RE: So What If I’m A Woman? Let Me Play The Damn Game.

Link to original article

http://kotaku.com/5919386/so-what-if-im-a-woman-let-me-play-the-damn-game/

There are some things that I would like to talk about in the article. People act like women are a minority of gamers and even though they are in terms of overall percentage, they are by no means small in number. They are part of a growing population of gamers that should be taken more seriously. The problem is that gaming has been a male dominated area for many years and women are often forming a separate group of "girl gamers" rather than being just gamers. Having something like a co-ed team instead of dividing the gaming team into male and female would be a nice start. However, it seems that this is something that is a long way away from happening. Women need to stop separating themselves and just become part of the general mixed culture. That means you might want to think about seriously cosplaying at a convention like some of the other people rather than just looking like a girl.

PR representatives and the people who generally work at the booth are there to make their game look good. They try to avoid certain things that they do not like. Just because they show off their game at E3, it does not mean that their game is good, but they have to show that their game is good somehow. If it means a tech demo, they are obviously going to show the best cutscenes. If you show off a new version of a game it has to look good so perhaps one of the most action packed segments of the game rather than the beginning. The important thing is that if they want to show off something about the game, you say no and continue what you are doing. Remember that if you are going to be writing about a game, the most important thing is your own experiences with the game rather than what they say about it.

The publications you do about gaming have little to do with your attitude as a gamer. Far too often, the publishers do not review a game like a gamer actually would. This might be due to the restrictions placed on them by either their company or maybe it is because the publisher's marketing team placed restrictions on them about their reviews. People who write reviews sometimes also have their interns or other people take notes for them and the reviewer never actually plays the game. This is something that creates systematic bias. As a result, official reviewers are often considered out of touch and people rely more on peer reviews than the official ones. If it is what people consider a AAA title, it will always be a good game regardless of how much of the game is recycled and how repetitive it might be compared to the previous game. If it is a smaller title or by a smaller company, you can get away with saying whatever you want about the game. However, you still create a double standard. Dynasty Warriors gets called out for being the same game every release yet Sengoku Basara (the exact same concept as Dynasty Warriors) is not being called out on it and neither is a big game like the Call of Duty series. If you want to be taken seriously as someone who works in the gaming industry, you need to take it more seriously.

If you think that there is a stereotype that women are unable to cover video games, you need to prove them wrong. Show them that you can and that you are capable of making judgments about the game. If they offer to show you the game's features, decline them. Do not get an intern to play a game for you and take notes, take the time to do it yourself. Compare games between games and the series and other games in the genre. People do not like it when you do comparisons like this, but it is important to point out what kind of standard there is for that genre and what the overall standard is in the industry. If publications about video games are going to be taken more seriously, it is your duty as a publisher to show that you are serious about your work and that you will not be bullied around by the publishers. If they place requirements for you to review the game, decline to review their game and publish about their restrictions instead. That can cover a page in your magazine or serve as an important entry on your website. Unfortunately, publishing an article about how you are treated might not be a good way to start.

Most of the big games are aimed towards men. These are the primary players of the big FPS and action titles, but women are part of much of the rest of the genres. Many RPGs are rather gender neutral appealing to both men and women with impossibly handsome men and beautiful women. Few games are primarily aimed towards women, but one could argue that a majority of the Atelier series of RPGs are aimed at women.