[MUD-Dev] Girl appeal (was: Boys and Girls)

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

From: "Freeman, Jeff" <jfreeman at soe.sony.com>

> Every time this argument comes up it makes me feel insecure and
> girly.  The games commonly described as "girl games" are the sorts
> of games I prefer.

Same here, but I am secure in my masculinity and it doesn't bother
me. It doesn't make me any less of a man... just, um, more of a
woman. ;)

> The consensus seems to be that we know how to make games for boys,
> but not games for girls.

Well, let's see.

Every year, hundreds of companies sell millions of games to boys
just like they expected. The sequels perform comparably.

Every five years or so, a company suddenly sells millions of games
to girls and is totally surprised. The sequels flop miserably.

I think that's a pretty obvious track record, don't you?

> But considering most of the random folk that I bump into on a
> daily basis don't play any sorts of games at all (and certainly
> not MUDs or MMO's), I'm not altogether certain we know what sorts
> of games boys like either.

I'd chalk that up more to the "when I was a man, I put away childish
things" problem. That's a whole 'nother issue, though -- marketing
to adults without saying "gazongas" -- and is probably best split
into a separate thread.

> I know a girl gamer that liked BG2, but hated Pool of Radiance so
> thoroughly that she had to go lie down for a while.

And I know someone that likes Rob Zombie, but can't stand Barry
Manilow. BG2 and PoR are not even *close* to the same animal.

> Plus which,

Is that a plus sandwich? ;)

> that's supposed to be the very living, breathing definition of
> chick-game.

I don't think I'd call your girlfriend a chick. Anyone who complains
that there's "too much loot" in Diablo2 isn't exactly your average
female gamer.  (Although "yuk, he peed, I don't like this" is a
pretty chickly reaction.)

> The first question she asks when I mention a new game is "Can we
> play it together?"  Questions along the lines of "Well what sort
> of game is it?"  come later, but only if the answer to the first
> question is "Yes".

This doesn't have anything to do with what kind of games girls
like. It has to do with the simple fact that people in relationships
like to do things together, and one member of the relationship tends
to be the one who does all the bending to arrange it. My
interpretation of this is that your girlfriend recognises and
understands that you want to play lots of games, and will happily
sit and play any game you like as long as you get to spend time
together.

Contrary to popular male belief, this is NOT an exclusively feminine
trait.  I would rather watch the new Britney Spears movie *with* my
wife than go see something more interesting *without* her. (Besides,
I sort of have to admit that she has good taste in movies, so if she
wanted to see that new BS movie -- no pun intended -- chances are it
would turn out to be reasonably decent.)

> The only real firm conclusion I can draw from all this is that
> girls don't like games that make them cry.

I think that would extend to boys, too. It's just that there aren't
as many games that make boys cry... which is probably just more
evidence that we're doing something a bit better in that camp. ;)


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