Opinion on Girl Gamers

[JiraiyaSennin]

1) Are you male or female?
Male

2) How often do you play video games?
Almost everyday

2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?
RPG/Adventure games

2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)
Very little

3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male, skip to question 4)
Always male, because I am

3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?
Skip

4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being kinder to new players)
I don't play many big online games, but if I do I will treat nice people nice and mean people mean whether you're a girl or a guy

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?
I really don't care who gives what to who, as long as everyone is okay with it then it's not of my concern

5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?
I think it's so idiotic that their needs to be terms like these, but people use these terms to make a difference between someone who actually does like playing videogames and someone who tries to be a "nerd" or "real gamer" to get attention

6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)
However many that I have talked to on this site

6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)
0

7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?
If you like to play videogames, whether it be casual or hardcore I would say you're a gamer, but "real gamer" is not the right term

8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?
If it aint broke don't fix it

9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g. Mass Effect))
I haven't played many games that do this, so I don't really have an opinion on it

9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?
Skip

10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data.
Skip

[Hexadecimal*]

1) Are you male or female?

Female


2) How often do you play video games?
Not nearly as much as I used to thanks to my job. I'm lucky if I get three hours in a week, but typically when I used to get my standard every other week off I'd play a lot then.



2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?
I am all over the place, but if you say "Suda51" or "Shin Megami Tensei related" I'm there.



2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)
None.



3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on
your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male,
skip to question 4)



3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?



4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently
to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them
freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being
kinder to new players)



4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?



5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?
That it's unnecessary.



6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)
...Err... I can't say I've ever bothered to really keep track.



6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a
girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)
We mostly play console games, but a few of them have games on their phones.



7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?
I'd say so. I don't have a lot in common with them since they don't play the same games as me, but they're playing games nonetheless.



8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?
It can actually get even more sexist when they try to market games at ladies since it seems the game are aimed more at the female stereotype. All I'd like to see is the inclusion of lady characters making a bigger impact on the game's plot and preferably even playable. Sadly it's the gamers themselves that make this seldom since they even make topics over how "weird" it was to play as a girl in games like Persona 3: PSP.



9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female
characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g.
Mass Effect))
That actually doesn't bother me. What gets me is when rape is a part of the plot and even seen as necessary like in Devil Summoner 2. It completely ruined any fun I would've had when Narumi even cracked a joke about it. The plot of Haunting Ground revolved around the fact that Fiona was a woman and had a uterus.



9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?
Eh... Sometimes the fact that nearly all the ladies in a game are scantily clad I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a few not have their boobs and ass hanging out... Or they could even it out with giving the dudes less conservative clothes ;p



10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data.

I'm sorry to sound a bit mean here, but I honestly don't see how these questions are all that enlightening or useful...

[Yawackhary]

1) Are you male or female?
Male

2) How often do you play video games?
Every day or nearly every day

2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?
Platformers, racing games, selected action games (either 1st person or 3rd person view)

2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)
0 [I only ever played online twice on my life on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing on the PS3 and even then the internet connection wasn't reliable]

3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on
your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male,
skip to question 4)

3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?

4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently
to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them
freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being
kinder to new players)

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?

5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?
Eh.
(Personally I find seperating gender between games to be a bit silly and thought people who say this exact saying is either attention seeking on purpose, gender superiority or not even female [there are some men online pretend to be female and not because he is transgender which is understandable but as a joke] depending on the personality of the person.)

6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)
1 [in the past unless my mum counts that would make it two]

6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a
girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)
The person that I did know in the past is obsessed into Pokemon, I mean really obsessed, so obsessed that she care more about Pokemon than anything in the world. If it counts my mum is into puzzle games like Tetris, Columns, Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move and a couple of platformers that are Sonic 1 and Sonic Triple Trouble cause they are the only games she can play, even then she doesn't play every day and rarely plays on games.

7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?

Real gamers are those who 1CC bullet hell shmups.

Seriously depends on what you mean by casual and real gamers. Are the casuals the ones who dabble on the mobile games or the typical COD/FIFA/GTA bunch that can be classed by some people [some diehard RPG/shmup fans] as casual? It can be debated until the ends on time. To me, providing that they play games every so often and more than just the one phone game, a gamer is a gamer. Even though we debate about quality of games (such as many mobile games or the over budget so called AAA FPS games classed as bad), providing that they pick up the controller and press buttons/move analog sticks or do multiple focused touching on a screen is what counts. Then again I don't like the term gamer but rather use player.

8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?

Unisex is the best way since leaning towards a gender might put off the other genders of playing the game. There have been one gender focused games in the past like the Barbie games that don't sell well and have been mostly developed by male developers [look them up]. Dancing games and puzzle games might be able to attract more female people to play games however many male or other genders play dancing and puzzle games as well so that goes that theory. Also it is even hard to categorise games, you get women play FPS games and not just the tomboy type either.

9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female
characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g.
Mass Effect))

I generally play games that don't have sexualisation whatsoever unless looking at a car bumper or a plumber/hedgehog/gorilla/raccoon/bandicoot's ass counts as sexualisation [it probably does to a few people out there...] however usually I don't tend to mind even though something like Dead or Alive Volleyball is a touch uncomfortable for me.

9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?

A majority of games are absolutely fine and don't need to change at all however many of the more pervy type of games seem to come from Japan [even though America and Europe have their fair share too] but that is a case of different culture which is very hard to change. Besides some people like their games pervy and have no problem with that. Actually there needs to be more options and not just customising in games, I mean I don't recall any female gaming character (or even most TV/Movie characters, the ones that I can think of are there just to be a gag like Big Momma) to be a bit overweight/chubby and would actually love to play a game where a female character like that to be the main character. A range of characters from a modelesque design to the more down to earth and also a range of personality in terms of females is lovely, more than just either damsel in distress, scared girl, there to keep focus on the character or badass. Also have there been any women in games to be shown to be pregnant?

Sometimes though a game needs a balance for something that a woman might find sexualised by comparison. Have there been any games that the male character rips his shirt revealing a manly chest or focused on his pecs? [I can't seem to remember at the moment, I know there's Super Macho Man and Disco Kid in Punch-Out but I think that appeals to a different kind of gender]

If a character is designed just so you can look at the breasts [Dead or Alive series applies here] or the panty shot under her skirt, there should be alternate costumes to choose from if it feels uncomfortable.

10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data.
I think it is better to know why a person likes these games not by their gender but by their personality since there are games from everyone and it is probably more of an understanding of the type of game appealing to people.

[Dutchtica*]

1) Are you male or female?

Man man man man manly man man man

2) How often do you play video games?

Urrrrrrrrrrrday

2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?

...I play nearly everything but FPS games.

2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)

Do you HAVE to play it, or CAN play it online?

3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male, skip to question 4)

Either / or, but mostly my own

3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?

No?

4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being kinder to new players)

No...

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?

Shit.

5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?

Girl Gamer sounds more like a gamer who happens to be a girl, a gamer girl sounds like a girl who acts like a gamer in order to reach out to a niche to achieve appeal.

6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)

... Personally... or?

6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)

Okay so skipping.

7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?

Not.. really but... I don't look down on them. Okay, so I think a gamer prefers to play games over other forms of media to entertain them, just like how some people prefer to watch movies, or some people prefer to watch sports,
a casual gamer is just that, someone who plays a game very now and then, but not all the time?

8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?

Aren't there already? (Sorry white male privilge showing I think.) I mean few boys would pick up Sheila's Pony training Camp DS?

9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g. Mass Effect))

Oh I made a post about this in another thread just now.
It depends on the character of the female in question. I know it's more prominent in games, (and thus, unfortunately, more present) it's like super macho men wearing wifebeater vests and shades and being a horrible shade of orange like the Jersey Shore people, yeah it paints a negative portrait of the gender said person is from, but it doesn't mean all the gender is like that.
A ... A good game shows you more than one variety. Just like how a good movie shows you the same.

What I think is that if a character (female or male) is supposed to be sexy, or horrible, or horrible because of they way the promiscuously act towards others, this shouldn't be a problem, but it is a problem when a game is only known for this.

I really hope this 1:30 am drunk argument makes decent sense.

9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?

...
Easy.
Write everybody as characters and not as bodies.
Good example:
This lady from that 90's Superman series: The Adventures of Lois and Clark,

she was their colleague and a vixen, and kept trying to hit on Clark, but it wasn't horribly over the top, or filthy, or disgusting, or demeaning towards her.

10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data.

I know I may seem breezy about the subject, but I may or MAY NOT BE a weird form of enlightened.

If my breeziness about inequality offends anyone, keep in mind: I'm trying to view everything objectively, it's probably BECAUSE I'm not trying to make an issue out of anything that I seem to take things too trivially.

That is all the questions I have for now, so I would like to thank anyone who partakes in this, as you will be helping me get 1 step closer to reaching my dream job of a Game Designer. Hopefully by the end of this, a lot more people will understand that females make awesome games as well, and soon shall have a gaming world where no one is treated differently because of their genitalia.

Thank you all :)

EDIT: Added in a question 2.3 and swapped it around with 2.2. When answering, please include the full questions above it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU SWAPPED THEM AROUND MY ENTIRE POST IS RUINED NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[retrolinkx]

1) Are you male or female?
Insert witty comment saying I'm a guy
2) How often do you play video games?
Everyday
2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?
Eh, anything from FPS, to RPGs. I like them all
2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)
Probably several hours
3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male, skip to question 4)
It depends, in some source based games female characters have a smaller hit box, for example. Left 4 Dead 2. Zoey has a much smaller hit box than Francis would, so I would usually play as Zoey to avoid friendly fire incidents. However, I only ever play as a female character for gameplay reasons (different options in Fallout, Mass Effect etc.)

3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?
No, but I could if I wanted to

4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being kinder to new players)
No, I'm not a dick

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?
Bitches and Whores, man. I hate women who manipulate people in doing anything. Especially online, it's actually cringe worthy to see people fall for it

5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?
I think of some casual facebook Iphone user who thinks that because they played Pokemon when they were 8, and now play Angry Birds, and Call of Duty, they think they're gamers

6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)
Only a few in real life, they fit into the bad girl gamer category. The ones I know online fit into the good girl gamer category (where they just act normal)

6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)
[b]A lot, probably the majority of Girl Gamers are like that, just to get attention.

7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?
No. If they do nothing but play Iphone games, and nothing else. I can't call them a gamer, maybe if they had an Xbox or something, and played some games other than Call of Duty and Fifa, they may be.

8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?
Nah, the feminists would shout some bullshit about oppression, and it would end horribly. Besides, there isn't a need for it anyway. It's been unisex for a while, and there isn't a need to change it

9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g. Mass Effect))
I don't mind it. I don't really take notice of it, unless it's for the games purpose (Bayonetta, Catherine) but it's nothing horrible. It's not like it's making women seem like they're the reason for wars or something shit.


9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?
I guess down toning it maybe. I don't see it as a problem anyway. They're not going around with no clothes on asking people for sex.

10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data. [/b]

[RyeoNox]

1) Are you male or female?

Male

2) How often do you play video games?

About 30min - 1 hour hour on weekdays, 4 or 5 hours on weekends

2-2) What genre of games do you prefer to play?

Hack and Slash

2-3) Within this time, how much of this is spent on online games? (if none, skip to 5)

Very little

3) Within online games, do you prefer to choose a character based on your gender, or the opposite gender, and why? (if you only play as male, skip to question 4)

3-2) When playing as a female, do you use your characters gender to try to get freebies from other players?

4) When playing online games, do you treat female characters differently to male characters? If so, then why? (anywhere from giving them freebies to killing them for playing a 'guys game'. This includes being kinder to new players)

4-2) What is your general response to females in games that try to use their gender or sexuality for items/equipment/money?

Skiped

5) What is your general thought when hearing the term 'Girl Gamer' or 'Gamer Girl'?

Attention whores trying to get attention.

6) How many female gamers do you know? (if 0, skip to question 7)

1

6-2) Of the female gamers you know, including yourself if you are a girl, what majority are casual gamers? (social games, iphone games, etc)

I only know 1 female gamer,so....

7) Do you think that casual gamers are real gamers, or not?

As long as you play games, you're a gamer. Not everyone have the time to sit down on the couch all day long.

8) Do you think there should be a market of games designed for girls only, or should it continue to be a unisex genre?

Games are doing fine right now. No need for a change. There's platformers which are not so violence and it's perfect for girls.

9) Within games, what is your opinion on the sexualization of female characters? (from skimpy outfits to constant flirting with males (e.g. Mass Effect)

It's great. Sexualization is completely fine, no matter for male or female.

9-2) Using the above as an example, what do you think could be done to fix this?

I won't mind developers add dudes with huge muscles and tight clothes... That sounds like a bad idea to be honest...

10) If you have anything else to add, please do so here as it will help the research data.