GAMES ON :: What's On Your Console
Sexism In The Gaming World
BY HANNAH GUY
NO GIRLZ ALLOWED! THE LAST BOYS CLUB BECOMES A TARGET FOR SHE-GAMERS Imagine a room filled with a big-screen TV, surround-sound stereo and just about every known video game console released in the last six or seven years (older ones, such as the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64, have been stashed in storage). A figure sits facing the television screen, wielding a controller that directs the stream of violent death onscreen. But the figure in the chair is a woman. She's the one with the big gun, shouting, "Bring it on, bitches!" while bullets, lightning, fire or some other assorted unnatural deaths are visited upon various baddies. Not a very likely image, is it? Yet, in spite of the Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) findings - which claim that 43 per cent of all gamers are female and play nearly as often as men - this image still appears unlikely. Somehow, the common perception in gaming circles is that women stick to video games like Snood, Tetris, Solitaire or Zuma. Yet there is an increasing presence of female gamers, both PC and console. Yet they are largely unheard and unacknowledged by their male counterparts. A small community, many of them choose to band together - creating Web sites, newsgroups, gaming communities and more. Those who play online find themselves throwing a male guise over themselves in order to be taken seriously. But have girls really been invited to join in the games? Or is this one of the last bastions of Man-dom? LOOK, IT'S A GIRL! For women who delve into the multi-faceted and extremely social world of the MPORG (multi-player online role-playing game) - such as Dark Ages Of Camelot, World of Warcraft or EverQuest - it's not entirely unknown to create male characters. But a more interesting phenomenon has begun, which is men who play as women. I spoke to a male friend who had created an entire fem-alias for himself. What had initially begun as an experiment (he was bored with his male characters) changed his online gaming life forever. Suddenly he was showered with items from unknown players but treated as though he knew nothing about the game. Generally speaking, women are considered inferior gamers. Even the groups of professionals who compete often segregate the female players, with far lower prize offerings than those offered to guys. WHICH CAME FIRST?... THE CHICKEN OR THE MORPH OVUM? There's no denying the exponentially growing strength, power and depth of the gaming industry over the last decade. It booms and flourishes. Yet at the same time, the number of women gamers is, for the first time, almost as high as the number of men. On average, we ladies dedicate a whopping twelve minutes fewer per week to gaming than our male counterparts. But somewhere in there, video games segregated. Women were playing puzzle games while men played first-person shooters. Women puttered about with The Sims while men sent Tony Hawk skating off with all kinds of complex combinations. And while part of it is likely chalked up to differing modes of thinking and analysis, it also seems to reek of the Barbie Vs. Tonka Truck Syndrome. Our roles - and now gaming tastes - are intrinsically impressed upon us from the time we're able to pick up a GameBoy and get to it. Little girls play with dolls, little boys play with trucks: a simple gender stereotype reinforced with each succeeding generation. But somewhere in there that girl who eschewed Jem And The Holograms in favour of sitting down with Lemmings, or heading to the arcade for a rousing go at RoadBlasters or Spy Hunter, changed the landscape. She released a whole new type of girl gamer - one who is savvy, likes blowing crap up, and deals great deathly combos in one-on-one fighter games. But what it is it about the wonderful world of console games that is warding off the rest of North America's women gamers? THOSE BOOBS HAVE A GRAVITATIONAL FIELD ALL THEIR OWN As a rule, most women unfamiliar with gaming tend to see the industry a little differently than those of us who have simply forced ourselves to try to adapt. What's presented to them? Because it's surely not a world of adventure, imagination, chaos and entertainment. What they're given is a wonderfully exaggerated vision of artificial femininity. Monstrous breasts that jiggle of their own volition. Skin-tight skanky suits designed tohug the most exaggerated curves. Pouty lips, eyes big enough to swallow you, and limb proportions lengthy enough to make comic geeks swipe at the drool on their chins. Not only that but females in multi-player games are often not only comically designed, but their assets - strength, speed, health, et cetera - are often significantly lower than male characters. How does this invite an average woman? Well, it doesn't. Most women feel inclined to dismiss the entire industry as a sexist, borderline-misogynist pile of breast laden crap. Even at major gaming conventions like the Electronic Gaming Expo, models are hired to beckon and flirt with the passing hordes of gaming fanatics. And sure, sex sells. But by specifically pandering to the majority of straight male gamers, perhaps the gaming industry is selling its 43 per cent of women gamers short. It's a virtually untapped market waiting tobe cracked. All it takes is alittle ingenuity, a little marketing savvy, and a bit of imagination. Because even girls like to kick some ass. Especially in a club that's still trying to keep its roster as "boys only." GIRLS WHO GOT GAME THUMB BANDITS (www.thumbbandits.com) All kinds of sass here with these ladies who combine feminist critique, dirty words and video games. You have to love a site that has a "Vagina Gamerlogues" section. 9/10 WOMEN GAMERS (www.womengamers.com) By far one of the most comprehensive sites, these ladies offer reviews, column and regular news - and not just female-centric stuff either. 8/10 GIRL GAMERS UNITED (www.girlgamersunited.com) Hard to read, the women here claim their erratic postings are caused by current game addictions. 4/10 GIRLZ GAMING HOUSE (www.girlzgaminghouse.com) A site dedicated to a group of Swedish pro PC gamers (specializing in Quake). Best for its blogs from the girls themselves. 7/10
Contributors: Earl Cousins (EC), Hannah Guy (HG), Ted Kritsonis (TK)
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FULL AUTO (Sega)
Xbox 360
7/10 Rated: Teen
This isn't some high-tech roller derby or even an open arena-style, crash-and-burn type game. Full Auto finds you actually racing in an urban course, armed with some of the heaviest military madness. If you can keep your ride running and survive all the machine guns, explosives and obstacles firing your way, then you've got some skills. As much as you're encouraged to destroy everything in your way, the "Unwreck" option (which acts like the rewind in Prince Of Persia) makes it too easy for you to undo the damage done to you. The courses aren't challenging enough once you catch on to the shortcuts, and the racing aspect takes a backseat to the mayhem sometimes. But this is still a fun one to try out. TK
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25 TO LIFE (Eidos Interactive)
Xbox
5/10 Rated: Mature
It makes you wonder how many times a game like this can come out and fall totally flat. In this case, you've got a cliched storyline with annoying characters who have the really frustrating habit of not always doing what you want them to do. It's bad enough that the game is a little buggy, but the visuals, audio and voice acting are all amateur at best. The soundtrack is the only aspect worth looking at with this one. TK
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BLACK (Criterion/EA)
Xbox
8/10 Rated: Mature
The name of the game is Black, but the name is absolute and total destruction. You're a Black Operative. You're dark and not controllable. You like guns. And the most wonderful part of this game? Every single thing can be destroyed. With basic, easy-to-use controls (though mild complaints for the slow turning radius - circles take ages), even the most inefficient and clumsy of us can quickly get going and fire off rounds, rounds and more rounds with speed and ease. Each level has multiple goals - Intel, Recon, Destruction and more - giving you the opportunity to haul ass and sprint through each level, or sit back and slowly ping those baddies in the head one by one. Buildings, cars, heads... they're all victim to your destructive whims. But why snipe when you can just aim and destroooooooyyyyy? I was always a mouse-and-keyboard sorta gal when I played FPS games. I feel converted. Hallelujah. HG
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MARC ECKO'S GETTING UP: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE (Atari)
PS2
7/10 Rated: Mature
In the fictional city of New Radius, the corrupt cops have implemented a curfew and beat the crap out of graffiti artists. Trane (voiced by rapper Talib Kweli) decides he's had enough and decides to make a name for himself, mixing it up with a rival crew in the process. The action mostly involves beating on enemy taggers and bombing walls, which earns you rep points if you're fast and don't drip your paint. There's lots of unlockable tags to choose from and songs for Trane's iPod, but what pulls the game together nicely are cameos by hip-hop artists and actors, as well as real-life graffiti legends. EC
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APE ESCAPE ACADEMY (SCEA)
PSP
8/10 Rated: Everyone
The Ape Escape monkeys keep failing to take over the world so they're getting schooled in various minigames to build up their skills. The games are divided into groups and you need to succeed at a quota in order to move on to the next group. Ranging from adaptations of sports like soccer, dodgeball and bowling to math quizzes and more simian-centric offerings, like defending a giant banana from other monkeys, there's enough challenge and variety to cause mini-game fans to shriek with delight. EC
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