Finally! Women in videogames! The chunk that I read for this post talks about Roberta Williams, creator of the King's Quest series. IBM had asked Roberta and her husband Ken for an adventure game that would help launch their new machine, the PCjr, complete with two ports for joysticks and scheduled for release in March 1984. Even though the PCjr failed miserably, King's Quest went on to be quite a successful game! And to think that it started just as a game that the Williams's sold for $24.95, distributed in Ziploc bags.
This quote from the end of the chapter interested me the most:
"Roberta was the only woman game company founder who consistently made creditable, bestselling series. The fact that she has not made another game is troubling. Women certainly have made strides in game making over the years. For instance, Jade Raymond produced the Assassin's Creed series for Ubisoft, and Amy Hennig directed and wrote the Uncharted series... Both have been bestsellers that consistently receive stellar review scores. But sadly, no woman since Roberta has had such a long-running impact on games and on game companies. Decades later, Sierra still represents the high point for women in videogames." (Goldberg 158)
No wonder! Who do young girls in this generation have to look up to in video game creation? That's certainly not to say that they can't look up to the men in this business who are making incredible strides for the genre. But when women are constantly ridiculed in the videogame world, such as during Gamersgate last summer, it's no wonder that girls are so often discouraged from following their gaming dreams.
That's it for this post really. I was just excited to share that I've reached a point in videogame history where women are starting to pop up in to the picture!
This is a great quote! I think that this aspect of the gaming would be the most interesting to follow. The journey of women through video games. It a two steps forward one step back journey though. I remember being a kid playing Street Fighter with my big brother. I loved the character Chung Lee because she kicked butt! My brother always made fun of me because she was not as strong of a character as some of the males. I didn't care though, I loved her! Now we have video games like Grand Theft Auto where women are portrayed negatively. I cant's wait to read your next post!
ReplyDeleteNice! But then we have games like The Last of Us, with a female lead alongside a male lead (she's a kid though, probably 13?), Tomb Raider (I think Lara Croft is a badass!) and many others that have women coming out of that negative light and stepping in to the shoes of the protagonist. Yay progress!
DeleteHi Catie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I don't know that Assassin's Creed and Uncharted were designed by women until I read your post. Generally speaking, women could design competitive video games when they put their own unique touches that make the video game fancy and attractive by gamers.
Good Luck
Right?! I had no idea women were major contributors to those games either!
DeleteI do not play video games…so I don't know much at all about them…but my grandchildren certainly do love playing different video games. I don't think "Words With Friends" is considered a video game…but it is a game I do play online. Your post has made me wonder who "wrote" it.
ReplyDeleteLela: Words with Friends was created by a company called Zynga. They're the same company that created the Facebook-connected game Farmville. I don't know if you play that too lol
DeleteI definitely think those types of video games count, even if they're different from the ones your grandkids play. In my book there's a whole chapter about PopCap Games, the company that created the hit games Bejeweled and Peggle. They basically were the first ones to tap in to the mom video gamer demographic: people (like I said, moms mostly) who wanted to play a fun puzzle game but weren't necessarily in it for the compelling story or the outrageous graphics.
DeleteI wish there were statistics to tell us how many women vs. how many men download and play certain games. I noticed that there weren't a lot of girls playing League of Legends, and I'm sure it's a trend. I think it's a cultural issue. Once girls feel more comfortable gaming with others, I'm sure some will be inspired to create their own games.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post this week. I find the world of videogames to be intriguing as I do not have much experience with it. I do not play any type of video games and would like to learn more about them.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, Catie. I think along with this scarcity of female representation on the creative side can be the over-representation of sexist, over-sexualized female characters in some games. Perhaps if women were more involved in designing the games, a more humanized picture of female characters would also emerge as a welcome side effect. -Elise
ReplyDelete