Women or young girls are seldom considered while we talk about video games. This stereotype has been instilled in everyone’s brain like a rock that can’t be moved. This belief comes from examples of women being technologically challenged; wherein they aren’t as intrigued by games as men are. Façade of it seems very sexist. Most video games are targeted towards men. There must be some facets that lead to this gender-specific segmentation of the product.
Brenda Laurel questions “why aren’t video games made for little girls?”, “What will it take for a little girl to put her little fingers on a computer and reach a level of comfort and ease with technology that little boys have because they play video games.” She started working on research that aimed towards working on games built for little girls. She interviewed 1100 girls and boys ages 7 to 12 all over the United States, she also pulled some 10000 children’s survey data and spent a lot of time around an entire year over trials of prototypes done for little girls. In 1996 she found a company called ‘purple moon’ which worked towards making games that resonated with a little girl’s personality. Issues that mattered to them was incorporated in the games.
These games were built to facilitate a platform wherein girls can make their own stories and put characters of their choice including themselves. The site was a success with many visits and 35 mins of average time spent by the targeted individual. Her research and efforts made a platform for girls without any preconceived notions or gender biases.
Credits -
Prachi Jha
Batch 2021 - 2023