Gender barriers in video games - A core issue

Image source: Author screen capture

More females are playing games than ever before, but they aren't necessarily playing the same games as males. Is this a problem?

More female video gamers means that more females are engaging with new media technology. In this sense, the gender split between casual and core games should not matter, so long as players feel comfortable playing the games that they want to play.

Whether your personal preference is for the social, easy to learn gameplay of Farmville or the complex strategy-based warfare of Starcraft, if you're female and you're engaging with the technology, then more power to you.

 In reality, the casual-core split does matter. Problems arise when females encounter barriers that stop them from playing certain video games.

At a workshop in 2005, game designer Sheri Graner Ray was shocked to discover that the group of female game developers she was speaking to had never played the five games that she had selected to discuss. All five games were critically acclaimed best sellers. All five featured male avatars and were played mostly by males.

Once the women played the games, they thoroughly enjoyed them. It wasn't the gameplay that had prevented them from enjoying Warcraft (a real-time strategy game) or Halo (a first-person shooter). There were other gender-related barriers that had prevented them from playing the games.

Female gamers may now be more common, but gender inequality prevents them from having equal access to core games. If players encounter a gender issue (hypersexualised characters, lack of female characters, hostile cross-gender play) that makes them uncomfortable playing a game, they may be prevented from experiencing gameplay that they would otherwise enjoy.

Moreover, if this inequality prevents females from gaining the skills required to use the digital technologies that are becoming increasingly important for work and play, the stakes are much higher.

Elena Bertozzi's recommendations make an excellent starting point for changing gender inequality (see the week 3 tutorial reading). Whether we see her suggestions incorporated into male dominated core titles is another matter entirely.