Gamer girl the irony

[Lesley_Roberta]

I have sat playing wargames for years, decades even.

I don't really play MMOs or shooters. I love those gem games, and might play some of the RPG concepts just so long as they have turns.

I think anyone can like Mario Kart.

But I always wondered, what is a gamer girl? And I had asked this question of females in the past.

It is ironic I have always known what a gamer girl likes, I just never realized I was one

I think it explains why I am not the sort of type that thrives on aggressive competition. I prefer designs that require thoughtful problem resolution and the ability to develop coordinated actions. Its why MMOs fall flat for me (too much hack n slash) but RPG designs that feature turn based team concepts do it for me.

It is amusing though, trying to explain why I like some games. My friends I suppose are just not used to being told, it's because I'm a girl

[ZoeM]

I'm rather in love with the idea that I am now the mythical gamer girl - the thing neckbeards like Old Chris used to dream about.

This makes me rather conceited sometimes.

[Erin Kay Howell]

I'm rather in love with the idea that I am now the mythical gamer girl - the thing neckbeards like Old Chris used to dream about.

This makes me rather conceited sometimes.

^^^

"Girls don't play World of Warcraft..."
*waves* I sure do play WoW, and a few other major MMO's

[Lo]

Being "the gamer girl" sucks, hands down. You all can take my place in the ditch if you want!

I don't know why this stereotype still exists-- dev execs are having to deal with (or ignore, take your pick) the fact that for the first time in history women are spending more money on games than men are. MMO player demographics have always been pretty evenly distributed across The Two Genders (consult any poll you want, the figures are pretty firmly in the 45-50% range for female gamers). It's a stereotype that has no basis in reality, and is entirely rooted in the "bro" culture that gamers have established over the past few decades for themselves... one that happens to be terribly misogynistic. I, for one, can't wait for it to go away. 

I work in the industry right now; concept artist for an adventure/sandbox being developed. As far as my history, I've played and enjoyed pretty much everything under the sun, from tabletop RPGs, to puzzle platformers, to multiplayer, plot-less, shoot-em-ups.

[Ltl89]

I grew up with two older sister who introduced me to gaming.  There are plenty of girls that play video games.  It's just not as socially acceptable for girls to play games.  It makes no sense, but it's a weird stereotype.  I know my sister would never admit in public that she loves gaming, but she would play as much as I did when we were kids.  However, there probably are less girl gamers in general even if it isn't as polarized as many believe.

[Lesley_Roberta]

Well it's true girls play games, but, I think it matters HOW we girls play our games, and WHY we girls play our games, in contrast to how the boys play their games and why.

I lack the penis envy shortcomings of obsessing over biggest sword/gun/tank and toughest armour or defensive whatever.
I tend to need something more than find something to kill, kill it, find something else, kill it, repeat till level up whereupon the matter is just changed to be find something bigger to kill and then kill it.

It gets really dull if everything is about find something to kill, get points for killing it, all so ou can kill something bigger. And too many games, all the supposed role play, it is really just a means to an end to permitting you to find a way to be able to find something and kill it. So even being a simple baker, is more of the same, if you only bake so you can afford to later go out and find something to kill

I really love role game settings where the objective doesn't involve anything dying, but still requires involved interaction. Like the Lordship wanting you to go find the lost pendant, because it belonged to the family as an heirloom and he needs it to win over the princess. And along the way, you find out a rival of the his lordship has plans, and so he makes things difficult.

Does any of that ever happen in online gaming? I wouldn't know.

[Lo]

However, there probably are less girl gamers in general even if it isn't as polarized as many believe.

That's the stereotyping at work. Not true by any stretch of the imagination-- the numbers don't lie.

[Bijou]

^^^

"Girls don't play World of Warcraft..."
*waves* I sure do play WoW, and a few other major MMO's

⬅ ex wow girl here. After 7 years I finally burnt out collecting pets, mounts, and transmog haha.

[Horizon]

That's not ironic!  It's merely coincidental!

But seriously, I can't wait to be seen as a "girl gamer."  I'm fairly certain the guys that are so against the topic are just suffering from intense jealousy 

[Lesley_Roberta]

@ glitterfly

You should see my gem game collection for Nintendo DS That and the gem games I have for Android.

There are soooo many variations on the concept of lining up things in a game.

I recall when muds first came into the scene, back in the 90s. I had 3 friends that actually took bogus college courses just so they could use the campus internet services to play online muds often all danged day long for weeks on end. They basically just disappeared one summer in the middle of the Magic the Gathering rage. One day they were just gone, and I eventually found out they were hanging out on the Frost campus in Peterborough It turns out the college course cost a lot less than basic residential internet service at the time.

I have been watching the technology for making 'virtual' table top role games though. In the end, I prefer my role games to be people in a single room though. I want to laugh at horrible unlucky dice rolls and catch myself laughing at the boys that are trying to look down the tops of the girls at the table and munch on pop and chips as we interact. WoW will never delivery the one real thing that made role gaming happen.

Hack n slash was ok in the late 70s but eventually too many people fiddling too often and revising the game too much designed out all of the original fun. 4th edition D&D can be best summed up as a means to milk customers of their cash all while making them think that they are the ones in control. What is really disgusting is 4th edition had barely cooled and they started designing 5th edition. I have come to realize that D&D players are either the dumbest suckers in all of gaming, or they are merely addicts.

[Danielle Emmalee]

Magic: The Gathering?

[Danielle Emmalee]

I used to have a bunch of cards but nobody would ever play with me.  I'm not sure what was wrong with me that even the kids who were picked on in school didn't want to be friends with me.

[Erin Kay Howell]

⬅ ex wow girl here. After 7 years I finally burnt out collecting pets, mounts, and transmog haha.

I believe I wasted that much time myself. I just quit on the 18th of September after playing since beta vanilla.
I remember guys freaking out in vent because they'd hear me and tell me I didnt exist!!! Lolol

[Ltl89]

That's the stereotyping at work. Not true by any stretch of the imagination-- the numbers don't lie.

I don't discount that possibility.  Are there any studies or statistics that show the rate of gaming based on gender?  Most are probably based on self reporting, and I doubt that is accurate as people may not be honest about how much they game.  I would imagine women would be under-represented in such a study because of the (stupid) social stigma.  Even sales are a bit concerning because it doesn't describe the amount of time dedication to gaming.  So, it may be hard to really get a clear answer.  If there was a study that measured gameplay rate between men and women in an online setting, that could help us explain it.  All those factors put together may give us a better answer.

Perhaps I'm being too analytical about this,lol.   

I've always stayed away from MMoRPGs (online "rpgs" on a computer), the people who play them just seem scary... like meth addict scary... o.o hey I've played Magic xD it's fun... with the right people you're right though, it kind of loses the attraction if you're not in the same room... ^^

hey what gem games do you have for android i've been looking into one or two but they all seem to want to access the internet >:O i don't need a gem game to access the internet! it shouldn't need to...

I've never played those sort of games either.  However, I'm not concerned about the addiction aspect.  I just don't want to part with money on a monthly basis and prefer playing games alone. 

[Lesley_Roberta]

My gem games on Android were freebies and seem to look like it Unremarkable and internet connection is not mandatory for all of them, but I would not consider any of them the equal of my Nintendo DS releases by any stretch. Sometimes free means it is schlock too.

I have a few wargames on my Android tablet, but the best wargames are actually iPad options (which sucks).

But if you would like to know, Small General is likely one of the best traditional style wargames out there. That and the Conflicts series are very good wargame designs. I'm talking hexes and turns and wargame counters and WW2 history type games when I say 'wargame' by the way.

But currently THE game for me is one call Mighty Dungeons. Looks like a board game role game emulation and it is quite good and worth the couple of bucks to get the full bore version. First few campaigns are easy and then it gets really nasty serious on the last campaigns

[Horizon]

i don't like wargames or anything like that at all! But i'll keep looking for the gem games ^^ if it helps at all... i've been looking through android markets and most of the games i end up wanting are marked for children under 9... xDD hey, it's not my fault if any adults don't know good games >:3

i usually like simple and colourful games ^^ oh hey the balancing board maze thingy for a tablet is also fun the one where you have to get the ball from one end to the other without it falling down a hole... i also like the games where you shoot stuff out of a cannon and then try to get it as far as possible... and those balloon popping games! ones where you have to shoot arrows through the balloons before they get too close to the ground... or the ones where you shoot balls with a cannon to the mass of balls hanging above your head and get straights of 3 or more to pop them and you have to get them all before they reach the ground.... ^^

Kitten Cannon is the world's most wondrous creation.  Well, maybe after veggie wraps and puppies.

[Jamie Marie]

I've always loved RPG's from Zelda, and Dragon Quest on up for the most part. An old game also Impossible Mission on C64. Played all through Oblivion and the expansion packs, and about half of Skyrim up until a few months ago when I decided to focus on self discovery.

Why am I different. Well i'm transgendered duh!!! When brain and body collide.

It's a bit off topic but what about the character's we play in these games? Personally I almost always pick a female character and never really understood why until lately. I guess the subconscious helps make the choice more than we realize.

The stereotypes are overrated for exactly that reason, stereotypes. Just like girls in sports. Some love competition, nascar, having fast classic cars, and sports. Does it really matter? We like what we like. Some women are really competitive but they are still women. Some men are very affectionate, emotional, and passive. But it's really how we feel inside not what others think we should be.

[Taka]

there's this funny mmorpg i played a few times, that had one really slow server. only half xp but much higher drop rate.
all competition was gone, there was no point in it. i met many girls there, they probably found it more comfortable to be out in a less competitive environment. there was even a couple who played together there, the woman occasionally disappeared to take care of their baby.

even so, people generally assumed everyone to be male, the character's gender mattered not.

[Lesley_Roberta]

Some random recommends for Android games of note (because Google Play is absolutely doing it's very best to out do Nintendo for shoveling out questionable games).

In no order By the way I will be using the game name so you can find them easy on a search.

Best wargame, Small General. Simple and basic and easy to get into and out of. Has demo, worth the cash.

Best non wargame. Angry Birds anything. Oh come on we all know this stupid game is unbeatable in number 1 slot hehe.

Megapolis is basically Simcity taken all the way. Warning it has pay to get stuff built in.

Unblockme essentially a puzzle game, get the red block off the board by shifting the other blocks out of the way.

Block Puzzle, essentially a Tetris concept only it is a design where you must fill the square, no time limit.

Bard's Tale, an RPG concept. Looks good enough to have not gotten to play it yet though. Humorous elements.

Air Patriots think of it as a tower defense game but your 'towers' are actually aircraft in a WW2 theme. Moving towers eh

Mighty Dungeons, looks like a board game role game concept. Damned good too.

Eve of the Genesis, Symphony of Eternity and Dark Gate are all rpg games I have that I thought looked worth a try. I generally only want to play games that are Final Fantasy like turn based concepts.

Inasmuch as I clearly have several games on my tablet, I originally only bought it to be able to display any of the zillion model reference books I have downloaded over the years, as the books are usually dreadfully limited print runs, and being able to see them at all is thus a luxury.

But the above games, minus my boring list of wargames might interest you.

[Lesley_Roberta]

There is currently Angry Birds + Rio/Space/Seasons/Star Wars themes that I know of

The gem games I have, are Swiped, Jewels Star, and Jewels Legend. That they are still on the tablet means they were at least not worthless.