Originally posted by Draklar
In that case no, I don\'t think Doom 3 was aimed at female gamers
Um...Why? Because it is action packed, gory, and brutal?
Sure, many male players are attracted by those features because - traditionally - \"it\'s what a guy does\". But, does violence inherently deter women from playing a game? I think not, I know plenty of girls that could effortlessly beat an action FPS, leaving the \"core gamers\" gaping in awe.
Granted, many products present scantily clad women with elevated sex appeal so that the male gamers are naturally drawn closer to the box and drool over the printed beauties. But do remember that the male protagonists of every game also tend to be broad shouldered, muscular and statuesque for the delight of females.
Undoubtedly, the gaming industry has already realised of who plays what. Marketing studies have been tackled to show how the percentages of males and females are growing closer. And this is not new, it has been going on for a while now.
So thinking that \"games are made for guys\" as a general rule strikes me as ridiculous. Why would a company deliberately ostracise the female players, when they also mean a very important profit? Common sense would say that they will try to attract as many fans as possible. And I believe most are walking down that road nowadays (Note the *most*. There are still games in which the packaging and presentation clearly denotes a preference for male audience.)
RolePlaying wise, if I have to remember the most memorable and interesting characters I have had the pleasure to encounter, I would say that more than half of them are admirably played by women. And if you search a little, you will find that in certain RolePlaying communities, women are a majority.
So, my opinion on this? The masculine gender may have been predominant until now, but that era is reaching an end as the inaccurately-dubbed \"weak sex\" has clearly and righfully been claiming its spot in the gaming industry (Suffice to say, there have been some games programmed -SOLELY- by a female development team).
In general terms, the battleground is even for both sides. None has \"natural\" skills and abilities more evolved than the other. And particularly in an RPG, there is absolutely no difference in the gender of the player.
And, truth be told, I never paid attention to the gender of my fellow players anyway. What is more important in a game is that everyone is having fun, that entertainment is provided, and that friends can be made.
- Golbez
