Thank you for the responses. Seems like the female responses were similar to my own tastes including many things I left off my own likes. Hopefully some developer out there will take note.
Alot of guys like the 'Bejeweled' comment poster overlook the fact that girls are part of the Nintendo generation. Many of us have been holding controllers in our hands since we were little and have grown up playing games just like boys do. I know for a fact we like the same kinds of games guys do but also would like some that maybe could cater to us a bit more. The console market does very well with games that have a more feminine appeal but the MMO/PC market just hasn't quite caught on.
I can't speak for other girls but I rarely play F2P games. I have had a game sub every month over the last 7 or 8 years. Alot of us are not Facebook gamers as some might assume.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha. :)Thank you for the responses. it seems like the female responses were
similar to my own tastes including many things I left off my original post. Hopefully some developer out there will take note of some of your comments.
Alot of guys like the 'Bejeweled' comment poster overlook the fact that girls are part of the
Nintendo generation. Many of us have been holding controllers in
our hands since we were little and have grown up playing games just like
boys do. I know for a fact we like the same kinds of games guys do but also would like some that maybe could cater to us a bit more. The console market does very well with games that have a more
feminine appeal but the MMO/PC market just hasn't quite caught on.
I can't speak for other girls but I rarely play F2P games. I have had a game sub every month over the last 7 or 8 years. Alot of us are not Facebook gamers as some might assume.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha.
Having played WoW off and on since it's release, I know WoW has an enormous female playerbase. In fact I'd wager on the RP realms the females equal the males in population. I'm sure WoW has been introducing alot of female players to this game genre much like Everquest did years ago.
But I leave WoW off my list of what I like about a game (other than it's smooth gameplay/response) because there are far too many things about the game that I cannot stomach for very long. One being that it offers the most boring and restrained classes of any MMO on the market and two having a problem with consistency and direction. Blizzard plays shell game to which type of gamer it is going to make happy that month, and it becomes maddening to watch the ever nerfing of it's content and classes.
Surely not mutually exclusive. But the budget is always limited. If you spend your man hours too much for the fluff like character appearance, and noncombat hobbies or whatever, there's less actual content. Simple as that.
Err, you should probably listen to your own motto and do a reality check.
Character design, non-combat content etc is what MMORPGs need anyway, if they are going to do what MMOs are expected to do - that means, keep players for years.
I meet almost as many females in WoW as I do males. No singles though, I've asked, its always their boyfriends or husbands that get them into the game.
A few females in EVE, but they seem to be rarer. Or harder to find.
I haven't had much luck with finding any single females, sadly. I ask and ask and ask, but nope. Just because I'm fat and sweaty in all my pictures doesn't mean I'm not a good guy! Personality is more important than looks.
Sorry started ranting there...
but no, MMOs have a lot of females. The real question is...how many of those females are single? And thats very few.
I don't know if you are creepy when you ask females if they are single, but I'm positive the amount of single women playing MMO's is proportional to the amount of single males that play MMO's, but I bet females are more likely to say they are in a relationship because they don't want to be flirted with. Someone asked me if I was single once, I was, but I told them I had a boyfriend.
I mean really, how often do you ask males if they are single?
Personally for me the main thing that holds my interest in MMOs is the story. This is part of the reason I consider Final Fantasy XI to be my favorite of all time. It has 13 different storylines broken up into many parts and some are rather good. My favorites are the Chains of Promathia and the Wings of the Goddess missions. The world also has to drive me in which includes the atmosphere, exploration and the music. The classes have to be fun and there needs to be a variety to them. And last but not least is player housing to fill up with stuff and more stuff. I miss my moogle’s house in FFXI.
Female gamers pretty much like what male gamers like in MMO's, but also have a tendency to play in more social oriented games, yet also you do find that tomboy female type too.
I remember couple years back a company tried to cater to female gamers but didn't quite hit it off with games lots of females liked. Hard to pinpoint what female gamers want beyond the social aspect of MMO's, everyone has their differences.
Bingo. You always know when a female toon is actually being played by a female when she complains about no one talking in a group. Women are all about socializing. Designing content that requires more communication between players might be a way to draw in more women.
I'm also willing to risk being run out on a rail and say women are more inclined to get into crafting--cooking especially.(DON'T HIT ME I BRUISE EASILY)
However I'm not willing to say that women usually want to play pure support characters. But I do think women are more inclined to help others and enjoy playing classes that can cast buffs. As long as they aren't mad at you.
ROFL - I make my husband be the cook in game - cause I do most of it in Real Life
Female gamers pretty much like what male gamers like in MMO's, but also have a tendency to play in more social oriented games, yet also you do find that tomboy female type too.
I remember couple years back a company tried to cater to female gamers but didn't quite hit it off with games lots of females liked. Hard to pinpoint what female gamers want beyond the social aspect of MMO's, everyone has their differences.
Bingo. You always know when a female toon is actually being played by a female when she complains about no one talking in a group. Women are all about socializing. Designing content that requires more communication between players might be a way to draw in more women.
I'm also willing to risk being run out on a rail and say women are more inclined to get into crafting--cooking especially.(DON'T HIT ME I BRUISE EASILY)
However I'm not willing to say that women usually want to play pure support characters. But I do think women are more inclined to help others and enjoy playing classes that can cast buffs. As long as they aren't mad at you.
I found this funny because back in EQ1 i played a female dwarf so many people assumed i was a man until i was in the group. They said it was not only that i chatted but what I typed that singled me out as a woman.
Personally I have been gaming since I was a kid so i find a I like a lot of things, but usually I hate the shallow pink games that companies try to push out as a "woman's" game. I play shooters, along with sims games, just make a decent game and I think it appeals to both genders (though the option to play a man or woman would be nice in every game!).
For MMOs my tastes have changed as games have changed. I love customization, it was not really an option before but now a decent level of customization is a requirement for me. I love crafting in the newer games, hated it in the old ones (it was boring to me). I also like a dungeon crawling and a nice raid.
I basically like variety, grouping when i want, raiding when i want, and crafting when i just want to just relax a bit and make something interesting.
MMOs I did not like: STO, Champions, (These were overall game issues not a "not catering to women" issues.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
Female gamers pretty much like what male gamers like in MMO's, but also have a tendency to play in more social oriented games, yet also you do find that tomboy female type too.
I remember couple years back a company tried to cater to female gamers but didn't quite hit it off with games lots of females liked. Hard to pinpoint what female gamers want beyond the social aspect of MMO's, everyone has their differences.
Bingo. You always know when a female toon is actually being played by a female when she complains about no one talking in a group. Women are all about socializing. Designing content that requires more communication between players might be a way to draw in more women.
I'm also willing to risk being run out on a rail and say women are more inclined to get into crafting--cooking especially.(DON'T HIT ME I BRUISE EASILY)
However I'm not willing to say that women usually want to play pure support characters. But I do think women are more inclined to help others and enjoy playing classes that can cast buffs. As long as they aren't mad at you.
ROFL - I make my husband be the cook in game - cause I do most of it in Real Life
Personally, I'd have to disagree about the socializing thing. I'm the last one to volunteer going onto Vent and I usually keep chatting to the bare minimum. But I'm also like that in RL as well, but I can't be the only shy female gamer!! lol I like having the option to solo in an MMO, because people can sometimes be extremely irritating in group situations.
I'd like crafting, but in almost all of the MMOs I've played it's little more then watching task-bars (BOOORRRRINNNGG).
I very much agree with this:
"But I do think women are more inclined to help others and enjoy playing classes that can cast buffs. As long as they aren't mad at you. "
I'm not seeing any input by females which hasn't been presented by thousands of males before.
I don't see what devs could do to aggressively target female players without dipping into gender bias like cute pink ponies and Barbie Dolls.
What devs could do? For example developing a MMORPG for a change, not a railroaded themepark or a combat heavy shallow PvP game.
Honestly, I believe we had more female players (qua percentage of players) in EQ, SWG, DAoC than we have these days. But it might well be that the developers (or rather the companies behind them) are confident that it's better for the revenue to develop games for male players (in the usual 15-25 age bracket) than to target female players and those male players that cannot stand the current crop of games.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Yeah, I am not big on Vent either, but I have always chalked that up to something that was not common when i started playing MMOs. I usually just chat until I get to know people. If i am in Vent i do not say much.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
I like to play a game with a variety of options available. I hate playing games where we all look the same or have to play the same race/class to join up with friends. I am not a big fan of PvP (some women are). I hate only being allowed to play characters that look like glorified hookers with swords. I love detail rich worlds and models. I enjoy crafting. It's hard to say how much of that has to do with me being a woman and me just loving games as a gamer. I mean I prefer to play female characters but my favorite character in the Left 4 Dead series is Francis whom I also play. Oh, and I despite games that only have one "right" build.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
I've played so many MMORPG's that I've lost count. I have never seen more females playing an MMO until I started playing Korean F2P MMO's (to fill my time between finding a large title game that will keep my interest). At first, I thought it was solely due to the F2P, because that's what they all had in common. Then I realized what drew me to them.
It's the character customization. It's why you'll hear things like character housing, pets, and fashions. Hop onto iRO or PWI. Both have LOTS of character customization aspects. You will find a LOT of girls.
Now, that's not to say I'll play a crap game. Or maybe I will, but it won't keep my interest past my first cute pet/outfit/gear, etc. In the basic and fundamental wants from a game, the female and male player base are going to want the same thing. I want my PvP intense, my PvE difficult and my combat fast paced.
But what draws the females is different. It's the customization aspect.
DISCLAIMER: Heads up, there will be a few girls who enjoy being a Tauren fugly. But deep down, they'll still care what that big cow is wearing and whether it's shiny or not.
I'm not seeing any input by females which hasn't been presented by thousands of males before.
I don't see what devs could do to aggressively target female players without dipping into gender bias like cute pink ponies and Barbie Dolls.
What devs could do? For example developing a MMORPG for a change, not a railroaded themepark or a combat heavy shallow PvP game.
Honestly, I believe we had more female players (qua percentage of players) in EQ, SWG, DAoC than we have these days. But it might well be that the developers (or rather the companies behind them) are confident that it's better for the revenue to develop games for male players (in the usual 15-25 age bracket) than to target female players and those male players that cannot stand the current crop of games.
I think women had a BIG influence on EQ's culture. As the community matured it became more social and alot of unwritten rules between players developed. There was just a code of common courtesy and politeness between players for a long time.
Comments
Thank you for the responses. Seems like the female responses were similar to my own tastes including many things I left off my own likes. Hopefully some developer out there will take note.
Alot of guys like the 'Bejeweled' comment poster overlook the fact that girls are part of the Nintendo generation. Many of us have been holding controllers in our hands since we were little and have grown up playing games just like boys do. I know for a fact we like the same kinds of games guys do but also would like some that maybe could cater to us a bit more. The console market does very well with games that have a more feminine appeal but the MMO/PC market just hasn't quite caught on.
I can't speak for other girls but I rarely play F2P games. I have had a game sub every month over the last 7 or 8 years. Alot of us are not Facebook gamers as some might assume.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha. :)Thank you for the responses. it seems like the female responses were
similar to my own tastes including many things I left off my original post. Hopefully some developer out there will take note of some of your comments.
Alot of guys like the 'Bejeweled' comment poster overlook the fact that girls are part of the
Nintendo generation. Many of us have been holding controllers in
our hands since we were little and have grown up playing games just like
boys do. I know for a fact we like the same kinds of games guys do but also would like some that maybe could cater to us a bit more. The console market does very well with games that have a more
feminine appeal but the MMO/PC market just hasn't quite caught on.
I can't speak for other girls but I rarely play F2P games. I have had a game sub every month over the last 7 or 8 years. Alot of us are not Facebook gamers as some might assume.
I'll keep an eye out for "Hot Biker Chicks from Mars" Wepsy, haha.
Having played WoW off and on since it's release, I know WoW has an enormous female playerbase. In fact I'd wager on the RP realms the females equal the males in population. I'm sure WoW has been introducing alot of female players to this game genre much like Everquest did years ago.
But I leave WoW off my list of what I like about a game (other than it's smooth gameplay/response) because there are far too many things about the game that I cannot stomach for very long. One being that it offers the most boring and restrained classes of any MMO on the market and two having a problem with consistency and direction. Blizzard plays shell game to which type of gamer it is going to make happy that month, and it becomes maddening to watch the ever nerfing of it's content and classes.
Puzzled: I thought I'd see 'Player Customization' listed the most times but I didn't.
Err, you should probably listen to your own motto and do a reality check.
Character design, non-combat content etc is what MMORPGs need anyway, if they are going to do what MMOs are expected to do - that means, keep players for years.
So yeah, that is definitely not wasted time.
I don't know if you are creepy when you ask females if they are single, but I'm positive the amount of single women playing MMO's is proportional to the amount of single males that play MMO's, but I bet females are more likely to say they are in a relationship because they don't want to be flirted with. Someone asked me if I was single once, I was, but I told them I had a boyfriend.
I mean really, how often do you ask males if they are single?
-I want a Platformer MMO
Personally for me the main thing that holds my interest in MMOs is the story. This is part of the reason I consider Final Fantasy XI to be my favorite of all time. It has 13 different storylines broken up into many parts and some are rather good. My favorites are the Chains of Promathia and the Wings of the Goddess missions. The world also has to drive me in which includes the atmosphere, exploration and the music. The classes have to be fun and there needs to be a variety to them. And last but not least is player housing to fill up with stuff and more stuff. I miss my moogle’s house in FFXI.
I'm not seeing any input by females which hasn't been presented by thousands of males before.
I don't see what devs could do to aggressively target female players without dipping into gender bias like cute pink ponies and Barbie Dolls.
ROFL - I make my husband be the cook in game - cause I do most of it in Real Life
I found this funny because back in EQ1 i played a female dwarf so many people assumed i was a man until i was in the group. They said it was not only that i chatted but what I typed that singled me out as a woman.
Personally I have been gaming since I was a kid so i find a I like a lot of things, but usually I hate the shallow pink games that companies try to push out as a "woman's" game. I play shooters, along with sims games, just make a decent game and I think it appeals to both genders (though the option to play a man or woman would be nice in every game!).
For MMOs my tastes have changed as games have changed. I love customization, it was not really an option before but now a decent level of customization is a requirement for me. I love crafting in the newer games, hated it in the old ones (it was boring to me). I also like a dungeon crawling and a nice raid.
I basically like variety, grouping when i want, raiding when i want, and crafting when i just want to just relax a bit and make something interesting.
MMOs I like/liked: EQ1, COH/COV, EQ2, LOTRO, Vanguard, Uncharted Waters Online
MMOs I did not like: STO, Champions, (These were overall game issues not a "not catering to women" issues.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
Personally, I'd have to disagree about the socializing thing. I'm the last one to volunteer going onto Vent and I usually keep chatting to the bare minimum. But I'm also like that in RL as well, but I can't be the only shy female gamer!! lol I like having the option to solo in an MMO, because people can sometimes be extremely irritating in group situations.
I'd like crafting, but in almost all of the MMOs I've played it's little more then watching task-bars (BOOORRRRINNNGG).
I very much agree with this:
"But I do think women are more inclined to help others and enjoy playing classes that can cast buffs. As long as they aren't mad at you.
"
You make me mad, you ain't getting ANY HEALS!
But I forgive easily! :P
What devs could do? For example developing a MMORPG for a change, not a railroaded themepark or a combat heavy shallow PvP game.
Honestly, I believe we had more female players (qua percentage of players) in EQ, SWG, DAoC than we have these days. But it might well be that the developers (or rather the companies behind them) are confident that it's better for the revenue to develop games for male players (in the usual 15-25 age bracket) than to target female players and those male players that cannot stand the current crop of games.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Yeah, I am not big on Vent either, but I have always chalked that up to something that was not common when i started playing MMOs. I usually just chat until I get to know people. If i am in Vent i do not say much.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
I like to play a game with a variety of options available. I hate playing games where we all look the same or have to play the same race/class to join up with friends. I am not a big fan of PvP (some women are). I hate only being allowed to play characters that look like glorified hookers with swords. I love detail rich worlds and models. I enjoy crafting. It's hard to say how much of that has to do with me being a woman and me just loving games as a gamer. I mean I prefer to play female characters but my favorite character in the Left 4 Dead series is Francis whom I also play. Oh, and I despite games that only have one "right" build.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
I like:
good character creator
appearance tab
ability to fiddle with my appearance whenever I want
lots of hair, clothes and armor options
exploration
deep crafting system, ala precu SWG
socializing....chat bubbles are awesome
music, dancing system in particular but any non combat professions are interesting
lots of emotes
Diplomacy ala Vanguard (it was awesome) or maybe similar to influence ala Oblivion
housing ala precu swg....i hate furniture hooks as I find them too limiiting
ability to make custom items
vehicles for solo or multipassenger
i also like some pvp...item decay or time as penalty is good enough...i don't like heavy death penalties
That's it. I think many of these are similar to what girls like and I am a guy.
I've played so many MMORPG's that I've lost count. I have never seen more females playing an MMO until I started playing Korean F2P MMO's (to fill my time between finding a large title game that will keep my interest). At first, I thought it was solely due to the F2P, because that's what they all had in common. Then I realized what drew me to them.
It's the character customization. It's why you'll hear things like character housing, pets, and fashions. Hop onto iRO or PWI. Both have LOTS of character customization aspects. You will find a LOT of girls.
Now, that's not to say I'll play a crap game. Or maybe I will, but it won't keep my interest past my first cute pet/outfit/gear, etc. In the basic and fundamental wants from a game, the female and male player base are going to want the same thing. I want my PvP intense, my PvE difficult and my combat fast paced.
But what draws the females is different. It's the customization aspect.
DISCLAIMER: Heads up, there will be a few girls who enjoy being a Tauren fugly. But deep down, they'll still care what that big cow is wearing and whether it's shiny or not.
I think women had a BIG influence on EQ's culture. As the community matured it became more social and alot of unwritten rules between players developed. There was just a code of common courtesy and politeness between players for a long time.
And yeah, I think chicks dig that.
My youtube MMO gaming channel