Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
JESYCA DURCHIN'S ADVICE
continued
•
Girls appreciate sensual interfaces.
Girls tend to respond more positively to what is
sometimes referred to as the sensual interface. They need colorful, sound-driven inter-
faces that “feel” good. The interface needs to feel magical and needs to have what I call
the
brrrring
factor. Don't give girls a group of identical gray pushbuttons, no matter how
logically organized they may be; give them buttons that ring and change shape and color.
•
Extend the play from existing toys or media into software.
Branding is becoming
more and more important in the business of software. It is doubly important in the girl's
software business because girls are still just getting involved in viewing the computer as
an entertainment tool. Branding is important to rising above all the muck.
•
Don't be ashamed of your work.
If you're embarrassed by what you're doing, it will
show. Do it wholeheartedly or don't do it at all. Girls can tell if you're ashamed of making
games for them. If you're uncomfortable using terms like “hair play” or “relationship
games,” don't bother.
Kaye Elling's Five Cs
Kaye Elling was creative manager at Blitz Games on the
Bratz
series, and in 2006
she gave an insightful lecture called “Inclusive Games Design” at the Animex festi-
val in the UK (Elling, 2006). Elling proposed five characteristics of games, all
beginning with the letter C, that designers should strive for to make them more
inclusive and accessible to girls.
■
Characterization.
As Chapter 6, “Character Development,” discussed women
(and girls) see avatars as someone who represents themselves rather than someone
simply to control. Therefore, an avatar has to be someone girls can identify with,
and to have no qualities they find distasteful.
TIP
PuzzleQuest
is
a Nintendo DS role-
playing game that
works very well for
both boys and girls.
Players can choose
a male or female
avatar, and combat is
characterized as puzzle-
solving. When the
player loses a battle,
his avatar is not killed,
but simply runs away
and can try again later.
■
Context.
Environments matter to girls, and they will be repulsed by environ-
ments that they find ugly or hostile. This advice concurs with Jesyca Durchin's
thoughts in the sidebar “Jesyca Durchin's Advice.”
■
Control.
Girls like to feel as if they are in control of the game, rather than it
is in control of them. The risk-and-reward style of gameplay appeals less to girls
because they don't enjoy taking risks as much as boys do. They also dislike
mechanics that harshly punish failure, because those mechanics discourage
experimentation.
■
Customization.
Girls customize their mobile phones and other accessories more
than boys do, so it makes sense that they would want to customize their games as
well—especially their avatars.
Bratz: Rock Angelz
offered 686 different items of
