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[lansing]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29522/FemaleFocused_Silicon_Sisters_Interactive_Opens_In_Vancouver.php

"Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience."

Seems kind of strange to pigeonhole an entire sex this way, everyone, regardless of sex has individual likes and dislikes which overlap.

[The Monster King]

we'll see what comes out of it and laugh appropriately i guess

[moi]

I would like eva's opinion on this.

[Seth]

well... it's not like by and large most video games aren't aimed toward guys

[Seth]

No, you're right, it's second nature.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை]

they don't explicitly say it, but that's what they're basically aimed towards anyway

i mean, playboy isn't explicitly aimed towards men either, and some females do read it

[Seth]

but... Playboy is explicitly a "men's magazine"

[JamesGecko]

Why is it sexist to note that different sexes are different? I was under the impression that it was pretty much a psychological and scientific fact that males and females don't tend to think about things the exact same way.

It's also kinda ironic that this is being labeled "sexist", considering that the games which come out of it will likely be less sexist than many produced by mainstream game studios. I mean, look at all the shrinking armor in MMOs and the number of (a) lead female characters with (b) realistic body proportions.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை]

on this subject, i think videogames are ageist too -- they tend to appeal to kids and teens and young adults, and don't really appeal to older folk; i think that's a bigger problem than sexism in games. i'd like to see more games designed to appeal to people in their 30s and 40s rather than teens and 20s.

[Zaratustra]

The videogame industry is sexist like nothing on earth that doesn't work with trucks. The last game company I was in had 45 workers, three of which were female (one secretary, one cleaner and a single artist).

I say good luck to this.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை]

They are ignoring me and not even offering a biz card exchange. Guy I am walking around with is assumed to be the actual dev. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck
Seriously, guys at booths are just assuming I am arm candy or something. WTF. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck
The number of people who assume I am *not* a developer at this conference is surprising. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck

from http://twitter.com/bbrathwaite

[Vino]

So, they're going to make MMO's and casual games?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை]

who knows; maybe they'll just make third person shooters where you play as a woman who doesn't look like lara croft

[Movius]

Amazing how much more effective spending your own money to create the company you want is compared to writing on the internet about how every video game company is full of racist sexist homophobic unoriginal mysogynists.

[Skofo]

But you can't be sexist against men...

[Iamthejuggler]

"We're not interested in 'pinkifying' games, which is how girl games are typically designed,"

Sounds pretty reasonable. It sounds a lot better than that ted talk i watched a while ago which was supposedly studying how girls game and came to the conclusion that the games should be all about high school, makeup, getting boys, and shopping. I guess that was aimed at a different age group though. Will be interesting to see what they come up with. If they do it well i can imagine that i'll quite like their games, not being into the traditionally macho shooter man-games.

That said, that's really the only genre that i think is aimed at any specific sex. That and maybe most rpg's. Platformers seem to be pretty asexual, boy and his blob, mario galaxy, that awesome looking new kirby game, they all seem like they'd appeal to everyone. Also strategy games, whilst maybe the core mechanic is more of a guy thing, seem pretty unmacho.

Also that ladies twitter feed seems weird. I remember keenly following the dev of warhammer online, and one of the most informative and well liked devs who revealed things was a woman. Also assassin's creed, loads of big studios have pretty senior female developers/designers/producers these days.

[Seth]

They are ignoring me and not even offering a biz card exchange. Guy I am walking around with is assumed to be the actual dev. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck
Seriously, guys at booths are just assuming I am arm candy or something. WTF. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck
The number of people who assume I am *not* a developer at this conference is surprising. about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck

from http://twitter.com/bbrathwaite

People will only perceive things as they appear.  Maybe her behavior is passive, not assertive.  /speculation.

hahaha, or maybe people make assumptions or try to twist things so they fit into their preconceived worldview, like somebody in this thread...

[alspal]

Makes sense to have a female games company, that way the men can focus on making quality manly games.

[The Monster King]

its definitely a better solution than to whine about the ridiculous games some of us guys make

hey i said we'd laugh appropriately but who knows maybe they'll do something good i didnt say anything about us HAVING to laugh, not laughing is laughing appropriately if its the situation

good luck to them i guess

[brog]

from http://twitter.com/bbrathwaite

People will only perceive things as they appear.  Maybe her behavior is passive, not assertive.  /speculation.

I've never met her, but this I would be very surprised at from her writing.

And aiming product at a particular target audience isn't necessarily sexist.  This is just some people making the games that they want to play; good for them.