Babes in
Boyland:
Exploding Myths About Women
in the Gaming Industry
Topic overview
"Babes in Boyland" was designed to promote and facilitate discussion
about women who have chosen to make a living working in the computer
and video game industry - what misconceptions and myths surround us
as game professionals, what barriers we face, the gains we have made,
etc. A general overview of the status of women in the industry was also
to be included in my remarks. However, as you'll see in my overview
of each day's session, there was a different topic that most attendees
wanted to talk about. Also, I have added a list of questions and/or
comments that arose during each session that might help you if you plan
to add this topic as a threaded discussion on the CGDC web site.
Sessions overview
Wednesday, May 6 - This session was fairly well attended, with
most chairs in the room filled; the ratio of women to men was approximately
2 to 1. At the beginning of the session, I listed on the white board
some of the more common myths about women in the game industry to get
the discussion started.
After a few opening comments about women in the industry, the discussion
turned to games for girls. Although I tried to nudge the group's focus
back onto the original topic, most attendees seemed to want to talk
about games for girls, so we did things the diplomatic way - we voted
on it. Only one woman voted for continuing on the topic of women in
the industry.
After moving onto games for girls, the discussion became quite heated.
The group seemed to be split into three different schools of thought:
1. Those who felt "girl games" and "games for girls" were condescending
and women didn't need special games just for them.
2. Those who felt that women's needs have not been given enough attention,
therefore, they do need games designed specifically for their gender.
3. Those who felt that it was ok to design games for young girls in
order to make them comfortable with using a computer, but that once
they became women, the need for "girl games" disappeared.
Most of the men in the room were very interested in what types of games
and features attract a female audience. One man offered an opinion that
spurred a lot of debate: men try to resolve conflict by force, while
women try to resolve conflict through negotiation. Hence, games where
the player doesn't have to use force to solve problems are likely to
attract more women. Some women felt this to be true, however, others
felt that that opinion reinforced the stereotype that women only like
puzzle games, card games, and games like SimCity.
In the end there was no clear consensus in the room as to precisely
what women want in their games, or as to what differentiates a men's
game from a women's game. However, it was noted that women seem to prefer
story-driven games as opposed to games that are based on fighting, sports,
etc.
Thursday, May 7 - This session was again pretty well attended,
and the women to men ration remained at approximately 2 - 1. Because
of the high interest in the "games for girls" discussion the day before,
I let the group know that the session would be split between women in
the game industry and games for girls. I asked that the group please
devote the first half of the session to women in the game industry and
the second half to the question of games for girls. Unfortunately, the
group had other things in mind, as the very first comment from the floor
was on the topic of games for girls. We again took a vote, and it was
unanimous in favor of games for girls.
We mostly covered the same points as the previous day's session - do
women need special games designed just for them or are they condescending?
However, a very interesting point of view came from one of the men in
attendance: how much of the perceived problem of creating content that
is attractive to women is really a problem of marketing? In other words,
is the content already there but not marketed in ways that women realize
there are games out there that they'd enjoy? This prompted a great deal
of heated discussion from the group, with only a small minority agreeing
that the content already exists but isn't marketed correctly. The discussion
continued along those lines until it was time for the session to end.
Friday, May 8 - This was again well attended, however, the ratio
of women to men was more even than in either of the previous sessions.
Before starting the session, I asked the group about covering both topics;
the majority of the attendees wanted to discuss both women in the industry
and games for girls.
The session started off discussing problems and/or myths women face
in the game industry. There was a general consensus that women are still
pigeon-holed into "traditional" roles such as marketing, PR, merchandising,
and booth babes. One woman who is an Executive Producer at a large game
company stated that even when she gives her title, she was still often
asked if she is in marketing. Most of the women in the room agreed,
with many citing similar examples of their own.
One man stated that the reason that there aren't more women game programmers
is that women don't have an interest in being game programmers. This,
of course, caused him to be bombarded with angry comments by the women
in attendance who felt attitudes like his caused women to encounter
a "glass door" that posed a major barrier to entrance into the game
industry. The women also noted that there still seems to be an "old
boy's network" that promotes men to positions of authority, while ignoring
women who may be more qualified.
The general consensus of the group was that although women seem to have
made significant progress in the computer and video game industry, there
are still many barriers such as ignorance, the "glass door/ceiling",
and the old boy's network that prevent even more women from succeeding.
The second half of the session was devoted to the topic of games for
girls/girl games. As with previous sessions, the main point for discussion
was whether women need games designed especially for them, or whether
that was condescending. One woman stated it made her feel inadequate
every time someone suggested that women need special games - as if she
somehow couldn't enjoy a game that was a "man's" game and needed to
have one designed just for her gender. Many of the women though, seemed
to feel that having special "girl games" for young girls and teenagers
was ok, as they needed help in becoming more comfortable in using computer
technology.
The question of marketing versus content arose again; the group seemed
to be half-and-half on whether or not the content is already available,
but not marketed properly. Barbie "software for girls" was met with
derision across the board, as was Rocket, the popular character from
Purple Moon.
Most of the women felt that "pink" packaging (packaging designed to
appeal to women) was very demoralizing, and they wouldn't be caught
dead buying it. The men however, pointed out Barbie's Fashion Designer
has sold a tremendous number of units, so someone must be buying
it. The discussion continued on this track until it was time to end
the session.
Overall, the topic of games for girls and "girl games" seemed to be
more interesting than the status of women in the game industry. I'm
still pleased with my sessions, even though they didn't stay on topic
- the discussions between male and female attendees was very productive
in helping to understand what type of content will help to attract more
women gamers, and in turn, more women into the industry.
Points for threaded discussions:
Women in the game industry:
1) Do women still face a "glass ceiling" or "glass door" when they try
to enter the game industry? Does the "old boy's network" still exist,
and do qualified women get passed over for promotion because of it?
2) Why are women still being stereotyped into traditional roles that
are seen as "acceptable" by male management: marketing, PR, merchandising,
booth babes, human resources.
3) Why do men still seem to think that the reason there aren't more
women programmers is that women aren't interested in programming as
a career choice?
Games for girls/girl games:
1) Is it true that women only like puzzle games, sim games, card games,
and story-based games like Sierra's King's Quest series?
2) Do women need special games designed specifically for them?
3) What do women want in their games?
4) Is the issue of games for girls one of marketing versus content?
Are the games out there ones that would appeal to women, but aren't
marketed properly?
5) How much of a role does social interaction and user interface play
when it comes to women gamers?
