Video: Why Girls Didn't Play Games
TED has up on its site an interesting video with Interval think tank researcher Brenda Laurel, in which she discusses the research they have done as to why girls play games or dabble with computers with less frequency than boys and the way that these girls can be properly enticed to play games. Apparently her company wanted to see exactly why companies weren't engaging young girls with videogames, and decided to investigate the play habits of girls and research why they don't normally want to play videogames or use the computer. In the process they also studied the play habits that young girl's minds normally enjoy to engage in and try to develop games around those play habits. The video is a little long (clocking in at 13 minutes) but the findings she puts forth, and the reaction to the two games the company has produced from their findings is interesting.
Apparently the two games they launched on their website were in the Top 50 games played by kids in December, which is a big month for games. One of the games, Rockett's New School, engages young girl's interest in social complexity and narrative intelligence by allowing them to play as an 8th grader at a new school who has to make friends and choices. The other game, called Secret Path in the Forest, deals more with the "fantasy oriented inner lives" that girls have. The games and website have garnered a lot of praise; however, it was interesting to me to hear what two bodies of people usually gave bad reviews: male gamers who think they know what games ought to be like and the other group was a certain variety of feminists who think they know what girls ought to be. Funny how these two groups are united in their dislike of these games, when the two groups normally seem to dislike each other.
The last 5 minutes of the video give some soundbites of girls who have used the games, a short walkthrough of the games, and the impact the research and products have had on girls. Overall I think it's great that there is an effort to make games that engage girls in the way that they relate with best from play behavior, and do so in a manner that interests them in computers and technology. The more we can help breakdown stereotypes that persist in the gaming world, the better off we all can be sharing in our love for gaming, especially of the gay variety.
Talks Brenda Laurel: Why didn't girls play videogames? [TED]
PixelPoet
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games, Videos on 3 March 2009
· Comments (8)
Other stuff like this: brenda laurel, girl games, girls, interval, market research
Thanks for posting this, it was really interesting. By the way, Rockett has two t's and Forest only has one r. :-)
LOL. She points out the major thing wrong with most conspiracy theories: people aren't that smart.
Oooo she also gets real mean when she talks about her critics.
I think it is great they did research, but I hope she isn't COMPLETELY dismissing criticism, particularly coming from feminists. It is possible that the little girls' tastes have been shaped by their socialization and what options have already been presented to them, which might be limited. That is, little girls might say they care about parties and boys and popularity because society is leading them to believe they're supposed to care about those things. I've always thought of art and entertainment as being in a feedback loop with human psychology. I hope she isn't just blindly targeting these little girls' tastes and encouraging them without questioning where they came from or what their implications are.
It's worth keeping in mind.
As far as girl's tastes go, it seems they did decent studies in what 'play habits' girls seemed to enjoy or seek out on a regular basis. These games are merely fulfilling that common desire.
It's giving them an alternative to the type of games that mainly attract boys, and let's admit, if gender roles is an issue, there are plenty of games already out there for them to play if they don't like the ones that this group identified as being a game type that would cater to girls.
From what I remember of developmental psych is that there are play preferences do have correlation to gender, and it isn't from social norms. The idea that a person is a blank slate that is shaped by society simply does not hold up.
We also have to remember that we are talking about populations, not individuals. Certain behaviors emerge when you have a large enough sample size making the compounding variables cancel themselves out in the noise. It is when looking at individuals do things get complicated.
PixelPoet:
That's true, girls don't have to like these "made-especially-for-girls" games, they can play whatever they want.
The problems I have are with her research methods, assumptions, claims about gender, etc. I also don't like how she toots her own horn and positions herself as the hero or savior of little girls everywhere. She sounds downright snide when she addresses criticism.
On the consumer end maybe a lot of this doesn't matter so much, the more different types of games are out there, the better.
But her research still seems to ignore socialization. Cultural norms determine what options are even available to people, and what they can imagine doing. Lots of girls are raised to believe their options in life are limited compared to those of males, especially depending on their culture and religion.
And the more I think about it, the more I have a real problem with the general idea of studying what little kids want, and giving it to them.
Imagine if this were about food. "What kind of food do little girls like to eat? Oh we found out they love ice cream and jelly beans, so that's what we give them. And only men and a certain type of feminist have a problem with it."
Yeah sorry the more I think about this the more problematic it seems. Though I do think this is very interesting and I hope the research will continue.
Croxis: I think you have a great point too, gender isn't entirely socially constructed. I just think we should be REALLY damn careful about making assumptions based on it. The interplay between biology and socialization is incredibly complex.
And it wouldn't be so worrying if I didn't already know that for the greater part of human history, women have been treated as being inferior to men, and still are in some cultures/religions.
I must hate little girls because I think most of what this woman says is rot. The supposition that little girls navigate games emotionally while boys navigate them spatially is sexist and (IMHO) reinforces gender norms. I'd venture to guess that these very stereotypes are actually what accounts for "girls not playing video games" (in quotes because many do) -- the same reason why I never threw tea parties for all my stuffed animals -- Ok, that's a lie; I totally did.......but I always felt dirty afterwards.
I'm kind of with Eshto and and TheBizcuit on this one... At the beginning of this video, I was very interested and then something about the lady and her presentation got stuck in my craw. I'm a lesbian, and sort of a feminist, so I guess I can't really identify with the target audience. Sure, I was a little girl and socialization in school was a fucking nightmare...I was the new kid in school and I was looking for an escape from all this. "Rockett's" wouldn't have appealed to me at all (although it does appear to be a cognitive tool to rationalize what was a horrific experience (though I was looking for the option "Do I use a switchblade or do I punch her teeth out?")). On the other hand, "Secret Path in the Forest" has an interesting ring to it.
I remember playing with my brother on our old PC. I was big into the RPG's (Ultima !)...but more for the socialization in them. For fear of virtual combat and death, I preferred watching my brother play...and I'd direct by telling him what questions to ask...who to talk to, etc. Again, I can hardly speak for the masses. All I can say that in France where I live, little girls seem obsessed with horse games. I loved horses too but half of it could not be captured in a game: untamed look in the horses' eyes, the smell of autumn leaves and horse shit.
Not all girls don't like to play or are addicted to video games. There are lot of girls who are much more addicted to the game than I am.