[MUD-Dev] The Price of Being Male

[Rayzam]

From: <Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com>
> From: Rayzam [mailto:rayzam at travellingbard.com]

>>   Female Avatars Face Gender Bias Online

>>   ....

>>   "Specifically, they seem to earn different returns on their
>>   time > investment.  And any difference in returns has to be due
>>   to some cultural factor here, not ability. One such cultural
>>   factor is ... the hassle that women go through as part of their
>>   courtship role -- being pestered for dates, for example."

> Am the only one who feels he's reading too much into this? I
> thought it was established that :

>   - more males play EQ.

>   - in the round, people prefer to play characters of their own
>   gender.

> Those two factors seem adequate explanation without making dubious
> claims of sexual discrimination.

Well, from the standpoint of a powergamer, you'd think that the
value would be based on the abilities of the character [level,
equipment, pp, housing]. To me it means that image matters, that
players are invested in their characters, even ones they buy. That
games that allow for more customization of avatars are likely
barking up the right tree.

Will SWG avatars that have some of the special collector's edition
in-game wear be worth more later? Probably [assuming the characters
can be bought/sold].

Will players pay for special appearances? Probably again. This is a
revenue stream that can be followed by others. Granted I don't know
if it's currently occurring in games [There, Furcadia].

I agree, the author is going down the gender line, I just see it a
little differently.

    rayzam
    www.travellingbard.com
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev