DrunkenMage
Intoxicated Arch-Mage
I didn't know you starred in youtube videos.
The Female, Male Demographic of Skyrim Players
- Thread starter OrexxerO
- Start date
I didn't know you starred in youtube videos.
Haru17
Lost Falmer
I'm glad that things are becoming more co-ed. It's not like that'll unilaterally improve things, as bad people are bad people, regardless if the expression of their flaws varies by gender. It will, however, further equalize society and help to bridge the gap between men and women, who've been said to be from different planets for eons.
On the note of gender equity; today military policy changed to let women serve in and be recognized for actual combat, for better or for worse. At least there's no draft, ladies.
Now if we can get some widespread, real changes, like equal pay for equal work, etc.
<Is a guy, on the internet, isn't sexist, supports feminist causes... that makes a few of us...
On the note of gender equity; today military policy changed to let women serve in and be recognized for actual combat, for better or for worse. At least there's no draft, ladies.
Now if we can get some widespread, real changes, like equal pay for equal work, etc.
<Is a guy, on the internet, isn't sexist, supports feminist causes... that makes a few of us...
xsneakyxsimx
Well-Known Member
Here here!
Dagmar
Defender of the Bunnies of Skyrim
OMG Girlz Don't Exist on teh Intarweb!!!!1 by Whitney Butts
Things are a bit better since Whitney Butts wrote this article about her real life experiences as a woman playing WoW but guys still act in all sorts of inappropriate ways to women they discover in a venue they assume is all or mostly male. I've gotten my fair share of inappropriate requests for pictures and received my fair share of unsolicited and unwanted pictures of male genitals. Whitney's article shows another aspect where your very identity is challenged and sometimes accompanied by hostility that no man would ever have to endure in the same environment.
I play video games because they appeal to my inner nerd. Initially it was only traditional game console type games (FPS and arcade type games) but I got into RPG type games when a friend showed me some video episodes for a sci fi MMOG called Anarchy Online in which she was one of the voice actors. The idea of a game with such an interesting storyline piqued my curiosity and they had a free trial membership so I got the game and ever since then I've been hooked on RPG games with an interesting storyline and rich deep lore.
xsneakyxsimx
Well-Known Member
Anytime I see a sexist/racist/generally insulting comment on YouTube or Reddit, it makes me want to shove both the keyboard and mouse down the perpetrators throat. I try to be a peaceful and friendly being, but it just really gets to me...
Moris
...
Yeah, but come on. How many women over 50 do you regularly hang out with?
I doubt your experience is representative. Whereas I hang out with quite a few.
--
That's why we have the ignore button. Use it, and you'll never have to see another post by me again.
Wildroses
Well-Known Member
Just to respond to the opening post:
I don't have very many games at all that hold my attention the way Skyrim does. I tend to get obsessive when I decide I like something. There are only three other games I adore and devote a lot of time to. They are DragonFable (online RPG), and Portal 1 & 2. I don't play other games very much at all, simply because I adore those ones so much. I have a small pile of others I'm sure I'd enjoy if I could just devote some time to them, but the four big ones are too interesting.
Why am I interested in Skyrim so much, and why those other games hold my attention and eat so much of my time basically boils down to: "I like stories." This is where Skyrim differs dramatically from DragonFable and both Portals. These games tell me and told me very entertaining stories that kept me interested and begging for more, awed by the creative genius behind them (the cat in my avatar is from DragonFable). But with Skyrim, I get to write my own story and be who I want. I'm the second person here who will admit to becoming interested in this game when I heard you could not only get married, you actually had a huge amount of choice as to your spouse. There was no: You can marry this dude or that chick or be forever alone, which is what normally happens in games. It made me wonder how much else of the game was so open.
I'd say my interest in gaming is strictly RPGs simply because I love stories so much, but if another game in a different genre gets a reputation for having an excellent story and characters, like Portal, I will try it. This is probably why I am not interested in shooters. I want a game that tells me a story, even if it's just in my own head, rather than one which only requires me to perform certain timed actions or solve puzzles.
And another thing: If I hear about a game with a great story, but gives all the women Pamela Anderson proportions and clothes which would make a Playboy Bunny blush, there is no way I'd play it. I might play a game which features no women, or only one female protagonist with three or more male protagonists(I recognise token females when I see them, and refuse to cooperate with letting people get away with thinking they've successfully appealed to me with minimum effort), but I would take a lot of persuading.
I don't have very many games at all that hold my attention the way Skyrim does. I tend to get obsessive when I decide I like something. There are only three other games I adore and devote a lot of time to. They are DragonFable (online RPG), and Portal 1 & 2. I don't play other games very much at all, simply because I adore those ones so much. I have a small pile of others I'm sure I'd enjoy if I could just devote some time to them, but the four big ones are too interesting.
Why am I interested in Skyrim so much, and why those other games hold my attention and eat so much of my time basically boils down to: "I like stories." This is where Skyrim differs dramatically from DragonFable and both Portals. These games tell me and told me very entertaining stories that kept me interested and begging for more, awed by the creative genius behind them (the cat in my avatar is from DragonFable). But with Skyrim, I get to write my own story and be who I want. I'm the second person here who will admit to becoming interested in this game when I heard you could not only get married, you actually had a huge amount of choice as to your spouse. There was no: You can marry this dude or that chick or be forever alone, which is what normally happens in games. It made me wonder how much else of the game was so open.
I'd say my interest in gaming is strictly RPGs simply because I love stories so much, but if another game in a different genre gets a reputation for having an excellent story and characters, like Portal, I will try it. This is probably why I am not interested in shooters. I want a game that tells me a story, even if it's just in my own head, rather than one which only requires me to perform certain timed actions or solve puzzles.
And another thing: If I hear about a game with a great story, but gives all the women Pamela Anderson proportions and clothes which would make a Playboy Bunny blush, there is no way I'd play it. I might play a game which features no women, or only one female protagonist with three or more male protagonists(I recognise token females when I see them, and refuse to cooperate with letting people get away with thinking they've successfully appealed to me with minimum effort), but I would take a lot of persuading.
Twiffle
Well-Known Member
This is an extremely interesting thread, and congrats to OrexxerO for posting it. There are alot of ideas and opinions being expressed on here, from Gay, Trans, Single, Male and Female and i think its fantastic, so now for my bit,well as one poster said she is over 50 and most are young enough to be her children, well i too am of that age and i am a Grandad, i started gaming back in the days of a Sinclair ZX81, it had 1k of ram, yes 1k of ram, so ive seen a huge change and transformation in games and gaming community and social attitudes towards us 'Gamers'. I saw the emergence of Commodore and its demise and the original nintendo, sega and PS, even some obscure ones such as Vitari, pong was,, well out of this world in its day so to see a games industry to progress to Skyrim is pure science fiction talk back 30 years ago. I can just say that today social acceptance of gaming is far far more advanced to what i went through, it was almost like racism, we were stigmatised as reclusive, mind controlled morons, and it wont last its just a Fad,
Having said that my dad who is now 85 loved playing Space invaders.
Well thats my 2 cents .. .. .. .. hope it opens up another direction for you all to mull over
Having said that my dad who is now 85 loved playing Space invaders.
Well thats my 2 cents .. .. .. .. hope it opens up another direction for you all to mull over
sticky runes
Well-Known Member
I grew up playing a lot of JRPGs where the main character you control is a teenage boy and that's it. This didn't make them bad games, they still had nice stories and exciting gameplay mechanics, but unfortunately, if you tried to visit a forum dedicated to these types of games, you'd end up meeting a lot of teenage boys, and worse, grown men who still think and act like adolescent teenagers.
With a game like Skyrim which offers diversity - you are free to choose your character's race, gender and sexual orientation - you are more likely to meet a more diverse community of fans. This is definitely a more welcoming environment than a lot of other gaming forums I've encountered on the web.
With a game like Skyrim which offers diversity - you are free to choose your character's race, gender and sexual orientation - you are more likely to meet a more diverse community of fans. This is definitely a more welcoming environment than a lot of other gaming forums I've encountered on the web.
OrexxerO
Active Member
Touche Moris
Not saying its not worse for you Dagmar, but even guys get unsolicited and unwanted pictures of guys genitals on certain games, and im not gay
. I used to play EVE-Online heavily, and one of the major things for your group to do to keep the other team from trash talking you in the chat for that particular "star system" was to spam profanities, and links to porn....and worse. I didn't contribute to that stuff....its one of the things that I had to ignore to play the game I loved. Update: I read the article you linked about that girls experience playing online. And I must say as a guy it is hard via chatting alone to really know on the internet if they are who they say they are. Usually they are, usually I trust them and on voice comms I don't think most guys go through the trouble with voice-overs or having a girl talk for them to be stupid. But what I do know is there was one player in a guild I was a friend with. Well, I knew this person for a year, thought they were a girl, turned out to be a gay guy lol. I hadn't had a voice session with him in our guild and then one day he gets on and....flamboyant guy voice. He was like "I bet you weren't expecting me to be a guy!". Now, that was a one time experience, I for one am always glad to see a female player, I just want to show them respect and keep them playing the game usually. I just wish I can find a girl like them around where I live that I can date.
Belle
Fool of Hearts - Laughter Incarnate
Well, I'm a girl that plays Skyrim, and I play it because I really like it. And I know quite a few girls that play video games like Skyrim just because they want attention for being a girl. Which is really stupid.
I think that one of the reasons why Skyrim appeals to lots of different people is because you have a lot of choice with your character. Now, I have no problem playing a guy like in many other video games (Where you don't make a character, it's already made), but there are some people who like to play as their own gender. And in Skyrim, you have that choice. You can modify your character's appearance, gender, and it's a really free form type game.
And you get to kill dragons and eat their souls. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like that.
I think that one of the reasons why Skyrim appeals to lots of different people is because you have a lot of choice with your character. Now, I have no problem playing a guy like in many other video games (Where you don't make a character, it's already made), but there are some people who like to play as their own gender. And in Skyrim, you have that choice. You can modify your character's appearance, gender, and it's a really free form type game.
And you get to kill dragons and eat their souls. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like that.
I tend to avoid talking about it just because I'm little self-conscious that I might get labeled as "that girl". :/
Haru17
Lost Falmer
Yeah, I never underestimate human's willingness and probability of torturing themselves. Those girls would be better suited just being social and talking. I mean, it's great that they want to be able to talk about Skyrim, but if they have no personal interest then it's obviously not good for them.
I like the many choices as well, it not only gives the game replayablity, but it allows you to develop your own character and his / her habits. I'm a guy and I play both male and female characters, not because I like to look at their pixilated boo-tay, they're all wearing plate or robes all the time anyway, but because I want to develop their stories and I saw the female gender befitting them better. My spellshield, for example, is called to action by her distaste for being married off to some other orc stronghold, so she goes off on a journey to find power.
And it's dragons, dragons wouldn't like that =P
Haru17
Lost Falmer
I'm not proclaiming that I'm a psychologist or sociologist, but I don't think you can go wrong if you are interested in the game. Talking about common experiences is the basis of human interaction, whether it's Sky-rim or Sky-diving. Just don't be afraid... unless you REALLY don't want to get to know the Skyrim players at your school / work / wherever. I mean, I am one of those "nerds", and I don't want to give us a bad name, but there are some CREEPY ones too, so watch for that. =P
aussiegirlz
Member
Add me to the almost old enough to be your grandma category too. Sometimes I feel like I grew up with an atari joystick in my hand and have always loved gaming - bought Skyrim for the kids and got hooked myself - previous addiction was Tomb Raider. I haven't stopped to analyse why I love Skyrim - but probably because there are endless possibilities- unlike a lot of other games where you complete it in a week and it's over it sits on the shelf until you are feeling nostalgic and pull it out for a few hours - Skyrim can be played over and over and over again.
But I've got to admit I do have another guilty pleasure that is almost as big as Skyrim and that is Black Ops Zombies - not so big on regular COD but love love love the Zombie maps.
Sometimes I feel like I grew up with an atari joystick in my hand and have always loved gaming - bought Skyrim for the kids and got hooked myself - previous addiction was Tomb Raider. I haven't stopped to analyse why I love Skyrim - but probably because there are endless possibilities- unlike a lot of other games where you complete it in a week and it's over it sits on the shelf until you are feeling nostalgic and pull it out for a few hours - Skyrim can be played over and over and over again.But I've got to admit I do have another guilty pleasure that is almost as big as Skyrim and that is Black Ops Zombies - not so big on regular COD but love love love the Zombie maps.
KD.
Member
I love this thread! It's not often that the lack of women in gaming/on the internet is noticed, and when it is noticed no one usually cares all that much.
I've been in to games since I was a little kid. My dad had an old Atari Lynx (which I still own and occasionally bust out to this day) that I played nonstop. From there, as I got older, I upgraded to a Sega Genesis and then worked my way through all the consoles as they came out. It's just something I never grew out of. When I got into my teenage years and started trying to connect with other gamers, that's when I noticed how male dominated it was and how much lady-hate was out there. So, like a lot of other people mentioned, I just stopped trying to connect. It was just something I did by myself. Never really mentioned it to anyone else. But it is great to see how much things have changed, just in the last few years. And it's also nice to see that people are starting to recognize the problem and actually talk about it, and try to change it.
As for TES series, and why I love it so much - It all started with Morrowind. I fell in love with the customization, the open world, and just the ability to do whatever, whenever I wanted. And I've never stopped loving it. And I do like all types of games, not just RPG's, but they're definitely my preference.
I also just want to say how much I love this forum. It's the only forum I've ever been to that I don't see some ridiculous sexist post every five minutes. It's really amazing that it's attracted such mature, intelligent people and that there really seems to be a sense of respect around here. Okay, I could go on on this subject forever. I'll stop now.
I've been in to games since I was a little kid. My dad had an old Atari Lynx (which I still own and occasionally bust out to this day) that I played nonstop. From there, as I got older, I upgraded to a Sega Genesis and then worked my way through all the consoles as they came out. It's just something I never grew out of. When I got into my teenage years and started trying to connect with other gamers, that's when I noticed how male dominated it was and how much lady-hate was out there. So, like a lot of other people mentioned, I just stopped trying to connect. It was just something I did by myself. Never really mentioned it to anyone else. But it is great to see how much things have changed, just in the last few years. And it's also nice to see that people are starting to recognize the problem and actually talk about it, and try to change it.
As for TES series, and why I love it so much - It all started with Morrowind. I fell in love with the customization, the open world, and just the ability to do whatever, whenever I wanted. And I've never stopped loving it. And I do like all types of games, not just RPG's, but they're definitely my preference.
I also just want to say how much I love this forum. It's the only forum I've ever been to that I don't see some ridiculous sexist post every five minutes. It's really amazing that it's attracted such mature, intelligent people and that there really seems to be a sense of respect around here. Okay, I could go on on this subject forever. I'll stop now.
Nadir-Natesse
Proprietor of Thy Lady and Lord
Spot. On.
Soloquendi
Pastor of Muppets
I find it interesting that though the original question was asked of women, the first three responses were from men, giving their opinions on what they think women think. lol
The only thing I have to say is this. The presence of women in any social group tends to civilize the group as a whole. Thank you ladies.
The only thing I have to say is this. The presence of women in any social group tends to civilize the group as a whole. Thank you ladies.
OrexxerO
Active Member
For the most part I would agree with that Soloq. Although sometimes women in games stoop to as low as men in vileness to try and shield themselves instead of just being silent or not playing online with guys to begin with....And I will say, nothing turns me off MORE towards a woman then when they try to be just as vile or more vile as the men online.
