Comments on: Is it time to stop making MMOs for a hardcore male audience?

By: Digital Lemonade Studios » For the Ladies

Digital Lemonade Studios » For the Ladies — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:33:13 +0000

[...] the hell am I referring to? Well, a little bit ago Spinks wrote a post on designing a game towards a hardcore male audience and the lack of success you will face. It got [...]

By: A holiday, a holiday, the first one of the year! Best of 2009. « Welcome to Spinksville!

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:06:43 +0000

[...] Is it time to stop making MMOs for a hardcore male audience? (My prediction for 2010: APB will fail.) [...]

By: Torvik

Torvik — Sat, 02 May 2009 11:48:35 +0000

The only MMO that is likely to maintain my attention is one that naturally evolves but natural evolution is difficult for devs. I imagine it is like launching their game over and over again and in some respects it should be.
If your game is not evolving it doesn’t matter who your audience is they will move on. We humans are fickle and tend to be easily bought by something that appears better or new.
The key to longevity and evolution has to be diversity though, right? I don’t think any game should close doors unless it absolutely has too. Each door closed is just another limitation however you have to be careful about diluting your concept. A game has to have a concept otherwise it has no foundation so how can you build on it?
It’s certainly a balancing act and devs won’t always get it right I think the important thing is how they respond when they clearly got it wrong. Lets face it we all remember the times they got it wrong, how often do we remember when they got it right?

By: Tesh

Tesh — Sat, 02 May 2009 04:28:30 +0000

Indeed. It’s fine for the latest “God of” or “Gears of” War because those are consumed and tossed out for the next one. MMOs have very different dynamics.

By: spinks

spinks — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:51:15 +0000

I think you are right on the money with this. The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the big strength of an MMO /should/ be the wide range of choices and gameplay that it supports.

It’s not impossible to imagine a game that has extensive combat options as well as extensive crafting options. One where you could play dressup or house if you want, or you could go and kill more foozles with a vehicle-mounted SMG, or could run a successful in-game business. I think the most successful and influential MMOs have kind of stumbled on that sort of setup.

I hope the games can find a way to return to their roots because if the alternative is Free Realms forever, I’ll be looking for a different hobby.

By: spinks

spinks — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:46:32 +0000

The way I see it, it isn’t so much about me saying ‘stop making games for those guys’ (although sure, I’d like devs to make games for me personally but so would everyone!) as ‘hang on, that hardcore demographic you are chasing is the exact same demographic who will try a game and then move on to the next best thing. Is that really the core audience you want for a successful MMO?’

By: Tesh

Tesh — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:51:09 +0000

This isn’t just an MMO issue, it’s a game industry problem (and to a degree, an “entertainment” problem across many industries). That said, MMOs should be especially sensitive to actual population dynamics, since they require many people playing together to maintain a critical mass.

By: Torvik

Torvik — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:42:04 +0000

I think the opposite is equally true. As a male in my late 20′s I don’t want to play a game that allows me to have 50-100 pairs of shoes. Okay granted that is probably extremely stereotypical and I apologise but you get the idea. Extremes are bad in all things so designing a game with excessive feminine inclined aspects is likely to alienate males.

I think I’d prefer games to be gender neutral and have aspects of gameplay that cater to both. Bizarrely enough I suppose it boils down to the utopia of freedom of choice in a game world. I don’t want certain things decided for me or thrust down my throat.

I would hate a game that demanded I play a female avatar but equally I would hate a game that made me run around in a world where every woman was a prostitute wearing little to no clothes.

I can sympathise with female gamers who feel alienated by games but equally there are plenty of female gamers who congregate in to Girl power gangs in games which are themselves alienating.

AoC did some great marketing by giving itself the “adult” name the breast thing hit the gaming news in a big way but honestly, honestly how many people actually notice the breasts after the first 2 minutes of the game? Other than teasing the people I play with about their breasts on the odd ocassion I have no interest in the “assets” of an online persona. We all find it rather childishly amusing in it’s attempt to occupy the stereotypical teenage male. Why bother……

By: Age of Conan: Slightly Premature 1st Birthday Retrospective « Pearls of Unwisdom

Fri, 01 May 2009 15:33:14 +0000

[...] what would inevitably come across as lazy stereotyping, I’ll point you in the direction of Spinks’ excellent discussion of the issue. Basically, is it wise to alienate at least 2 out of every 5 of your potential [...]

By: Stabs

Stabs — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:53:45 +0000

I have great hopes for TOR in this regard. The Star Wars licence has generally had strong and interesting female characters, especially the novels. Star Wars: Galaxies was interesting to many women back when MMOs were a much more male preserve than they are now. And the fiascos of boy-centric titles like Age Of Boobies and Warhammer may lead the more discerning games executives to the conclusion that alienating 50% of the population before you even reach Alpha isn’t a business model to aspire towards.