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Old 08-21-2012, 01:34 AM   #1
Threshold
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Home MUD: Threshold RPG
Posts: 1,260
Threshold will become famous soon enough
Why Do So Many Women Play Threshold RPG?

Whenever I talk about our games to people - especially non-gamers - they are shocked to learn that is 50% women gamers. They seem to assume it would be more like WoW's estimated female population of about 16%. Our newest game, has over 75% women gamers.

When I talk to other game developers, they often ask what the secret is. Making games that appeal to women has always been a high priority for a variety of reasons, but the secret "how to" is much trickier.

I thought an interesting discussion related to this topic would be:

1) What do you think makes a game attractive to women gamers?

2) What are some of the benefits of having an above average percentage of female gamers?

3) Should we really care about this?



I was thinking about these questions lately and decided to go right to the source and ask our female players directly what makes them play Threshold. I will share a few snippets that can perhaps be utilized when making a game more "female friendly":


If I was summarizing and generalizing, I guess I'd point to:



I could easily throw "variety" in there as well, but I think that one is so general that it would apply almost certainly and equally to male players as well.

Take that feedback for what it is worth. Obviously it is biased since the sample group is women who already like Threshold and thus like the type of game it is.

Anyway, I'm interested to hear some opinions on the 3 questions at the top and whether the answers I got are of any use to anyone.
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