[MUD-Dev] games gender bias (Re: Affecting the world)

[Adam Wiggins]

Marian Griffith <gryphon at iaehv.nl> wrote:
> If a very, -very-, broad generalisation can be made: we prefer stories
> and meaning.  Mindless violence is off putting far more than violence.

I think an even more base generalisation would be: Women want emotional
involvement.  Men like emotional involvement, but don't require it.  This
applies to everything from movies to games to sex.

Of course, my girlfriend and I are pretty much the reverse of this.  She
loves very simple, abstract arcade games which require only quick reflexes.
She considers storylines, endings, and even characters to be worthless,
and laughs at me for spending countless hours involved in draw-out stories.
She hates multi-player games of any sort; I consider single-player games
to be little more than five minute distractions, and the 'real deal'
to be using games as a fun and relaxing way to interact with others.

So it's hard to say, but I'd probably say that muds overly hung up on
mechanics will tend to discourage those wanting emotional involvement,
since to them the mechanics are only the means to an end and not an end
themselves.