Female gamers meet in Austin for conference

Aspiring female video game developers received support from industry speakers Wednesday and Thursday at the Women's Game Conference in Austin. The conference focused on the importance of women in the male-dominated industry and as consumers. A recent report by the International Game Developers Association found 85 percent of game developers are male in an industry survey of 6,500 developers. Women have increasingly starred as heroines in video games in recent years, as opposed to being helpless princesses in need of rescuing. However, these portrayals may not affect the usual archetypes featured in video games.

"Games appeal to males. They're geared to where you have a male strategy to them," said Charlie Peek, a professor of sociology in the women's studies group. "Males use violence to solve problems, basically."

-Carlos Bergfeld/Staff Writer