December 2001
- Stories, why? -- Because :) Marian Griffith
- [SECURITY] Bonefarming Adam Martin
- If JRRT did MUDs... Adam Martin
- If JRRT did MUDs... Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- If JRRT did MUDs... Marcus Johansson
- Story Implementation Lee Sheldon
- Story Implementation rayzam
- Story Implementation Lee Sheldon
- Story Implementation Jeff Freeman
- Story Implementation Lee Sheldon
- Story Implementation Jeff Freeman
- Story Implementation Marian Griffith
- Story Implementation Jeff Freeman
- Story Implementation Jeff Cole
- Story Implementation Valerio Santinelli
- From the linux-kernel list Jeff Cole
- Survey: Internet Cuts Into TV Time Michael Tresca
- Interesting DAoC Poll Lee Sheldon
- Interesting DAoC Poll Vincent Archer
- Interesting DAoC Poll Robert Fleck
- Interesting DAoC Poll Azeraab
- Interesting DAoC Poll Matt Mihaly
- Interesting DAoC Poll Dave Shepherd
- Interesting DAoC Poll Azeraab
- Interesting DAoC Poll Dave Shepherd
- Interesting DAoC Poll Matt Mihaly
- Project announcement: Cool++ ryan daum
- DAoC: Empowering Players to Alter the World (was: New laws) Lee Sheldon
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems Nathan F. Yospe
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems rayzam
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- DGN: Chemistry based magic systems Sellers, Mike
- RuneSword Brian Hook
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Elia Morling
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Timothy Dang
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Koster, Raph
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) John Buehler
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Koster, Raph
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) John Buehler
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Travis Nixon
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Marian Griffith
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Koster, Raph
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Sellers, Mike
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Matt Mihaly
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Travis Nixon
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Koster, Raph
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Travis Nixon
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Bobby Martin
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Paul Schwanz
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Peter Harkins
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Economic Growth (Was: [STORY] Story and population size) Travis Nixon
- RE : Story Implementation Veynom
- RE : Story Implementation Matt Mihaly
- RE : Story Implementation Matt Mihaly
- Economy (was [STORY] Story and population size) Jeff Cole
- Economy (was [STORY] Story and population size) Dave Rickey
- RE : Story Implementation Veynom
- RE : Story Implementation Matt Mihaly
- economy and population size Adam Martin
- economy and population size J C Lawrence
- Art vs. Fun Michael Tresca
- Art vs. Fun Koster, Raph
- Art vs. Fun Matt Mihaly
- Art vs. Fun Matt Mihaly
- Art vs. Fun Robert Zubek
- First use of "avatar"? Koster, Raph
- First use of "avatar"? Lars Duening
- First use of "avatar"? Matt Mihaly
- First use of "avatar"? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- First use of "avatar"? Koster, Raph
- First use of "avatar"? Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- First use of "avatar"? Travis Casey
- First use of "avatar"? Koster, Raph
- First use of "avatar"? Christopher Kohnert
- First use of "avatar"? Travis Casey
- First use of "avatar"? Koster, Raph
- First use of "avatar"? Travis Nixon
- First use of "avatar"? Madman Across the Water
- First use of "avatar"? Takis Kalogiratos
- First use of "avatar"? Tamzen Cannoy
- First use of "avatar"? Dr. Cat
- First use of "avatar"? F. Randall Farmer
- First use of "avatar"? Mats Lidstrom
- First use of "avatar"? Koster, Raph
- First use of "avatar"? Nathan F. Yospe
- First use of "avatar"? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- First use of "avatar"? Richard A. Bartle
- Managing MUD economy Vladimir Prelovac
- Managing MUD economy opteek
- Managing MUD economy Koster, Raph
- Managing MUD economy Derek Licciardi
- Managing MUD economy Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- Managing MUD economy Sasha Hart
- Managing MUD economy Vladimir Prelovac
- Managing MUD economy Freeman, Jeff
- Managing MUD economy John Buehler
- Managing MUD economy Marian Griffith
- Managing MUD economy Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Managing MUD economy Adam Martin
- Managing MUD economy Sasha Hart
- Managing MUD economy Marc Hernandez
- Managing MUD economy Travis Casey
- Managing MUD economy Vladimir Prelovac
- Managing MUD economy Travis Casey
- Managing MUD economy William Murdick
- Managing MUD economy Timothy Dang
- MUD implementation issues. Marcus Johansson
- MUD implementation issues. J C Lawrence
- MUD implementation issues. Nicholas E. Walker
- MUD implementation issues. Phillip Lenhardt
- MUD implementation issues. Bruce Mitchener
- MUD implementation issues. Jonathan Berling
- MUD implementation issues. Bruce Mitchener
- MUD implementation issues. Marcus Johansson
- MUD implementation issues. Bruce Mitchener
- Economy Vincent Archer
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll Azeraab
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll Dave Shepherd
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll Azeraab
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll John Buehler
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Ten Rules of PvP was Interesting DAoC Poll Vincent Archer
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Derek Licciardi
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs Brian Hook
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Derek Licciardi
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Lee Sheldon
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Mike Caruso
- MMORPGs & MUDs Adam Martin
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Jeff Freeman
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Jeff Freeman
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Jeff Freeman
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Madrona Tree
- MMORPGs & MUDs John Buehler
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs David H. Loeser Jr.
- MMORPGs & MUDs Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- MMORPGs & MUDs Freeman, Jeff
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Vincent Archer
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Vincent Archer
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs rayzam
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs William B. Taylor
- MMORPGs & MUDs Skaei@aol.com
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Madrona Tree
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Christopher Allen
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- MMORPGs & MUDs Vincent Archer
- MMORPGs & MUDs Dave Rickey
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs Marc Bowden
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Marc Bowden
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs David Bennett
- MMORPGs & MUDs Marc Bowden
- MMORPGs & MUDs Freeman, Jeff
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Jeff Freeman
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Matt Mihaly
- MMORPGs & MUDs Wes Connell
- MMORPGs & MUDs Koster, Raph
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs Joel Palmtag
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michael Tresca
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- MMORPGs & MUDs Michelle Elbert
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sami Kosonen
- MMORPGs & MUDs Azeraab
- MMORPGs & MUDs Sellers, Mike
- MMORPGs & MUDs J C Lawrence
- Re[4]: Economy Travis Casey
- Eiffel Brian Hook
- ADMIN: Origin of "Avatar" thread J C Lawrence
- Call for Papers - NetGames2002 Tristan Henderson
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Brian Hook
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Koster, Raph
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Koster, Raph
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions rayzam
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Travis Casey
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Andrew Hefford
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Koster, Raph
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Jon Lambert
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Koster, Raph
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Dave Rickey
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Dave Rickey
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Dave Rickey
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions John Buehler
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions rayzam
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions kyndig@kyndig.com
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Jon Lambert
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Peter Harkins
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Travis Casey
- Continuous versus Discrete Functions Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- LPC-Natural Language Parser z032383@students.niu.edu
- [TECH] Event Queues in MUDs Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [TECH] Event Queues in MUDs Jon Lambert
- [TECH] Event Queues in MUDs Christian Loth
- [TECH] algorithm request Malcolm Tester II
- [TECH] algorithm request William Murdick
- [TECH] algorithm request Lars Duening
- [TECH] algorithm request David Bennett
- [TECH] algorithm request Travis Casey
- [TECH] algorithm request Malcolm Tester II
- [TECH] algorithm request Adam Martin
- [TECH] algorithm request Eli Stevens
- [TECH] algorithm request Bobby Martin
- [TECH] algorithm request Bryan "Cyngon" Helmkamp
- non-'realistic' spatial models Nicholas E. Walker
- non-'realistic' spatial models rayzam
- non-'realistic' spatial models Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- non-'realistic' spatial models Cybrarian Rök
- non-'realistic' spatial models Nathan F. Yospe
- The Problem With "Massive" Michael Tresca
- The Ideal Player Michael Tresca
- The Ideal Player Lars Duening
- The Ideal Player Dave Rickey
- The Ideal Player Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- [Theory?] Parsing of knowledge to allow for more interactive NPCs holding99@mindspring.com
- [Theory?] Parsing of knowledge to allow for more interactive NPCs Robert Zubek
- [Theory?] Parsing of knowledge to allow for more interactive NPCs holding99@mindspring.com
- CHI 2002: Funology: Designing Enjoyment Bruce Mitchener
- CHI 2002: Funology: Designing Enjoyment Bruce Mitchener
- CHI 2002: Funology: Designing Enjoyment Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- [OFF TOPIC] Happy Holidays Derek Licciardi
- Are crafts fun? Adam Dray
- Are crafts fun? Michelle
- Are crafts fun? Bobby Martin
- Are crafts fun? Bobby Martin
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Jon A. Lambert
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) amanda@alfar.com
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Marian Griffith
On Sat 22 Dec, Jon A. Lambert wrote:
> Marian Griffith wrote:
>> On Mon 17 Jul, Jon A. Lambert wrote:
>>> So perhaps...computer games which attract a high ratio of
>>> females to males are those which attract casual gamers. Which
>>> leads us in a circle back to earlier threads on what women like
>>> in games. :-)
I think there is even a deeper question here. We have to ask
ourselves *IF* women like games at all. I tend to belief that our
(western) cul- ture trains women out of playing games more so than
men. Games are a thing for children, and girls are forced earlier
and more into mature (or responsible) behaviour than boys. This is
of course a stereotype, and a cultural one at that, but there is
still a seed of truth in it. It is not so hard to find examples of
men who grow older, but do not grow up. Who move from being taken
care of by their mother to being taken care of by their wife. (I am
fully aware of the stereotypes of women who never take care of
themselves, of course). The fact is that for an adult man to sit
down and play a computer game is far more ordinary than it is for a
woman to do so. She generally is involved with something practical,
like housekeeping, taking cafe of the children, and often by the
time she is done she is too tired to do much else than go to
sleep. Girls get involved in housekeeping earlier and more than boys
do. When I went to the university quite a few of the male students
did not know anything about cleaning, washing or e- ven cooking. All
of the girls did. I wonder how much this affects girls playing
games. I realise that the moment I got involved with Erik (my
husband) my game playing dropped to almost non-existant. I did not
have the time anymore and I did feel vaguely guilty about spending
time with games when there were more im- portant things to do.
>> On this subject I have said before that I think that to a large
>> extent the problem is not so much "liking" as well as "exposure"
>> or marketing. I know that I am not interested in the typical
>> game box. They tend to be either very violent or very sexist or
>> both. And if they are not they are about cars ;)
> I remember. :-) There is a lot to this. The packaging of Myst,
> Roller Coaster Tycoon and Sims is quite different from your
> standard fare. So the images are going to attract a gender
> neutral audience at least initially. But I think even if you
> packaged something like StarCraft (a wargame) with a say a picture
> of a future space family, along the lines of the Sims, you still
> would have no female retention with the game. I think there's
> something about the games themselves, particularly the Sims and
> Roller Coaster Tycoon that females enjoy. Actually the appeal is
> rather gender neutral which is ok IMO. After all the bigger
> market share is really male.
What these games have in common is that they have no, or very
little, "twitch factor" to them. You have the time to sit back and
watch them without being prompted to do something right that moment,
and exactly the right way.
The lack of violence is something, but I feel that the fact that you
can build a story in your mind is more important. For me at least,
and I tend to think that is true for most women, doing something
only be- cause the game tells me to, is a big turn off. Men seem
more interest- ed in doing something pointless only because it is
challenging to do it right.
> Now I realize Barbie had huge sales. We've got a Barbie game here
> and frankly my son played it more than my daughter. ;-) I'm
> wondering though whether it was really "played" a lot, rather than
> just purchased by parents because it was an obvious choice (only
> choice) for their daughters. Why do you think I bought it?
> Anyway she did enjoy and play Titantic, Amazon Trail, Oregon Trail
> and the Carmen SanDiego games. This JammerLammer music game on
> the playstation was also something she enjoyed.
That is another thing I feel important for games to attract
girls. Not a (culturally approved) sphere of interest, but a strong
female role- model. That is (in part at least :) why I read e.g.
the Anita Blake novels. However, it is very easy to fall into the
"guy with tits" trap (aka Lara Croft) when the game does not match
the role model.
>> As a result girls tend not to visit shops that sell games, they
>> are not familiar with computer games at all. Instead they learn
>> that games are for boys (as are computers).
> I'm not sure it starts there (the visit to the game shop). I
> think this...ummm... gender imprinting is done long before a girl
> or boy ever visits a game shop. Perhaps long before they even
> have access to a computer. I think they are very much boys and
> very much girls by the time they're 5 or 6. That is in terms of
> what we "expect".
No, that is not where it starts, but it very strongly reinforces the
prejudice. To me walking into a game store is what I expect it must
be for a guy to walk into a perfume shop. You feel totally out of
place, and everything that you see around you confirms that it is
not a shop meant for you.
>> Given the almost exclusively male oriented marketing of computer
>> games it is more of a miracle that -any- game sells well to
>> women. Maybe Myst is not the game women are interested in, but it
>> is the only game that appeals to them in a sea of violence and
>> gore that makes up all other computer games.
> Nod. I have trouble with Myst as an example. Yet there are a
> number of games along similar lines. Titantic, 11th hour, and
> some of the movie adventure puzzle type games seem to attract an
> audience based primarily on the "theme".
My current favourite is "The Longest Journey" which has much more,
and a much more appealing, story. Myst and the 11th hour have a
story and puzzles, but the two do not seem related much.
Nevertheless I played Myst and liked it a lot because it was
beautiful to look at as well as more interesting to play (to me)
than hacking blobby monsters to small pieces with the appropriate
spattering of blood and grunts and cries.
> Here's an idea for game developers. I think an interactive
> adventure based on on some of the popular American soap operas
> would go over real big with an older female audience.
I would be very cautious with that idea. I would expect that to be
a group that has both little interest in playing games, computer or
o- ther, and a strong inclination to feel guilty about playing games
in the first place. But, if you manage to pull it off, yes, I
suspect it would be a big hit. Of course this is in essence what
"the sims" is :)
>> Making some generalisations of my own... Girls are raised to be
>> less competitve than boys. This likely is a cul- tural bias, as I
>> see considerable differences between e.g. the USA and the
>> Netherlands or the UK.
> I'm not sure its competitiveness, but something deeper. I think
> competitiveness is just a visible manifestation. I think women
> are very competitive, however competitive in different ways.
Perhaps competitive is not the best word. Maybe "contest oriented"
is a better term? It is a very guy thing to want to know which of
two is bigger, or stronger, or better.
Also, boys tend to focus on something with complete attention. They
tend to be extreme in their fads and make a contest out of
everything E.g. girls go rolerscating, but boys make a sport out of
it. (I am of course generalising again !)
>> Girls are less interested in games that require great hand-eye
>> coordi- nation. This possibly has a biological base. The male
>> brain seems to be wired for spatial relations more so than the
>> female brain. This is re- lated to the subject of male/female
>> approach to mathematics.
> Aye. Definitely. Perspective is very different. Not only is the
> approach to math different, but navigation as well. The different
> approach that males and females take to navigation is very
> important in muds. Note the compass like approach N-S-E-W is very
> male. Navigation by landmark seems to be the female approach.
True. Not that I have had much experience with american cities but
in both my visits I tended to get lost in those grids until I
learned to recognise particular buildings. The men in the group I
was traveling with did not seem to have any problems at all.
> Note: I'd posit if a woman designed a mud, and had no prior mud
> background to pervert them, the resulting interface would not
> likely contain compass navigation.
Actually, I can tell from experience that I did just that. Even
after having a mud background. It was, of course, a mush because
that does not have fixed NESW exits. The main navigation was through
bus routes where you simply followed a certain colour line in
downtown or suburb direction. Of course at a smaller scale you had
local landmarks to walk towards. It never occured to me to include
compass directions. I did something similar with the "matroshyka"
idea on my website. The idea is to have not rooms with exits, but
locations (boxes) that fit in other (larger) locations. To navigate
you simply "move towards one of the visible locations". So you get
something like:
You are standing on the Selesthinan plains, a vast expanse of grass.
In the distance you see a lone tree, while to your right you see at
the horizon the bluish haze of the Bhadalug mountains.
So now you can type "walk (to) tree" and start off at a leisurely
pa- ce, or you can "run (to) mountains" to turn right and head off
at a fair speed.
It makes perfect sense to me, though I am beginning to doubt that
the male potential audience would find it half as convenience as me.
> My daughter is very good at math as is my son. However their
> approach is very different. As a teacher(==parent) I have an
> easier time teaching my son than my daughter in math. It's easier
> to understand what he is "seeing" than she is. Unfortunately
> (well fortunately rather :-) ) we trapped into patterns of seeing
> things by our gender. :-P
Interesting, though not particularly on topic for this list, is the
result of a recent dutch survey on teaching math to children in the
age 8-12. They found that girls learned primarily through rote,
while boys tended towards trial and error. Girls paid particular
attention to the teacher and tried to emulate him or her, while boys
were more easily distracted and made up the things they had not
heard. It was particularly interesting because the survey wiped the
floor with some reforms of teaching math to children that were meant
to make it more accessible to girls. It was thought that, by making
the problems less abstract and more applied, it would be easier for
girls to understand why they had to solve the problems, and made
them less inclined to dismiss the entire subject of math as
irrelevant. It turned out that that particular approach made it
very difficult for girls to apply their usual learning strategy.
Instead of being able to learn a rote formula they could apply to a
problem they got lost because they had to figure out how to solve
each problem individually. Especially when the problems were mixed
they scored very low because they tended to apply the same solution
formula to each problem, even when it was not applicable. This,
incidentally, was according to that survey one of the reasons why
girls tended to do better in studying languages than boys. The
information was structured in such a way that was easy for them to
learn (learning rows of words by rote, tables of conjugations and so
on). Because it was easier and more natural to learn they did enjoy
it more. The survey did not adress the question of a biological
explanation for this difference in learning strategy.
To pull this back on topic :)
I think it is important that we, and the games industry, stop
looking for the mythical "girl game". Girls are not one
character. They have tastes as diverse as boys. Perhaps even more
so. In fact, I would be very surprised if the taste of girls is the
same from day to day. It is not a surprise to me that there are
girls who play quake, or what- ever is the current favourite shoot'm
up. I personally have played a wide variety of games, ranging from
a very cheesy "tend to your own virtual horse" game to Myst and The
Longest Journey, all the way to Diablo 2. I played Muds and even
Starcraft (Erik likes that game, so I gave it a try as well). What
I like varies from day to day, and I doubt very much that I am
unique in that. In fact, I strongly suspect that the same is true
for men as well.
We simply should quit to try to put games in "boy" and "girl"
niches, and start thinking of new and more varied games. New
subjects, new role models and new types of games. Because that is
where the future of the industry is. Not in attempting to match
stereotypes to games. Looking for a single game that appeals to
girls is as likely to fail as finding a game for all boys. Girls
and boys are not the same, but they are not as different as
marketing tries to make them either.
Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...
Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey - Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Marian Griffith
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Marian Griffith
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Gender differences -> spatial navigation rayzam
- Gender differences -> spatial navigation amanda@alfar.com
- Gender differences -> spatial navigation Nathan F. Yospe
- Sex and MUDs... the_sage2000@juno.com
- Sex and MUDs... Jon Lambert
- Sex and MUDs... David Bennett
- Sex and MUDs... Travis Casey
- Sex and MUDs... Malcolm Tester II
- Sex and MUDs... Matt Mihaly
- Sex and MUDs... Adam Dray
- Some vworlds (maddog) related changes Frank Crowell
- Some vworlds (maddog) related changes Frank Crowell
- (no subject) claw@kanga.nu
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) amanda@alfar.com
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Marian Griffith
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #16 3 - 25 msgs) Sellers, Mike
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) amanda@alfar.com
- Boys and Girls - was (MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #163 - 25 msgs) mystran@ltv.cx
- Combat system in persistent world Veynom
- Combat system in persistent world J C Lawrence
- Taligent docs Bruce Mitchener
- Taligent docs Chris Corry
- TECH: Servers in Java Brian Hook
- TECH: Servers in Java Bruce Mitchener
- TECH: Servers in Java Brian Hook
- TECH: Servers in Java Bobby Martin
- TECH: Servers in Java Emil Eifrem
- TECH: Servers in Java Aaron Mulder
- TECH: Servers in Java justice@softhome.net
- TECH: Servers in Java Brian Hook
- TECH: Servers in Java Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com