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also has to take some responsibility. It's not condescending or accusatory to say women in general prefer less violence and more character development - it's true, and anyone who takes offense needs to look at the facts. The average non-gamer female and male demographics simply do not want exactly the same thing from their entertainment.

So what kind of players ARE women? Richard Bartle, one of the creators of the first massively multiplayer online games, has categorized player types into four major categories: Achiever, Socialite, Explorer, and Killer. To simplify, Achievers like to compete, Explorers like to discover, Socialites like to make friends, and Killers like to exert control. He discovered that between the populations of male and female players, females more commonly identified themselves as Socialites and Explorers, while more men were Achievers and Killers. They actually craved slightly different play from their games. Of course, there was some overlap, but men and women enjoyed different activities.

Nobody would try to claim that all movies must contain explosions, yet books on game design will usually rate "challenge" and "achievement" as two of the most important aspects of design. It is disappointing, as the bias of the book's authors goes unremarked upon. These authors usually can't understand the appeal of massively popular games like Bejewelled or Diner Dash, and it's not their fault. Everyone has their own tastes, and it is for exactly that reason that the market demands a greater variety of game play.

Keep in mind that women like me who love games already are happy. We play the same games as the guys. We're just a minority. Isn't it interesting that World of Warcraft, the world's most popular game in history, also managed to attract a fifty percent female player-base? We play games the way they are and we're ready to shoot anyone who tries to talk down to us. The only common complaint I've heard from current women gamers in recent years is that they wish there were fewer captured princesses and more Lara Crofts.

But what about all those women who don't play games right now? All those millions of people who simply don't see anything in games that interests them? Wouldn't the art of interactive entertainment benefit by drawing in a larger consumer base and not pushing them away with pink shovel-ware? In economics I believe it's called an under-served market, and in a high-profit industry like games, it seems like an incredible oversight. Whoever solves the puzzle stands to gain a fortune.

Learn more about this author, Tanya Short.
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