[MUD-Dev] "Men are from Quake, Women are from Ultima"

[Tess Snider]

On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Koster, Raph wrote:

>> Interesting, Raph. Since the design element bias was eliminated, do
>> you think the small number of women that turned out was due to the
>> smallish population of women gamers versus men, or did it stem from
>> how the society at UO evolved?
 
> Both. Fewer women adopters because of audience bias, followed by
> their being chased away in droves by playerkilling.

That's just a shame, really.  Boy, how do I say this without making
sweeping generalizations?  What I *want* to say is that I've always
felt that UO had more to offer for women than the other games of its
ilk.  That was always one of the things I gave it lots of stars for.
You didn't wait for later versions or new technology to make the world
interesting for women.

At womengamers.com, Kestrel says:

	"I can honestly say that in my opinion, women gamers can find a
	haven in this game."

That's *definitely* not something you hear too often!

I think timing was the biggest killer on this one (with the PK issue
being second).  Had the Internet population been what it is today,
back when UO was released, things may have gone very differently.
Now, everybody and her sister is online -- and even playing games.
It's no longer a matter of getting women to sit down at the keys; it's
now just a matter of getting them to put down the cards, and come play
in your sandbox.

Tess Snider

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