Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series)

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre college level writing and analysis
Review:
When I read this book (and I read all of it), the first impression I received was that (1) the font is huge, (2) it was written by some college student that draws conclusion from iffy facts, (3) used plenty of web links, which we know are not reliable, and (4) lacked scientific and/or solid evidence.

If you've ever written an essay in high school or college that contained hand-waving, you know what I'm talking about.

(Note that I am not saying the author is/was a mediocre college student, but instead that is simply the perception impressed upon me from the level of writing style.)

As an example, the author makes the assertion that females prefer games that explicitly defines the rules, interface, and gameplay upfront, without anything hidden. This conclusion was drawn from one example of a female gamer who had posted her experiences with a fighting game (Street Fighter II type game). The gamer girl was rather proud of her gameplay skills, but then her boyfriend beat her down with special combo moves that he discovered (earlier). Frustrated that all the time and energy she spent mastering the moves available in the manual were not enough, she stopped playing that game.

1 story. 1 person. And the author draws a conclusion from it. Much hand-waving of this sort occurs in this book.

Does she use scientific data? Yes - she does explain certain physiological differences in male / female reactions. Does she provide psychological analysis of male and female game interaction? Yes - she does cite some scientific experiments and studies. However, such solid evidence were scattered sparsely within book.

The end of each chapter has a list of sources used for that section. Most of them are web articles or web studies, which academia almost universally agrees the majority of your sources should not be online sites. If you have a chance to skim the book in a bookstore, you can get a feel of the percentage of online sources used. I will admit that I have not actually looked at the online sources.

I was expecting a book that explained *how* females approach computer/video games differently than males, and *why* they did so. The point being that game designers and developers can create games that utilize the knowledge of the *how*. I got something that tried to accomplish this, but the *why* was so sloppy in nature that I find the *how* portion to be very questionable.

In terms of format, the fonts are huge, as mentioned in the first impressions. The book is not very big, physically, in height, depth, or breadth. Furthermore, she repeats herself often. Each chapter has (1) an introduction that enumerates her conclusions, (2) the analysis she used to draw the conclusions, and (3) a summary of the conclusions. The introduction and summary are near repeats of each other, and the two are often redundant with what she says in the analysis. What I ended up getting for $32 (I had a 20% off coupon) was a book that is very lacking in information density coupled with a physically small book.

Was there anything good in it? Yes. In the sections that the author actually used scientific data (experiments & studies), the conclusions drawn made sense and had valid application to the computer/game industry. But sadly, the book lacked a large presence of such sections.

Rating:
Summary: A Key Text
Review: As an instructor, a gamer, and a female, it is a constant effort to educate people about videogames.

People assume that the game industry is populated by a clan of pale, introverted, cave-dwelling males avoiding human contact in favor of glories of the computer screen. In truth, game development and/or design students (and industry professionals)are a group of individuals as diverse as any other industry: there are the introverts, the extroverts, the creative geniuses, and the genius coders. There are individuals of every minority and majority. However there is one exception-it is a fact that there aren't nearly as many women involved in the making of and playing of games.

What the author, Sheri Garner-Ray, has been able to do with this text, is give an explanation to what has long been considered an unanswerable question-how can the game industry consistently broaden its audience to female players?

The attribute that makes this text key to my instruction is it's audience-this is a book for everyone. It is written in an extremely approachable manner, using realistic examples and language that is academic without being exclusory. It is a superb blend of quanatative and qualitative psychological analysis and offers an amazing insight for both men and women readers.

A personal example. I have long favored games that many did not consider "usual" for the female player. I do not play sims, or Barbie Makeover (lord forbid) or Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Two of my favorite game series are Metal Gear and Onimusha.

It wasn't until I read Sheri's text that I was able to form an objective reason for myself and my students as to why I loved these games. Yes the graphics are visually stunning, but both games also have incredible backstory, opportunities stealth, and Onimusha has great puzzles worked into gameplay.

If readers of this critique wish to know why these different elements make difference, then I sincerely suggest you pick up this terrific book.

My sincere thanks to Ms. Ray for giving female gamers, present and future, a voice.

Rating:
Summary: Must Have for Game Designers
Review: I am a game design student at Full Sail. This book is the main textbook for one of the classes in the Bachelors of Game Design program. This book really illustrates issues that will help any game design. I had my own biased views on the contents of the book. After reading the book, my view on game design changed. I feel that these issues should be implemented within your design. You must be very open-minded when reading this book. Honestly, I think a woman in the industry writing this book is better than a man.

To the "LH" reviewer...
In my own opinion, I do not think that you took the time to understand what you read....if you read it. If you are a designer, I would have been fooled by the immaturity of your review. Try to open up your mind and re-read the book. Additionally, using websites as references is common, therefore, your statement about websites being unreliable is not always true. Next time try to visit the websites that are listed. They are sited for that reason.

Rating:
Summary: Review originally posted at iDevGames.com
Review: Sheri Graner Ray has written the book many of us didn't know we needed. Not only is it a sparkling resumé over one of the darkest, save most stupid, corners of our industry, it is also a good game design book, and a brief summary of the latest in gender research. In a market where female customers are tended to by either The Sims or making the cover art pink, any kind of change is welcome, and this book does look like the Holy Grail to me.

The book sets out with a brief history of our industry's less than intelligent moves to capture female gamers, as well as its tendency not to appeal to them at all. She then points out a few important points where girls playing games differ from boys. This first part of the book is explosive enough to boost your sales, if you read it carefully. Now, there are twelve more chapters like this, so you might as well buy the book right away. It'll pay back in no time.

See, the book is that relevant. I had already made a few plunges into this facet of game design earlier, so I kind of knew what to expect. Still, I had an aha! experience on at least every other page. Chapter 2: Evolution of Female Characters in Computer Games is a discourse on what the computer game industry still finds fully acceptable in a female avatar. (And to be honest, Monty Python couldn't have done it better than we do.) The chapter Reward & Gameplay outlines techniques to motivate female gamers and make them keep coming back to your games. No pink bunnies required.

The number of puzzling questions that are answered in this work is high. For instance - why do women prefer bombing runs over dog fights in flight sims? If the violence isn't a turnoff in beat'em-ups, what is? Why do guys feel OK about playing with female avatars, but seldom the other way around? This book is mandatory. I want you to buy this book so much. Why? Because our industry is dead without it. Dead, I say. We need this book so bad, so bad.

This book is, together with Chris Crawford on Game Design, and David Freeman's Creating Emotion in Games the absolutely essential game development book for the next ten years to come. The book is that irresistible. The book is that interesting. The book is a freaking TNT charge!

Rating:
Summary: Review originally posted at iDevGames.com
Review: Sheri Graner Ray has written the book many of us didn't know we needed. Not only is it a sparkling resumé over one of the darkest, save most stupid, corners of our industry, it is also a good game design book, and a brief summary of the latest in gender research. In a market where female customers are tended to by either The Sims or making the cover art pink, any kind of change is welcome, and this book does look like the Holy Grail to me.

The book sets out with a brief history of our industry's less than intelligent moves to capture female gamers, as well as its tendency not to appeal to them at all. She then points out a few important points where girls playing games differ from boys. This first part of the book is explosive enough to boost your sales, if you read it carefully. Now, there are twelve more chapters like this, so you might as well buy the book right away. It'll pay back in no time.

See, the book is that relevant. I had already made a few plunges into this facet of game design earlier, so I kind of knew what to expect. Still, I had an aha! experience on at least every other page. Chapter 2: Evolution of Female Characters in Computer Games is a discourse on what the computer game industry still finds fully acceptable in a female avatar. (And to be honest, Monty Python couldn't have done it better than we do.) The chapter Reward & Gameplay outlines techniques to motivate female gamers and make them keep coming back to your games. No pink bunnies required.

The number of puzzling questions that are answered in this work is high. For instance - why do women prefer bombing runs over dog fights in flight sims? If the violence isn't a turnoff in beat'em-ups, what is? Why do guys feel OK about playing with female avatars, but seldom the other way around? This book is mandatory. I want you to buy this book so much. Why? Because our industry is dead without it. Dead, I say. We need this book so bad, so bad.

This book is, together with Chris Crawford on Game Design, and David Freeman's Creating Emotion in Games the absolutely essential game development book for the next ten years to come. The book is that irresistible. The book is that interesting. The book is a freaking TNT charge!

Rating:
Summary: i love females
Review: This book is an easy read, easy to follow, well written. As a male gamer it has expanded my knowledge on how women percieve video games and technology different than we men do. It goes in depth about what attracts women and lures them into games and what doesnt work for them. It has very valuable information that can be used for better game design period.

Rating:
Summary: Hyper-sexualized Avatars be banished!
Review: This book says what needed to be said to the game industry and their consumers. Those who are just entering the industry will want to keep this book handy during 18 hours crunch times as a guide through the haze of game character portrayal, especially female characters. Like many others, I want to play an avatar game character that is smart, strong, and attractive not some hyper-sexualized, implant poster girl with nipples on her metal armor, thong chaps and cleavage reminiscent of the Michelin Tireman

Most (although this is beginning to change) female avatars are so absurdly depicted that (as this book discusses) if the character were to perform the flips, jumps, and various game tasks, in reality she would be physically unable to. The enormous breasts, for example, that Laura Croft has would have to be carted around in a wheel-barrel just so she could stand upright! I'm so glad that Sheri wrote this book bringing up these very obvious deficiencies in game design - and all so easy to correct and who knows even expand the game market.

Of course who plays for a dose of reality? We all want to get lost in the game, but there are better ways to make games that are less distracting to both males and females. I found that the book's many solutions were straight forward, simple and yet the kind of ideas that would not diminish the game for anyone.

It is so ironic that whenever someone brings up the topic of `inclusivity' - be it racial, age or gender there are always those who resist the idea by attacking the `style,' `presentation' or some other trivial factor. Don't shoot the messenger just because the author is bringing up observations that are difficult to hear - read the book if you are looking for constructive ideas that can repair this nagging problem concerning females and gaming. This is the right message, at the right time for some in the game industry that have been wrong about women.