"Women and Games"

As a non-gamer it was difficult for me to put aside my preconceived notions about power gamers, many of which are echoed by the comments recorded in the article by the non-gamers who participated in the study. However, my younger sister (who I would, by the article’s guidelines label a moderate gamer) was a very frequent player of The Sims game and after reading this article, I feel like I can make some assertions on how and possibly why elements of that game so appealed to her. I feel like The Sims was marketed to girls and women through representations of and appeals to traditional female gender roles. Creating a house, a neighborhood, primary characters and secondary characters starts the game, and then players control the environment, the player’s actions and movements (eating habits, exercise, work, personal relationships). Players can add and subtract from the environment, and make decisions about the future of their characters. The game seemed to me to be a technological version of ‘playing house.’ I am probably oversimplifying the process and procedures of the game, however I think the game focused very heavily on home building, marriage and creating sexual relationship that resulted in children. These appeals to traditional female roles and assumed desires target specifically women. Additionally, my sister’s primary interest in this game seemed to be “being able to exercise control over an environment or situation” (p. 688). I think this too is a big draw for women and girls, who are all too aware of the many extraneous outside forces that affect our everyday lives. I think it must be a relief to have a space where one action will always equal a certain result.