On the Gaming Company, Part II
So some of my gamer friends have pointed out that my first rant on video games was dismissive and narrowly informed at best. So I guess I should clarify my position, especially after two months of inside exposure to the industry. I still hold that video games reinforce negative images of women, more so I think than the general entertainment industry (movies, TV, print media) because of the lack of diversity in these images. I was having a discussion with my boss - just a friendly debate, not one of those meetings where you're like, Um, Mr. Boss, there's this major issue I have with video games and you need to do something about it - and he pointed out that women's beauty magazines promote equally negative images of women. I think the key inaccuracy in his statement is the word "equally." Not to defend beauty mags, as most of them are just insulting and condescending, but some of these pubs actually make a feeble effort to balance out starvation with self-empowerment and good health habits. Whereas there's only one type of female character in video games - the sex kitten with big boobs. I don't really care that Lara Croft can kick ass, cuz she looks freaking ridiculous. Basically the message is that no matter who a woman is, she's only ideal if her tits are so big that she could kill someone by spinning 90 degrees and smacking their skull with them. Nearly every female character or personality in the visual media is not just attractive, but exceedingly attractive. Unlike lots of male characters, they can't have any physical flaws. Basically the message is, as long as a woman is attractive, she can be valued. If she's not, who the hell cares if she's smarter than any man, tough as nails, a total ass-kicker, and filthy rich? She's useless if she's plain.
Anyway, the point of this post was not to rant, but to mention some positive aspects of video games that I've come to appreciate: that they can build problem solving skills, that many have quite clever and creative premises, and that the graphics and artwork are stellar. And I also realize that games are what they are because they mostly cater to the fantasies of 18-35 year old males, and video games are not the only things out there sending stupid subliminal messages to both men and women...but that doesn't make it any more okay that they do.
Someone at work circulated an article about a survey that found that women over 40 spend a lot more time playing video games than any other demographic group, including teenage and young adult males. I find this hard to believe, but nevertheless there is clearly a huge opportunity for video games that cater to women. My boss said that a few years ago a woman tried to develop games for female gamers, but for whatever reason the venture flopped. It will be interesting to see if anyone ever tries again - and what kind of games end up becoming popular.
I've found it really difficult to market a retail product in an industry in which I'm not a consumer. I don't play video games, I don't know much about the competitive landscape or consumer market, and I just don't have the interest or value system conducive to learning about them. Basically I'd rather spend my time promoting things that don't fall on the part of the activity spectrum called "sitting on your ass getting fat." Just one stroll past the QA team at my company and you'd have to be blind to deny the correlation between gaming and too much pizza.
At first I thought I just had a problem with this job because it was a retail product and I'm ideologically opposed to encouraging consumerism. But I'm really not opposed to consuming - or marketing - outdoors gear. Basically I could stand in REI and convince myself that I actually need everything in that store. I also don't have any qualms about consuming - or marketing - plane tickets to other countries, or anything in a restaurant. Just video games.
Anyway, the point of this post was not to rant, but to mention some positive aspects of video games that I've come to appreciate: that they can build problem solving skills, that many have quite clever and creative premises, and that the graphics and artwork are stellar. And I also realize that games are what they are because they mostly cater to the fantasies of 18-35 year old males, and video games are not the only things out there sending stupid subliminal messages to both men and women...but that doesn't make it any more okay that they do.
Someone at work circulated an article about a survey that found that women over 40 spend a lot more time playing video games than any other demographic group, including teenage and young adult males. I find this hard to believe, but nevertheless there is clearly a huge opportunity for video games that cater to women. My boss said that a few years ago a woman tried to develop games for female gamers, but for whatever reason the venture flopped. It will be interesting to see if anyone ever tries again - and what kind of games end up becoming popular.
I've found it really difficult to market a retail product in an industry in which I'm not a consumer. I don't play video games, I don't know much about the competitive landscape or consumer market, and I just don't have the interest or value system conducive to learning about them. Basically I'd rather spend my time promoting things that don't fall on the part of the activity spectrum called "sitting on your ass getting fat." Just one stroll past the QA team at my company and you'd have to be blind to deny the correlation between gaming and too much pizza.
At first I thought I just had a problem with this job because it was a retail product and I'm ideologically opposed to encouraging consumerism. But I'm really not opposed to consuming - or marketing - outdoors gear. Basically I could stand in REI and convince myself that I actually need everything in that store. I also don't have any qualms about consuming - or marketing - plane tickets to other countries, or anything in a restaurant. Just video games.
posted by Justina at 1:40 AM
3 Comments:
You are absolutely right. As unrealistic as magazine images of women are, at least they are based on women who actually exist (before Photo Shop messes with the reality, I know). What’s as disturbing as the wholly impossible body image video games project is the narrow role that women are allowed to play in that world. They are pathetic victims or ruthless ass kicker, and both have huge tits. When the complete lack of honest diversity (and I mean diversity without all the ugly stereotypes) is factored in, the video game world seems even more absurd. I would hope that the positives that exist with the use of games could be combined with more progressive view of their fantasy worlds.
Oh, and I love REI too! I have vowed that if there ever comes an event in my life that I get to register for gifts, I will register exclusively at REI.
Thanks Misty and Steve for your comments. BTW, I really like this Japanese video game called Katamari Damasu. You push a big ball of stuff around and pick up more stuff to make the ball bigger so you can pick up more stuff. It's not the height of intellectual stimulation, but for some reason the humor of rolling a 747 or a football stadium into your ball never gets old.
Remember the old days of video games? Somehow Frogger and Donkey Kong and Space Invaders and Centipede and Pac Man are still brilliant twenty years later. Hee hee hee: http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml
You have a very good point Steve. And I surely do miss the days of Frogger and Pac Man, for those were games that I excelled at. I think I learned how to drive by playing Pole Position (for better or worse).
:)
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