As I haven’t done a blog post in a while and should really start doing them a lot more frequently I thought I would do something a little bit different for this current one.
We we’re asked to go away and research female gamers, we spent our Thursday lecture talking about female gamers such as what games they play, how many female’s are in the games industry and then post a blog post about what we found.
As a competitive gamer myself I find I play a more kind of unique games or rather I play the same games as other people but I play them in a different way, as the competitive community is something I know a lot about I thought I would look into Girl Gamers from a competitive point of view.
Well I’m quiet fortunate to know Steph Charij who is 1 female, 2 a competitive gamer and 3 works for Evolution Studios(Sony) in Runcorn and (at time of writing) has just finished (it’s release day!) working on Motorstorm Apocalypse additionally because she is just that awesome she has agreed to answer a few questions for me.
Me: So Steph thank you for joining me here on MSN (I feel so stupid asking questions in this format but it will hopefully work overall)
Firstly what do you think first attracted you to gaming? What do you think attracts other females like yourself to a predominantly male entertainment sector.
Steph: I was fortunate enough to be raised by computer loving parents. My mother bought a Sega Megadrive when I was little and my older brother and I loved playing co-op Sonic, since then my love of games and my collection of consoles has expanded. Personally I love co-operative and multiplayer games, the social aspect really appeals to me as I can make friends while having a laugh and a bit of banter, you really get to have these virtual experiences that you couldn’t have in real life with other people. I do like single player games too though, things like Pokémon, Final Fantasy and Zelda I have always enjoyed, probably because I grew up with them and stuck with the series. Any games with great mechanics, re-playability, pick-up-and-playability and/or great story are always a win-win, I think these things in general attract gamers. Everybody has different tastes, maybe it’s the stigma behind being seen as ‘geeky’ that holds some people back, be it male or female.
Me: Roughly what kind of male to female ratio is there at Evolution Studios?
Steph: Haha, roughly, about 15:1 I’d say... there aren’t many of us!
Me: Do you feel you or your work is treated any differently to your male colleagues?
Steph: Not really, I actually try as hard as possible to show I am a diligent worker who is reliable and good at my job. I think it’s difficult for anyone, male or female, to earn respect and trust within a company and if you show that you are capable/skilled then there’s nothing to hold you back!
Me: On to your more competitive side (I think I know most of the answers already) what attracts you to competitiveness? Many males would say they play to be the best and to outdo each other are you playing to outdo others or to just have a bit of fun making men know they got smashed by a girl?
Steph: I have a pretty competitive personality, I like to learn and I like to win! I really don’t think gender is important in games, it’s when people start to differentiate and generalise and think they are automatically more skilled because they are male/whatever. Getting good at games only requires practise, maybe the generalisation stems from the lack of willingness to invest a LOT of spare time into one game. The best players are those with a lot of hours racked up, those who enjoy the game and in team games, those that work together and play as a unit rather than selfishly.
Me: In games such as CSS, COD4 and others there is a lot of baiting team mates for kills(glory hunting) some would say this is predominantly male thing, would you say this is true or do you find yourself baiting and trying to get that star kill ahead of your fellow girly gamers?
Steph: I don’t believe the scoreboard reflects personal skill in team games and I have had my fair share of deaths due to me running face first into the enemy without my team backing me up! The key is co-ordination and strategy, predicting the enemies’ movements and then out-playing them using your skill. I think being bottom of the scoreboard does put pressure on players to go out and frag hunt so they don’t look so bad, but at the end of the day it’s the team’s score that matters, if you sacrifice yourself so that your sniper can get a clear shot on one of the other team it can be beneficial, but 1:1 isn’t always great!
Me: What is your opinion of games which are more aimed towards females? Do they interest you at all or are you girl that just wants to smash things and see heads explode rather than cute fluffy bunnies with pink hats (no stereotype intended)
Steph: I think the games you are talking about (pink bunnies etc) tend to be aimed at much younger females. I don’t have anything against these games, but I wouldn’t go out and buy one on launch day... I play casual games like Peggle, Bejewelled and Plants vs Zombies (all by PopCap), I also own a DS and other Nintendo consoles, which are aimed at a wider audience that the top hardware consoles like the 360 an PS3. I’m all for robot unicorn attack and killing zombies, I also like games like DDR (dance matting), but as for fairy princesses and pink, sparkly sleep-over parties, I think I’ll pass unless there is something a little bit deeper in the gameplay!
Me: My last question would have to be, top 5 games? (inb4 Motorstorm)
Steph: Obligatory Motorstorm: Apocalypse!!! Other than this I’d say: Kingdom Hearts, Discworld, Pokémon, Portal and Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Me: Thank you very much for your time Steph or should I say bluef33d?
Steph: No problem Vazzfail. I hope my answers were useful! Here have a Teemo:
Competitive gaming for girls is starting to increase with ESL (the biggest e-sports body) having their own CSS female only gaming league! Hosting a nation’s cup with teams from different countries playing against each other to win a piece of the €25,000prize money the female community sure has their fair share of skilled players which warrant a competition.
Here is a list of some of the most impressive female gamers that I have seen playing and their respective male orientated games.
Call of Duty 4 –
Lauren “Pansy” Scott
CounterStrike:Source –
Steph “bluef0x” Charij
Maria “Lego” Douglas
CounterStrike (1.6) – “Exilia”
League of Legends –
“Kiruur”
“Imaqtpie”
Team Fortress 2 –
Carly “Miss Blu3y” Foreman
“Troublegirl”
“Illii”
Cake Mania 2
I played Cake Mania 2 (http://www.games.com/game-play/cake-mania-2/single/ ) I found it very easy to get into and understand however I didn’t find it very entertaining, I think to make it more entertaining it would lose some of its simplicity which as an end result would make it a less pick up and play friendly game, perhaps that it what the main difference is between male and female gamers, males prefer more in depth get stuck into a story game while females prefer a quick pick up and play.
Hi Luke
ReplyDeleteWell done for posting the interview that was a really interesting take on the topic.
rob