I found one of these games slightly disturbing - Babies. I personally couldn’t think of anything worse than playing a game based around a crying baby with smelly nappies; but everybody’s different.
It’s a dichotomy; you could say this reinforce gender stereotypes, but on the other hand, the average little girl really does like playing with baby dolls.
Research has shown that whilst there is a growing number of women who enjoy playing the action packed violent games and shoot-em-ups, overall they tend to prefer a different genre of games such as online games, puzzles, card games, trivia, word challenges and action arcade games.
Nintendo has done exceptionally well to target this growing interested group, with the Wii and the Nintendo DS, which have a range of less violent games and challenges. Both come in white, arguably more feminine than the Playstation, and the Wii even has fitness and yoga games.
Keren Kang writes about how Halo 3 could have been modified to appeal more to women gamers. She raises some good points, but doesn’t get the fact that Halo 3 was an international best selling game; you can’t compromise to please everybody and release a generic game for girls and boys with guns, girls and matching handbags.
Games that are primarily aimed at boys tend to be the best sellers and have wider appeal. In general, a game aimed at boys will appeal to both genders, but boys will be put off by games with a more feminine slant.
That’s not to say game producers should not design for women, there’s a lot to be said for niche games, but I’d say Halo is fine as it is.
I’m writing this post with my family hat on, as opposed to my normal Geek beret.
My sister is a picture framer, and she entered a framing competition with the Fine Art Trade Guild at the end of April.
I’m so proud that she won First and Third place for the two projects she put forward in the North West category. She’s now in the national competition, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her!
This is not my normal choice of topic, but I can crow-bar some technology related things in here though:
For her first place entry, she scanned the image she was framing and printed an enlarged copy in muted shades. She dry mounted this image to mount card*, and used this for an outer mount.
And for both projects, she used a computerised mount cutter that she programmed with the shapes and sizes of card she needed.
Here she is with her winning project… she’ll hate me for publishing this!!
*Just a quick translation - in the UK framers use “mount board”, this is known as “mat board” in the US.
I was surprised by the number of women that appeared at the Manchester Geek Girl Dinner last week.
I don’t generally go in for gender specific events, as I’m sure an all boys meeting would cause some industry bra burning, but I was invited by one of the organisers, Valerie De Leonibus, who is one of the founders of i2m Online Business, so I figured a night of food, drink and geek chatting couldn’t hurt too much.
I was surprised by the similar stories though, much the same as I’ve experienced. A lot of women I spoke to were the only one, or amongst a small minority on a technology course or in a techie job.
Much of the geek stereotypes hold true, but there are obviously exceptions. They showed this video… I love the IT crowd.
The BBC have another article about the uses of nanotechnology… they describe how ‘machines’ the size of just 17 molecules can be controlled with a type of microscope (scanning tunnelling microscope).
It’s like something from a science fiction film… and part of me wonders if they’re just making it up!
It looks like you’ll be able to use your PS3 to make free calls over the internet using Skype.
We use Skype in the office and at home to communicate between ourselves and with clients. It avoids us being dependant on the horror that is BT, it’s cheap (and often free), and it’s less distracting than MSN messaging.
The accessories you need to make calls are not out yet, but if you’re not particularly into gaming, and want to make free ‘Skype to Skype’ calls and cheap normal calls, all you need is an Internet connection and either a computer & microphone or a Skype phone.
I was impressed by this video from Nokia. They demonstrate a concept for a communication device which uses nano technology.
It’s clear that computer devices are rapidly getting smaller and more powerful, so something like Nokia’s concept could well be possible in their 7-11 year time frame.
I’m excited by the prospect; I always love researching for my next gadget purchase and finding out what new features are available since the last time I looked.
I found one of these games slightly disturbing - Babies. I personally couldn’t think of anything worse than playing a game based around a crying baby with smelly nappies; but everybody’s different.
I was surprised by the number of women that appeared at the Manchester Geek Girl Dinner last week. 