Women and Gaming
Jan. 16th, 2007 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moominmuppetMy wonderful part-time housemate, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
syrinx_77, has posted some questions about women and gaming, and would love additional input.
1.Are you a gamer? Are you not a gamer?
I'd say I'm not. In general, the most I'll really play on a computer is old Frogger/QBert/Tetris/Centipede type games occasionally, or quiz games like "You Don't Know Jack". I did have a brief fling with SimCity a while back, though, and could've gotten much more into that. I don't play console games at all, largely because of the investment. I've very occasionally played other games when at other people's houses (Katamari, Guitar Hero, Wii bowling), but that's extremely rare and generally requires some amount of peer pressure.
2.If you do, what do you play (specifically or generically), and why? How actively do you play?
I like the challenge at times, and I like puzzles. I have a competitive side that I don't like to feed, and a problem-solving side that I do (which is why games like SimCity are some of the few that've really gotten my attention)
3.If you do not, why?
A variety of reasons. First of all, time/energy -- I get really obsessive about things way too easily. Old games had a very limited number of levels, and could still eat hours of my time. The new games, especially MMORPGs, would eat my life given half a chance. Some single-player games look reasonably entertaining -- I tend toward the same sort of silly/puzzle-solving games that Becca does -- but I don't feel like I'd get enough out of them for the amount of time I'd be putting in. I'd prefer to spend my energy developing skills that I can use elsewhere (although there is some interesting research suggesting that some of the skills learned with video games, such as hand-eye coordination and problem-solving, are indeed useful), or at least use my time watching/reading things I find entertaining and/or educational. Additionally, I find computerized music and sound effects to grate on my nerves almost universally. I don't generally even like being in the room with people who are playing video games for that reason. Also, money. I already like books and movies, and those eat plenty of my time and money. The investment in systems and games is way more than I'm willing to shell out for something I don't want to make heavy use of.
I don't play MMPORGs because I do my online socializing in other venues, and don't like to try to socialize in competitive situations, generally. I also prefer to socialize just as "myself" rather than role-playing.
I have no interest whatsoever in first-person-shooters. I find them totally uninteresting, and often espousing politics and worldviews that I find more than a bit icksome (militarism and violence, as well as the sexism you mentioned in your other post). That also goes for a decent number of games that aren't actually first-person shooters, but have that same focus on violence -- not my thing. I have some weirdness around gender/aggression/machismo, and there are times when it matters to me to prove my own toughness, but proving that my "character" can kick some other character's ass doesn't really do anything for me at all, at least not since I was 15 a getting a kick out of playing Street Fighter 2. Doesn't help with psychological "badass points" anymore, ya know?
4.If you do not, you would consider it if...
5.Given you "would consider it" in response to question 4, do you think you would dedicate time/resources to playing a game actively if it had the qualities you mentioned?
Anything's possible. A MMORPG with a heavy silliness/quiz/problem-solving aspect, and relatively little competitiveness, where a lot of my friends were hanging out would have an appeal, and I'd likely get sucked in. I don't think that's all that likely though. As is, I'm likely to continue as I do now -- playing occasionally PC-based single-player games, and not really seeking out new games.
6. If there is anything else that didn't get covered, I'd love to hear that too.
I think it's largely a matter of priorities. If I were stranded on a desert island with any of a number of amusing games I've seen people playing over the years (Ideally one of the SimCity/SimWorld games, or Civ, or something, but Katamari and Spongebob and such would be ok in a pinch), I'd certainly play. As it is, it's an expensive and time-consuming hobby, and I have enough of those, thank you.
Also, the extent to which I could be social with people in my physical space would make a difference. I really don't find hanging out with people while they play video games to be entertaining at all. I'd much rather watch a movie together -- since I'm not a "silence at all times" person about movies or TV (really quite the opposite -- I enjoy the interaction around a shared focus; making fun of things, or pausing to discuss topics and such) I don't have that same problem with them. With video games, it seems like I'm always just about to screw them up if I'm not just silent and watching, which is incredibly boring.
I have had some fun at parties with the Wii and the Guitar Hero game -- both seem well-suited to generalized in-person silliness and interaction, which is an improvement.
syrinx_77, has posted some questions about women and gaming, and would love additional input. 1.Are you a gamer? Are you not a gamer?
I'd say I'm not. In general, the most I'll really play on a computer is old Frogger/QBert/Tetris/Centipede type games occasionally, or quiz games like "You Don't Know Jack". I did have a brief fling with SimCity a while back, though, and could've gotten much more into that. I don't play console games at all, largely because of the investment. I've very occasionally played other games when at other people's houses (Katamari, Guitar Hero, Wii bowling), but that's extremely rare and generally requires some amount of peer pressure.
2.If you do, what do you play (specifically or generically), and why? How actively do you play?
I like the challenge at times, and I like puzzles. I have a competitive side that I don't like to feed, and a problem-solving side that I do (which is why games like SimCity are some of the few that've really gotten my attention)
3.If you do not, why?
A variety of reasons. First of all, time/energy -- I get really obsessive about things way too easily. Old games had a very limited number of levels, and could still eat hours of my time. The new games, especially MMORPGs, would eat my life given half a chance. Some single-player games look reasonably entertaining -- I tend toward the same sort of silly/puzzle-solving games that Becca does -- but I don't feel like I'd get enough out of them for the amount of time I'd be putting in. I'd prefer to spend my energy developing skills that I can use elsewhere (although there is some interesting research suggesting that some of the skills learned with video games, such as hand-eye coordination and problem-solving, are indeed useful), or at least use my time watching/reading things I find entertaining and/or educational. Additionally, I find computerized music and sound effects to grate on my nerves almost universally. I don't generally even like being in the room with people who are playing video games for that reason. Also, money. I already like books and movies, and those eat plenty of my time and money. The investment in systems and games is way more than I'm willing to shell out for something I don't want to make heavy use of.
I don't play MMPORGs because I do my online socializing in other venues, and don't like to try to socialize in competitive situations, generally. I also prefer to socialize just as "myself" rather than role-playing.
I have no interest whatsoever in first-person-shooters. I find them totally uninteresting, and often espousing politics and worldviews that I find more than a bit icksome (militarism and violence, as well as the sexism you mentioned in your other post). That also goes for a decent number of games that aren't actually first-person shooters, but have that same focus on violence -- not my thing. I have some weirdness around gender/aggression/machismo, and there are times when it matters to me to prove my own toughness, but proving that my "character" can kick some other character's ass doesn't really do anything for me at all, at least not since I was 15 a getting a kick out of playing Street Fighter 2. Doesn't help with psychological "badass points" anymore, ya know?
4.If you do not, you would consider it if...
5.Given you "would consider it" in response to question 4, do you think you would dedicate time/resources to playing a game actively if it had the qualities you mentioned?
Anything's possible. A MMORPG with a heavy silliness/quiz/problem-solving aspect, and relatively little competitiveness, where a lot of my friends were hanging out would have an appeal, and I'd likely get sucked in. I don't think that's all that likely though. As is, I'm likely to continue as I do now -- playing occasionally PC-based single-player games, and not really seeking out new games.
6. If there is anything else that didn't get covered, I'd love to hear that too.
I think it's largely a matter of priorities. If I were stranded on a desert island with any of a number of amusing games I've seen people playing over the years (Ideally one of the SimCity/SimWorld games, or Civ, or something, but Katamari and Spongebob and such would be ok in a pinch), I'd certainly play. As it is, it's an expensive and time-consuming hobby, and I have enough of those, thank you.
Also, the extent to which I could be social with people in my physical space would make a difference. I really don't find hanging out with people while they play video games to be entertaining at all. I'd much rather watch a movie together -- since I'm not a "silence at all times" person about movies or TV (really quite the opposite -- I enjoy the interaction around a shared focus; making fun of things, or pausing to discuss topics and such) I don't have that same problem with them. With video games, it seems like I'm always just about to screw them up if I'm not just silent and watching, which is incredibly boring.
I have had some fun at parties with the Wii and the Guitar Hero game -- both seem well-suited to generalized in-person silliness and interaction, which is an improvement.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 08:56 pm (UTC)It's interesting to note, when I've been in stores like EB Games, it's almost always girls/women who are play the Wii demo display, and they're the majority of people I read talking about playing the Wii on LJ and other online venues.
I've never been much for first-person shooter games. I've gotten a little bit more into them, mainly because I like games where I can play sniper. I'm not sure why that is. But maybe that was my military calling that I missed out upon when I gave up ROTC. But really, I'm not a Quake or Doom dork, and I much prefer games where I have to solve puzzles or problems or build an empire. Civ is a longtime fave, as is Europa Universalis. I've started learning Empire Earth.
And while I love RPGs, it's so hard to find a good one these days that hasn't been turned into a FPS or messed up with all sorts of fancy CGI.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 11:45 pm (UTC)Nice to know I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment. I actually tend towards older games being very fond of the old Lands of Lore series, Quest for Glory, Total War, Caesar, and 1602 among others. I stopped with the Black Isle products after BG:II expansion since they shifted to d20 3.5 edition D&D stuff which I object to.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 04:05 am (UTC)I don't object to the newer version of D&D, though I prefer the pre-Wizards versions.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 04:16 am (UTC)Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance and Lands of Lore are fairly old by gaming standards and I can still run them on XP, and I still have a few Win 95 games such as Risk and Monopoly working but the number seems to get fewer and fewer each year.
Our Dinosaur crapped out finally as well so we don't have a 486 DX2 sitting around anymore, we're limited to much more modern computers and that prevents loading WarCraft II effectively which drives us nuts since it's one of our favorites.
Why don't you live close enough to game with us? :-P I've got a second edition group still running. Currently 6 players (up from 3 last year).