Doll Web Sites Drive Girls to Stay Home and Play
NY Times
By MATT RICHTEL and BRAD STONE
Published: June 6, 2007

Presleigh Montemayor often gets home after a long day and spends some time with her family. Then she logs onto the Internet, leaving the real world and joining a virtual one. But the digital utopia of Second Life is not for her. Presleigh, who is 9 years old, prefers a Web site called Cartoon Doll Emporium.

Japanese Marketers Target Gamer Girls, Moms
By Chris Kohler

“Initially taken off guard, Japan’s game makers are now in the grip of girl fever — scrambling to market directly to women gamers who were once ignored.”

Part of what I find interesting about this is that many of the games described might be placed in the rather infamous “pink games” category which has been the subject of so much controversy and debate here in the states. (Also, yes, I’ve been spending a lot of time with From Barbie to Mortal Kombat lately. Sometimes I just don’t know what to do about this sort of this. As much as I get angry over the aggressive “pinking” of toys– I’m as appalled by what’s been done to Dora the Explorer as most feminists are– there’s also this part of me that feels like maybe you’ve got to start somewhere? I’m not sure.

To be honest, I also haven’t seen any really solid cross-section of recent stats on gaming, internet usage, technology and the spectrum of gender representation across them. I’d love to see some recent numbers, if anyone’s got a good link.

I highly enjoyed this. Mostly because its the ultimate example of what happens to me pretty much every time I’ve tried to play a video game that wasn’t tetris. (Disclosure: I think the games I was attempting to play were typically Mario related games, so perhaps my experience is skewed.)

Is there a difference in terms? A wrong or right one? What do people think?

For my final, I think I’m essentially arguing for an academic focus on “digital play” instead of “digital games”, but I want to make sure I’m using the terms properly. It seems like people are calling them all digital games these days and just distinguishing between console and computer games as needed.

In God in the Console (2003), Tom Loftus argues that some mainstream videogames contain subtle religious messages. He also highlights games that have been created from mainstream games only retooled to have religious themes. Based on the Loftus article and Jeremy Lemer’s Religion goes digital in faith-based computer games (2005), it sounds like the messages can take the form of the dominant narrative or just be a subtle backdrop to more traditional video game action.

According to Chris Morris at CNN, video games and religion can’t really play together (2005). However, the best-selling Left Behind franchise (you know, that one about the rapture) apparently came out with its own video game last year– and just in time for Christmas! This one apparently creates contraversy on all side of the fence:

The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian)…The dialogue includes people saying, “Praise the Lord,” as they blow infidels away.
– From The Purpose Driven Life Takers by Jonathan Hutson

And just like the other video games of the world, Left Behind: Eternal Forces comes complete with its own in-game advertising.

Now, I’m also assuming that there are probably peace related games and the like which may be backed by religious groups as well, both conservative and liberal. The more controversial ones just happened to be what came up the most on google and in the news. I’m sure we’re all surprised by that. ;)

More Links:
The Christian Game Developers Conference
The Christian Game Developers Foundation
Left Behind Games

Personally, I’m guessing Tolkien probably never really envisioned his books being turned into franchises with talking action figures, let alone video games, but leaving that alone for a minute, I think this idea of creator versus player intent is something to dwell on.

Commenting for the article, Brenda Brathwaite, author of Sex in Video Games, says:

“Players are still creating their own experience,” Brathwaite says. “In a video game, it’s about abdicating authorship and letting a player explore a world.”

While this is a noble sentiment, it seems a bit naive. Can authorship ever possibly be abdicated in an artificially created world where every leaf, movement, and keystroke is scripted and planned for? I think the real point here might be that we keep failing to acknowledge that these games can’t ever be empty vessels without certain (corporate) authors having the loudest voices in the narrative.

On the subject of sexuality in games you might find the following interesting:
- It’s a Queer World After All: Studying The Sims and Sexuality by Mia Consalvo
- GayGamer.net

The point here is that I spent some time on YouTube yesterday watching Bollywood videos. So I’m sitting there, watching a Abhishek’s performance¹ from the Zee Cine Awards² this year, and I realize that the intro video they show the audience before the actual live performance is essentially serving the same function as the cut scene.

These show up all the time now on the actual MTV award shows too.³ The little bit of exposition or drama to set the moment, highlight the bad-assery of the star, and get the audience pumped for the performance. How long have these been around? Within my own memory, I just recall these showing up on MTV in the mid to late nineties. Were they around earlier? You also see them used in the big budget concert tours. I’m wondering if this sort of thing might be an interesting trickle out from one end of the entertainment world (video games) to another. What do you think?

______
¹ warning one: language. warning two: not the best of songs, sorry.
² think MTV Movie Awards. only, Bollywood.
³ not that i could find you one clip on YouTube of it happening. thanks Viacom, thanks.

Never let it be said that playing video games is a completely unsociable activity. There is a regular gathering of gentleman here at Murky who play WoW at the coffeeshop, strategize with their amigos, and generally socialize like mad around the topic of game play. Seriously, they’re here as often as I am– and its finals at the moment, so I’m here all the time.

Also, what was that we all learned back in gender studies about how male activity tends to involve playing or participating in something together, while women tend to share and communicate as an activity in itself? I’m trying to put together thoughts like this for my final paper, because essentially I’m talking about digital games versus digital play, and I think some of the geeky activities more popular with the ladies (fandoms, etc) fit into the other end of this male/female spectrum quite well.

A random question for the people more familiar with these things:
Can I do things in WoW that don’t involve killing? Is it possible to meet class requirements without killing? Just a question. Or an observation. Something…

The Nerd Auteurs: A video slide show
By Michael Agger
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, at 12:10 PM ET

Over the past 24 hours, I have seen a night elf and a dwarf compete in a “dance-off.” I have seen an Arab guerilla force overwhelm American soldiers in an Iraq-like setting. I have seen Princess Leia gyrating to “My Humps” for the benefit of Han Solo. I have seen fighter planes conversing in French. Yes, I’ve been watching machinima.

Nerds With Bombs: Virtual terrorism invades cyber-utopia.
By William Saletan

Gabe mentioned that he stumbled upon a wrecked Star Trek rpg in Second Life the other day. I’m guessing that is a part of all of this?

I’m off to geek out in New York. I promise to investigate the depths of Comic Con for all in play, gaming, and magic circles. (And games in education!)