here at
Games.Tucows.com. I would like to do more on women in gaming.
+Debbee> Welcome to Chatterbox Series:
Women in Games ! Meet Katherine Anna Kang, President and Founder of
Fountainhead Entertainment and Ismini "Atari" Boinodiris, Co-Founder
of WomenGamers.Com. They'll be online to discuss the growing
community of women who play 3D action games. Are women really
interested in first-person shooters? Do all-female tournaments
promote competition in women or do they contribute to the gender
divide? How can this genre open up to appeal to more women?
nabeo_kak> I'm Katherine Anna Kang,
currently President of Fountainhead Entertainment. Previous
Fountainhead I was the Director of Business Development at id
Software. Glad to see so many people interested in this topic. :)
Atariana> Good evening and thank you all
for coming. I'm Ismini "Atari" Boinodiris, co-founder of
WomenGamers.Com, and an active member of the QGirlZ Quake clan. I've
been a fan of first person shooters since the arrival of id
Software's Wolfenstein 3D and I am happy to see more women emerging
into the FPS community. happy to see more women emerging into the
FPS community. To start off... Anna, do you think the number of
women playing 1st person shooters is growing? Working for id
Software, were there any statistics that showed an increase in
popularity among female gamers?
nabeo_kak> The growth in female gamers is
fairly obvious to me. Four years ago one would be very hard pressed
to find even a dozen women playing DOOM or Quake. Today games like
Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament can boast hordes of female
clans who not only play but compete. However, for those who need
actual numbers, the Interactive Digital Software Association
conducted a survey in 1999 which showed that approx. 43% of PC
gamers were female with 35% on console and Activison found that over
25% of those who registered Quake II were female. As more females
are introduced to the technologies available to them, the comfort
level will rise and so will the numbers.
Corinthos> Do you think FPS games could
somehow be more attractive to women? If so, how?
nabeo_kak> I do think that steps could be
made to make it more attractive to women without turning off their
male audience.
Corinthos> Some people say that all-female
tournaments help bring the female community together but others feel
that they add to the gender divide. After watching the past few
all-female tournaments, would you say that the participants are more
divided from the game.
Corinthos> gaming community as a whole or
feel closer to it than ever before?
nabeo_kak> From my personal experience I've
seen the growth of the female community since the inception of
female tournaments.
nabeo_kak> For whatever reasons these women
stay in touch and enjoy the friendships formed and go on to do more
for the community.
nabeo_kak> There's a need for the women to
know that there are others like them who enjoy the games they do and
that being competitive is okay. Sometimes it takes a friendlier
environment to get these women to feel comfortable enough to
compete.
nabeo_kak> Perhaps someday it will no
longer be necessary for women to join together for tournaments or
clans but for now, it is a useful tool to keep them coming back for
more. In a way, it serves as a comfort zone where they can relax and
not feel the need to be
nabeo_kak> ready for the negativity that
can come in being a female FPS gamer.
Atariana> Many of the women I have met at
all-female tournaments had never played in a tournament before.
These tournaments offered them a fun and harassment-free first
experience. So, I definitely see them to be more helpful than
harmful.
DigitalGRRL> Why do you believe there are
so few women playing 3D shooters? (Compared to the number of guys)
Status say 43% of PC gamers are female, but you don't know if that
is Quake or Windows Solitaire...Do you think this due to things like
marketing and game elements or do you think it goes deeper.. into
things more like the difference between men and women and how they
are brought up etc?
nabeo_kak> Personally, I believe there are
several reasons, one being that the games are developed by men.
Ultimately if a game is fun, everyone will enjoy it. However there
comes a time when a female is sick of playing as a male marine...
Unfortunately on FPS developer or publisher has kept any
documentation of female gaming habits so what we're giving you are
opinions from personal experience. However, what we see is the
growth of female sites and clans who speak about fps games and it's
obvious that there is a market. Until female gamers are accepted as
fps gamers who spend their money on these games, I don't believe
there will be much of a movement to market to females.
Atariana> Keep in mind that although men
may use gaming as a topic for discussion, women who play don't
necessarily chat with their friends about a Quake match the night
before. This was apparent when I went to speak to a bunch of 8th
grade girls. The first one who spoke said, "Girls don't play games,"
yet the majority of the girls in the auditorium admitted they did
play games on a regular basis, and a variety of games at that. Many
of them just didn't talk about it with their friends. I think women
like what men like, but when games are targeted towards a particular
sex it can turn off a part of the market.
Caz_CN> Don't you ever get tired of being
referred to, or referring to yourselves, as "female gamers?"
Wouldn't it be better if we were just "gamers" and gender never
played a role or even came up? Do you think by running a site called
womengamers.com that focuses on female gamers that you are
perpetuating the gender divide instead of doing something to help
get rid of it?
nabeo_kak> Yes. it would be wonderful to be
simply a "gamer" but when a "female gamer" goes to a LAN party and
most of the males in the room points out the fact that you are
female (something that females already are aware of), you just have
to wonder whether it's just better to go with it or fight it. The
point is not to segregate but to make other women more comfortable
in a mostly hostile environment. Both women and men are doing their
part in this and it is making a difference.
Atariana> Womengamers.com in particular has
made it clear in our mission statement and efforts that we are
trying to integrate not segregate. Approximately 30% of our members
are men who want to help encourage women into an area that was
traditionally male-oriented. We hope efforts like this let women
know that other women DO play In Quake. I've seen a lot of women get
blasted for being women and consequently they have quit playing
because they don't like being teased for being what they are.
Keay> Why is there a question about the
gaming between men and women? The computer only recognizes Is and
Os, right? This all revolves around the programmer's ability to
write something worth playing. Can't we be 'virtually' anyone we
want?
nabeo_kak> If people were computers I think
we would have an easier time with a lot of things. :) But when one
goes on-line to play as "Katherine", it's what results that
sometimes make women wish for a friendlier environment. There's
nothing wrong with wanting to create a better environment.
Atariana> I do want to point out that the
environment has changed significantly since Quake.
PaleFaceDie> What is the average age of a
female FPS Gamer? Being a female gamer myself I've had to hide my
age and sex to gain respect. What could break the gaming barrier
between men and women?
Atariana> That's a good question. :) Well,
the majority of our members are 25-35 and I think we have a good
number of female FPS gamers coming to WomenGamers.Com.
nabeo_kak> From my experience the ages have
been all over the place. I've met females in their teen, mostly in
there twenties, a few in there thirties, and even a couple who are
grandmothers.
Mr_Gaud> At what point in time, if ever,
will the female community of online gamers, over come the male
population (in your opinion)? Also, what 'roll' is / will
womengamers.com take in the present and future to advance women and
online gaming? Thank you!
nabeo_kak> I'm not sure if it will overcome
the male population... perhaps there will be specific genres where
that will happen but I do doubt that that will happen in FPS games.
There are women who are getting together to create their own
modification to games it's a start of women being proactive in their
desire to work in the industry and be seriously considered.
Atariana> WomenGamers.Com has been actively
going out to schools and talking to young women about gaming and
careers in the gaming industry we believe an active community role
as well as a strong Internet presence to be able to change the
current environment.
RadPipe> Do you think you have to develop a
"tough skin" to be a female in this male dominated sport, to endure
the abuse leveled at you from the more immature gamers who like to
harass women? flup
nabeo_kak> I think there's a level of
"tough skin" that has to be developed. For the most part, especially
now, the male players are cool but it's that no so cool part that
takes a little getting used to. There's definitely a certain level
of it.
Atariana> Now that there is an emerging
presence of women FPS players, there is less of a need to be super
tough because there is now a community for these women to lean on
and be women with. Initially, you do need a tough skin though
especially if you don't know the community yet.
RadPipe> Most of the women I know (all?)
online have developed this "tough skin", and are quite used to the
tactic of leveling abuse directly back at their aggressors. Do you
think these women have changed as a result of these online gaming
relationships? What has happened to our innocence?
nabeo_kak> LOL! :)
Atariana> "all" :P
nabeo_kak> Personally, I don't believe I've
changed. I've just taken my aggressive side and let it out more
often. :)
Atariana> Like any environment, you either
leave it or you learn how to live in it. Sometimes that means
seeking out others like yourself, or it could mean growing
accustomed to "talking smack" with the guys. Depends on the person.
KryptMaker> It's a great idea to have all
women tourneys, but how far is too far? As in restricting males from
playing with them for various reasons... Also isn't the environment
we encounter what we as a society have made it to be?
nabeo_kak> I believe too far is when men
can no longer participate in the high profile competitions out
there. For instance, if there were no equivalent or better
tournaments for men, it would be a sign that things were going bad
the other way (IMO).
Atariana> Many of these women participate
in other tournaments. I know my clan does. :)
AnJill_Tucows> Katherine Anne - I am
curious - Being a Women Gamer - when you worked for id Software, you
were the director of Business, and also helped in the marketing and
purchasing of their products. Why didn't you then target the women?
And what made you decide to form Fountainhead Entertainment? I find
when I have a LAN party that it seems to be 50-50, don't you think
it is how women perceive themselves? I think that any woman that
goes into the game has the same chance, why should we separate
ourselves?
nabeo_kak> Actually, I did hope to bring
more women into the FPS games and I believe that my involvement with
the female community has done that. There's a limit to what
individuals can do but during my tenure I pressed for supporting
female tournaments, seminars, and other events being put together by
the female communities. It was a start and it can go further from
there. I've always wanted to start my own company and with the close
of Q3A development, it was a good time for me. There are things that
I've been wanting to see happen in the entertainment industry that I
hope to achieve.
NoBunny> You said that 25% of Quake II
registrations were from women. But at QuakeCon, it seemed that far
fewer than 25% of participants are female. How do you account for
this? What could be done to change it?
nabeo_kak> I believe that QuakeCon is the
type of event that most individual women would not go to for several
reasons: family, cost, no knowing people in the community. This is
where the female gaming community helps to bring and introduce women
to this type of functions. They do need to feel more secure than
their male counterparts and understandably so. Gaming at home is
different than gaming abroad. It helps to develop friendships over
time and see other women attending so they can hear it via word of
mouth about the coolness of such events. It'll take time.
Atariana> Women are still filtering onto
the Internet. They are still newcomers, whereas many of the people
who go to LAN parties have been around for a long time. It can be
pretty intimidating being in a room of 1000 guys when you are just 1
woman. Although I was quite happy to see many more women at the last
QuakeCon that I have ever seen percentage wise at a LAN.
BeautyBeast0> On a general trend, what do
you think female players would like to see more of in term of
gaming? And how can game developers cater toward these trends.
Likewise, how can advertiser cater their ads to attract more female
consumers?
Atariana> Certain games, certain good
looking, solid games, are advertised using women as sex objects. If
you aren't targeting the market, chances are you aren't going to
reach it. Women want to be acknowledged as a part of the market.
nabeo_kak> Games such as FFVIII, Q2, Grim
Fandango have solid female leads. That helps. It also helps to not
have women in g-strings advertising the game. ;) Though it depends
on the game, it's important to make strong and competent female
protagonists. Like Aliens, Terminator, Xena, Buffy, both men and
women appreciate it and it doesn't turn off either sex.
Atariana> Roberta Williams wanted to put a
female protagonist into Kings Quest 4 to draw in the female market.
People feared that the game was going to turn off the male audience.
Did it? No. And now there are many games coming out with strong lead
female characters. It's definitely possible to make a game that
appeals to both women and men without alienating the one of the
sexes.
BeautyBeast0> Furthermore, what type of
games do women seem to prefer to play the most? For instance,
between massive online RPG like Asheron's Call, regular RPG like
Ultima or Diablo, Flight Sims, strategy game, and FPS, which do
women seem to play more of? Is this statistic base on sales or
experience?
Atariana> Not much research has been done,
and things have been changing with the Internet rather rapidly over
the past 3 years. Until more research is done, there really is no
way to tell yet what women are playing.
nabeo_kak> From what I read (sorry but I
don't have the source with me at this moment) the high number of
female gamers seem to reside in RPG and strategy. There is a lot of
growth, which will change the numbers in the future.
+Debbee> I'd like to thank our guests for
being with us tonight, it was a very interesting chat!
nabeo_kak> Thanks!
Atariana> Thanks for coming everyone.
:)
I sat
in on the chat with Katherine Anna Kang, President and