One of the panels I was most interested in attending at this year’s PAX was Girls and Games, the Growing Role of Women in the Game Industry. Unfortunately it ended up being one of the panels I was most disappointed in as well. As it was described in their schedule of events :
According to the ESA, more than 43% of video gamers are female, making women the single largest untapped market segment in the gaming industry. Look at the milestones crossed and the hurdles to come as developers and publishers reach out to this previously overlooked demographic. Are current strategies effective? What does this mean for the game industry as a whole?
Speakers: Jane Pinckard (CMP/GDC), Morgan Romine (Ubisoft), Theresa Pudenz (Flying Lab Software)
*click images to enlarge
Before I even get to the content of this panel, I would like to share with you a little about the “theatre” it was held in. Theatre B was actually the corner of a large gathering room. It was at the top of a busy set of escalators. It was right next to a set of bathrooms so it received heavy traffic from that. Right across the walk area to the bathrooms were the registration tables, again ensuring heavy traffic. In the next corner of the room was a DDR machine blaring music. So this Theatre B was in the middle of all of those things. There were not three partition walls to help with the sound problems. There were not two partition walls to help with the sound problems. There was not one partition wall to help with the sound problems. It was simply in the corner of the room with the panel set up and then enough seating for maybe 50-75 people. Needless to say, there were at least twice as many people standing up to attend this panel than sitting down. Unfortunately the audio only carried well throughout the seated area with the level of noise around the “theatre” so anybody standing up struggled to hear, assuming they could hear any of it.
I will not say this panel was singled out because it was about women. I will say that it was a horrible move by whoever organized the arrangement of the panels. It was extremely stereotypical to see the Girls and Games panel shoved off to the side in the crappiest venue as we are often viewed as less than in the gaming industry as a whole. Again, I don’t think it was done with that in mind but it certainly wasn’t sensitive to the topic at hand. Absolutely any panel that got stuck in Theatre B got the short end of the stick. There were so many free play areas scattered amongst PAX. Next time I would like to see the panels prioritized over just one of those numerous rooms. There were only three areas for the panels. Perhaps their attendance and popularity would have been higher if the accommodations would have been decent. Not only was Theatre B not optimal, but I would classify it as extremely poor. I cannot stress enough the horrible area in which they staged this event. My attitude was poor going in, and unfortunately it didn’t get much better when the panel itself actually started.
the people I attended the panel with, fellow Cavegirls plus a few others
The three panelists were good speakers. I especially enjoyed Morgan Romine (of the Fragdolls) and Jane Pinckard. I most related to Jane Pinckard between the two. She came across as highly intelligent and I appreciated many of her views on the topics at hand. She had a no bullshit attitude and simply stated the truth as she saw it. She was the highlight of that experience for me.
I found my opinion different from theirs in a few areas, the main one being games that are specifically geared towards females. They found that to be a positive thing for female gamers, I view it as a negative. I think as long as the developers are focusing on gender when creating games, the gender line will continue to be an issue. Females in general are calling out to be recognized as gamers only but we want games made just for us? That continues to set us apart. My view on that subject is I want good games developed and published. Period. Games don’t appeal to me for their girliness factor, and I assure you I am about as girly as they come. Was Condemned made for females? I don’t think so, and that is one of my favorite games. Was DOA4 made with females in mind? Clearly not, but I still enjoyed fighting my way through the campaign portion. I don’t like to see games made with females in mind. I think people will gravitate towards whatever their interests are and that is not related to the gender issue.
There was a particularly interesting part about the double edged sword of being a female gamer, which I very much related to. They discussed how being a female in this industry instantly garners attention but for the wrong reasons. So while you are in the spotlight for simply being a female, it isn’t necessarily the way you want to be recognized. I fully agreed with their stance on that and often struggle with the same issue. Do I receive extra attention for being a female? Yes. Do I try to use that to my advantage by bringing certain issues to public view in a way a male can’t? Yes, I would be silly to not capitalize on that. However, the things you ultimately want to be recognized and remembered for are not related to gender, they are related to the accomplishments and differences you have made. That discussion was probably the best part of the panel for me.
While I didn’t always agree with the panelists views on certain topics, I found the panel worthwhile in attending. I am glad I went and I will definitely go again next year. However, the battle with the venue was a difficult one to conquer and presented challenges that should not have been there. Let’s hope the PAX panel organizers wisen up a bit next year and provide at least somewhat decent accommodations. I would say good accommodations but I don’t want to shoot too high.
Good stuff.
I like your stance on how you, being a female gamer, gather attention because of it, but you don’t leave it at that, you use your “spotlight” as “bsangelhawtymcbloggy” to get your opinions and viewpoints out there.
People may come here at first because you’re a girl gamer, but they stick around, because of your insight into the Gaming Industry and life as a gamer.
I would honestly say that it may very well be a conspiracy that this panel was selected to be held in “Theatre B”. That is not morally correct and I for one would be outraged considering that this could have set the precedent for more people to look up and take notice and see that there are indeed women who play video games, and that they are here in the industry, and here to stay, so respect!! But instead, it seemed like this panel was more of an afterthought.
Things need to change in this world, and it would be nice if more men could grow up and start to realize women can play video games too.
We as a society do not live in the 1600’s any more where women did not have many rights.
It is time these masochistic guys learn to accept this fact, otherwise, they will ultimately be the ones left in the dust sometime in the near future .
Speaking on receiving more attention because you are a woman, I guess that may be so, but I’d pay attention to you because you are my friend : )
Good write-up angel. I think my take on the addressing of the female gamer market is somewhere between yours and theirs. Like yourself, there are certainly many females that just want good games, and not gender (female) specific games. However, just as there are several game genres to appeal to people with different tastes/interests, there will almost certainly be games that appeal to/target females simply because of their interests. While not all girls are girly and not all girls want girly games, some do. As a possible example the other way, I considered “The Sims” to be a title targeted at females (hope this doesn’t sound chauvinistic – not intended to), yet I’d wager that many many men played it as well (myself not included because it’s premise didn’t interest me). So, maybe it’s considered a crossover title by some. Anyway, in the end males and females are different – and that’s a good thing
“The Sims” was actually discussed at this panel. I wish I could remember the specifics but somebody made a point similar to yours and one of the panelists said that game was actually created by Will Wright as a “male dollhouse”. I can’t find the background info on that but it was Theresa Pudenz I believe who said a few things on that topic. Yes, a lot of females play it but I believe they weren’t targeted for this game, it simply appeals to them as it appeals to males as well.
Nice job pwning me at Guitar Hero 2.
Check this out, found this pick of you on Yahoo!
http://videogames.yahoo.com/featurescreenshot?eid=527950&index=94
I believe on what you said about being trated as gamers and yet still asking for something different. Unfortunatly this is not a gamers only issue. Women in general have been fighting in many ways for equal rights and obligations while at the same time ask for special treatment for being women. If anyone wants to be trated as an equal should start by not standing apart from everyone else. This is a long strugle to be had by many, that at least has now started. On a personal note, I just like you as a Gunslinger with cute Giggles, same as Asskans macho sexy voice!
Sucks that the panel was in such a crummy location. You should drop the PA guys a line just to let them know you thought the layout was bad. Hopefully it wasn’t intentional–conventions are crazy to organize, maybe when it was drawn out on paper it wasn’t obvious that it was a bad idea.
Hey there!
Nice article! It was really unfortunate that the sound and seating at that panel’s venue wasn’t up to par. On The Sims, I think what I said was that there was a very diverse group of developers working on this product, so the end result was basically a good game that everyone could get into without even thinking about making decisions for gender design. That’s the way to go! I like GOOD games, not specifically gender specific titles, and I believe that many other women share a similar viewpoint. Feel free to e-mail me any time at theresap@flyinglab.com if you want to chat, I always like meeting new folks in the industry! Thank you so much for attending the panel. I felt honored to sit next to Morgan and Jane.
Concerning the theatre, I know it was the first year it was held at that particular venue so I hope they find the areas that need improvement and fine tune it a bit for next year. I don’t want to see any panels held in that “theatre b”; there was a good one before the Girls and Games panel as well about publishers and developers and I tried to listen in but finally gave up because it was simply too loud.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing some extra info! I saw you at the Social Aspect of Gaming panel as well and especially enjoyed you in that one. I found your insights as it related to that subject very valuable to that discussion.
I didn’t find the panel as interesting as you did. All of the issues they discussed have already been written about, debated, and discussed ad nauseum in the gaming blogosphere, particularly by women games bloggers. There was very that was discussed which was new to me. What I did enjoy was how the panelists were able to present this old information to the people in the audience, who probably never thought about these issues with such insight.
What I find interesting is your stance that you don’t want games made with women in mind because it singles them out in a bad way, yet you announce to the world that you are a woman gamer and a woman game blogger.
I think your position is untenable and a bit contradictory. Gamers should welcome the opening of the markets, including the market for games which they don’t necessarily like, e.g. ‘girly’ games. Personally, I think the market is big enough for stereotypically girly games, even though I’d never play them. The hardcore women gamers are hardcore gamers, and they want what all gamers want — good games. Some hardcore women gamers like girly games, and some don’t.
There is this huge potential market of women that do not identify themselves as gamers. It’s those people whom the ‘girly’ games will appeal. Not you, and not me. So why should you or I say that we don’t want games made for gamers with different tastes? We don’t necessarily subscribe to the same sort of taste in our game choices, but I don’t think we should say those sort of games shouldn’t be made.
The wonderful thing about opinions is that they are right for each individual person. What is right for you is not right for me. What is right for me is not right for you. And all of that is ok.
I addressed the reason why I don’t hide my gender near the end of the article. I understand people are going to come here and judge me, regardless of how little they actually know about me. I personally try very hard not to judge people because I am not a perfect person. I am constantly making mistakes. I attempt to learn from each one and call it good.
I would have approved your first comment had you included all of that, just so you know. I don’t censor people here as long as they express their opinion in a respectful mature manner.
Apologies for the confusion. I decided to separate my comments because they were on two slightly different (but related) topics. It didn’t occur to me that you’d censor me at all. Have you had problems with trolls on your blog?
I have had a few incidents but only what I can count on one hand surprisingly enough. I’m big on everybody being able to say their piece regardless of whether they agree or disagree. That is probably where I learn the most, when someone presents an opposing viewpoint with a good argument providing me insight I might otherwise not have had.
I have only not approved a few comments, and all because they contained more expletives than regular words.
I was just concerned you thought maybe I wouldn’t approve your comments and that is why there was a gap between them.
You touched on an interesting subject and definitely one that I struggle with on a regular basis.
Ah right.
No worries.
Comments on my blog are fully moderated as well, but mainly because I’ve had a couple of pieces of spam sneak through the filter. It irritates me to have to then go back to the published comment and delete it. There have been a couple of troublesome commenters on my blog in the past, and I moderate to keep those guys in line.