Gender Inclusive Game Design

							Gender Inclusive Game Design
What it is and why we need it




                                       Sheri Graner Ray
                                             ScreenBurn
                                SxSW Interactive Festival
                                         March 10, 2006
Sheri Graner Ray
   Game designer since 1990
   Author of Gender Inclusive Game Design:
    Expanding the Market
   Worked with Origin Systems/Electronic Arts, Her
    Interactive, Sony Online Entertainment, Cartoon
    Network and more
   Chair and Co-founder of Women in Games
    International
   Recipient 2005 IGDA's Game Developers'
    Choice Award for work in gender and games
   Hard Core Gamer (20+ hours/week)
Pink Poison

   a brief history of the girls’ game
   movement in the U.S.
1995
“Why should we make
  games for girls?”
1996
“How do we make
 games for girls?”
1997
1997-1999
“See? We told you girls don’t
   play computer games!”
Why did this happen?

 The industry took an entire market of
 women and defined it as a genre of
 “fashion, shopping, and makeup games
 for girls ages 6-10.”
 Computer   game revenues have topped
 9.4 billion dollars, outranking Hollywood
 box office receipts.
                                   Salon magazine.



        So what’s the problem?
 Thetraditional target market of males
 ages 15-25 is not growing as fast as the
 games industry.
                                  Salon Magazine
 Today, females between the ages of 15
 and 25 control over 14 billion dollars a
 year in disposable income.
                                 -Newsweek Magazine
“Houston, we have a problem”
                        Girls don’t play
                             games




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Girls don’t play
     games
What does work?
 We  can identify and remove the barriers
 that prevent women from accessing the
 titles we are making today.
An example of areas where
barriers exist in our games
 Learning styles
 Avatar representation
              Warning
The following information is based on
   broad population generalities. It is highly
   likely you will know of someone that
   does not fit exactly into these profiles.
(If you are female and you are in the
   audience today…then that person will
   most likely be you!!)
 Gender Differences in
 Learning Styles
Males                       Females

•Risk-takers              •Want to know how it
•Explorative              works first
                          •Modeling/Imitative


Most of the tutorials in today’s games are designed
to appeal to an explorative learning style.
Avatar \Av`a*tar"\, n.
 1. An image representing a user in
 a virtual reality space.
 Because  they represent “heroes”, male
 and female avatars will often exhibit
 exaggerated physical signals of youth
 strength, and fertility/virility
Youth, Strength and
Fertility/Virility
Males                Females
 Large Shoulders     Large breasts,
 Slim waists          placed high on the
                       chest
 Slim hips
                      Slim waists
 Large thighs and
  calves              Round derrières

 Long, thick hair    Long, thick hair
 Veryoften female avatars display
 exaggerated physical signals of sexual
 receptivity.

 Maleavatars rarely display these
 signals.
Sexual receptivity
 Red, full lips
 Heavy lidded eyes
 Heavy breathing (usually indicated by a
  slightly open mouth)
 Erect nipples
Solutions

  Design  tutorials that use imitative models
   as well as evaporative models
  Use educational software as models

  Make your female characters heroic, but
   do not hypersexualize them
  Use female athletes as body models
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Sometimes the best man for
the job is a woman
 The  game industry isn’t on women’s
  career radar
 Must recruit in non-traditional areas
 Build today for employees tomorrow
Production Environment

Quality of life issues
  Women have less leisure time

  Benefits are very important

Physical space
  Keep it clean

  Appropriate facilities
Solutions
 Understand    you will have to recruit
  women – and get creative in your
  recruiting
 Address quality of life issues in your
  office including - but not limited to –
  over time, benefits, and actual physical
  space
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Traditional channels do not
reach female consumers
Traditional box and ad
images can actively stop
female consumers
Ad messaging can adversely
affect not only product but
corporate image
“The Second Best Thing To Do In The Dark”
Ad for GBA
Where to start:
 Adjust tutorials to allow for modeling learning
  styles
 Consider forgiveness for error rather than
  punishment
 Make female avatars attractive, but not hyper-
  sexual
 Clearly state you intend your audience to
  contain females
 Seek out qualified female candidates
                               Girls don’t play
                                    games
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                            Gender Inclusive
                            Design breaks the
                                  cycle




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                                  Actively recruit women




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“But what if
the player is female?”


                           Sheri Graner Ray
                                 ScreenBurn
                         South by Southwest
                             March 10, 2006