“The Second Best Thing To Do In The Dark”Ad for GBA
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Where to start: Adjust tutorials to allow for modeling learning
styles Consider forgiveness for error rather than
punishment Make female avatars attractive, but not hyper-
sexual Clearly state you intend your audience to
contain females Seek out qualified female candidates
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Girls don’t play games
Gender Inclusive Design breaks the
cycle
Act
ivel
y re
cru
it w
om
en
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“But what if the player is female?”
Sheri Graner RayScreenBurn
South by SouthwestMarch 10, 2006