After a three-and-a-half hour binge play on Bioshock again last night (a game which I have now completed three times), I looked across to see my boyfriend doing the same on his laptop. His game of choice for the evening was Skyrim. This is a regular occurrence in our house; ignoring each other for a few hours to become fully immersed in another world and story, or with one of us sitting and watching the other play, commenting on what is happening and where to go next.
I’ve been told by my own friends (and random strangers) that they ‘just don’t get’ my love for gaming, that it’s a waste of my time, that I’m killing brain cells, that my boyfriend and I are losing out on time spent together because of our hobby.
Well, you could say the same about reading a book (and I love to read). You ignore everything around you as you become involved with the characters and their world. Gaming is just another opportunity to completely ‘lose yourself’ in someone else’s story, but with a visual element. Games such as Dragon Age, Bioshock and Mass Effect all allow you to choose your own ending. Your decisions impact upon what happens next. It’s constantly evolving and challenging you, the gamer. I’m also a big fan of full character customisation (pink hair, green eyes and a big mouth are my style trademarks – if the game allows it).
The fact that both my boyfriend and I enjoy gaming also gives us something extra to talk about because it’s something that we share a common interest in. We’ve spent hours playing Diablo together, or discussing the gameplay in one of the many click-based story games he plays on Steam.
I started gaming at around the age of 11, when my Dad would bring the PS1 into my room to play a game of FIFA (yes, I played FIFA). I’d always beat him at the beautiful ‘virtual’ game, but he’d always reign supreme when we put Gran Turismo in the console. My sister, on the other hand, was never really interested in gaming (although we did play Tekken 2 together, quite a lot). I always enjoyed spending that time with my Dad, spent with a controller in hand and shouting at the television screen. It was one of my favourite ways to pass the time.
Let’s face it, life on weekdays can be a little boring. For most people you wake up, brush your teeth, get dressed, commute, work for eight hours, commute, eat some dinner, shower, TV, bed. It’s a monotonous routine five days a week, so I use gaming as an outlet. For those people telling me that I should go out for a drink after work or to a gym class; trust me, by the time I get home at six after a long day all I want to do is switch on my PS3 and shoot things.
Games are an art form. I’ve been overcome a few times, simply by how beautiful a game is. Take Bioshock for example, with it’s 1920s Art Deco style frozen in time, or Tomb Raider, set on a remote island featuring breathtaking views and dramatic scenery. I love the quick time events that take place throughout the game, when she is falling or sliding dramatically through the environment. Thinking about it, she falls down a lot of holes and has to escape a lot of crumbling buildings.
I don’t confess to be some sort of gaming expert and that’s where my next point lies. Girls are more afraid than ever to say they enjoy gaming, simply because of the barrage of abuse and mocking they receive, whether they play the Sims at the weekend or whip up cosplay to wear to ComicCon, based on their favourite game hero or heroine. As a result of this, and because of the scantily clad female characters in games, these women are often targeted for dressing like ‘sluts’ in the eyes of a few male gamers, when in fact they just wanted to portray their favourite character correctly, but that’s a subject for another day.
If you’re on Twitter, you may have seen the #Gamergate hashtag trending. Gamergate apparently started out as a shout out against poor ethics in journalism and game reviewers not covering what was really important in their analysis, as well as favouritism amongst journalists and certain developers.
It quickly escalated into a backlash against women having a say in gaming, reaching such blown up proportions that leading female voices for the industry have actually been sent death threats and vile abuse over social media and email. Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist critic in the gaming industry, who blogs reviews about how female characters are treated in games, recently cancelled a speech at Utah State University because of a terrorist threat against her, sent by an anonymous student.
It doesn’t look like it’s going to die down anytime soon either, as those supporting the cause attempt to overlook the sexism and focus their attention on the ethics in journalism, which is an age old debate and something which won’t be rectified anytime soon.
Putting that aside, what I’m basically trying to say is: girls, don’t be afraid to game. It doesn’t matter whether you are good at it or not; I am rubbish at Fallout 3, mainly because I get motion sick playing from a first person camera view (strangely enough though this doesn’t affect me whilst charging through Rapture on Bioshock). You don’t need to know every detail of a game to be able to talk about it or engage with others… just enjoy playing. If you want to dress up and go to ComicCon, do it. That place is every gamer’s dream and you’ll be surrounded by plenty of like-minded people. You can turn up as a background character and someone will always recognise what you are trying to represent.
Gaming is a great outlet and something that actually brings people together. It doesn’t make you any less feminine either; I love clothes and shoes and catch ups with my girlfriends as much as the next girl. I just so happen to enjoy a pastime that mostly associated with men as well, which I have to say is the main root of the problem.
Couldn't agree more! There's such a bad stigma about girl gamers and it's horrible to think that.
ReplyDeleteLauren // OhHay Blogs!
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