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Gender and game culture: Lessons learned and answers still unquestioned

Gender and Game Culture: Answers left unquestioned. Gaming's always been a boy thingGirls don't play gamesThe games industry is no place for a womanIt's them who have to change

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Gender and game culture: Lessons learned and answers still unquestioned

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    1. Gender and game culture: Lessons learned and answers still unquestioned Aleks Krotoski University of Surrey

    2. Gender and Game Culture: Answers left unquestioned Gaming’s always been a boy thing Girls don’t play games The games industry is no place for a woman It’s them who have to change – not us.

    3. History of gender diversity and gaming: Gaming’s always been a boy thing? Proud beginnings Ada Lovelace Grace Hopper Donna Bailey to Roberta Williams Girl Games From Barbie to Mortal Kombat The Sims Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games SingStar Contrary to popular myth, women have been involved with computers since their inception. A good first place to start is Ada Lovelace, who suggested the first language for her lover Charles Babbage’s Addition machine. Effectively creating the first programming language, Lovelace has been delegated to the annals of history since, only coming up in conversations like this one. A few decades later, uber woman Grace Hopper set up the first compiler, effectively the precursor to today’s Window Operating System, allowing information to be compressed and short-cutted so the processor could deal with other, more important things. Like that damn Windows Help Paperclip. Since then, women have been involved in the development of the language C, have worked on countless modern applications, and have even been instrumental in the goings on of the computer games industry. Donna Bailey was the frist female programmer, back in the days of Asteroids and Defender. She snaked her way through the darkened arcades and provided a ray of light for future girl gamers, developing Centipede, the first game in colour, and a hit with both genders. A more influential contribution to the games industry was realised by Roberta Williams. She and her husband Ken designed the first games in the adventure series, taking text-based computer interaction to a visual level.Contrary to popular myth, women have been involved with computers since their inception. A good first place to start is Ada Lovelace, who suggested the first language for her lover Charles Babbage’s Addition machine. Effectively creating the first programming language, Lovelace has been delegated to the annals of history since, only coming up in conversations like this one. A few decades later, uber woman Grace Hopper set up the first compiler, effectively the precursor to today’s Window Operating System, allowing information to be compressed and short-cutted so the processor could deal with other, more important things. Like that damn Windows Help Paperclip. Since then, women have been involved in the development of the language C, have worked on countless modern applications, and have even been instrumental in the goings on of the computer games industry. Donna Bailey was the frist female programmer, back in the days of Asteroids and Defender. She snaked her way through the darkened arcades and provided a ray of light for future girl gamers, developing Centipede, the first game in colour, and a hit with both genders. A more influential contribution to the games industry was realised by Roberta Williams. She and her husband Ken designed the first games in the adventure series, taking text-based computer interaction to a visual level.

    4. 51.2% of UK men between the ages of 10-35 play computer games. 25% of UK women play computer games. The most active female gamers are between the ages of 10-14 (32%) The second-most active are between the ages of 30-35 (23%)51.2% of UK men between the ages of 10-35 play computer games. 25% of UK women play computer games. The most active female gamers are between the ages of 10-14 (32%) The second-most active are between the ages of 30-35 (23%)

    5. Most hours is 10.2, 10-15 year olds Second-most is 10.1 hours, 25-29 hear olds Third is 9.6 hours, 30-35 year oldsMost hours is 10.2, 10-15 year olds Second-most is 10.1 hours, 25-29 hear olds Third is 9.6 hours, 30-35 year olds

    6. Current Player Demographics: Girls don’t play games?

    7. Girls don’t play games? They most certainly do! They are: Active players and purchasers Older than men More cautious in their purchases Boys don’t necessarily play games.

    8. Is the games industry a place for gender diversity? Demographics Art and Design: 91% men; 9% women Programmers: 98% men; 2% women Senior Management:95% men; 3% women Sales/Marketing/PR: 64% men; 26% women Applicants per year???

    9. Methods of recruitment 42.9% advertise in specialist magazines 64.3% recruit through specialist agencies 14.3% approach schools, colleges Job disparities due to gender Ł353.57 less at starting salary Ł6,738.03 pay gap 0.4% women hold Lead, Director, Management positions versus 1.2% of men Slower promotion times (approximately 6 months) Is the games industry a place for gender diversity?

    10. Is the games industry a place for a gender diversity? All signs point to no. Future research: What would a broader appointments drive do for games industry diversity? How girl games scholarships (e.g., SMU) increase female participation in games courses How an increase in role models in the games industry increases female participation in games courses

    11. Deterrents & Solutions: They have to change - not us. Play: “something a woman is not” (Turkle, 1985) Marketing and its malcontents Products that don’t “speak” to a broader audience Economics Bargain bins and the hardcore gamer Time “interstitial” gaming Work: “male” culture Quality of Life Marketing and its malcontentsMarketing and its malcontents

    14. Deterrents & Solutions: They have to change - not us. Play: “something a woman is not” (Turkle, 1985) Marketing and its malcontents Products that don’t “speak” to a broader audience Economics Bargain bins and the hardcore gamer Time “interstitial” gaming Work: “male” culture Quality of Life Play: The Social Life of Computer Gaming MMOGs “party” games: EyeToy, SingStar, EyeToy Chat Economics: Pay disparity Bargain bins and the hard core gamer – questioning the hard core culture Time: Time limitations (doing the dishes) Online browser games TV games Mobile phone games “interstitial” gamesPlay: The Social Life of Computer Gaming MMOGs “party” games: EyeToy, SingStar, EyeToy Chat Economics: Pay disparity Bargain bins and the hard core gamer – questioning the hard core culture Time: Time limitations (doing the dishes) Online browser games TV games Mobile phone games “interstitial” games

    15. Summary Gaming options attractive to a more diverse audience are on the increase Women do play differently than men: Industry responds Social, economic and temporal deterrents stop people from playing Gaming culture needs to change before more women engage as consumers or as creators The best way to do this is to raise awareness!

    16. Gender and Game Culture Thank You

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