Hello friends,
Today we will be talking about females in both professional and non-professional gaming!
In the gaming industry, and more specifically esports, there are many gender stereotypes. It is common belief that males dominate and are superior women. This is shown by the fact there is only one female professional gamer in the ultra popular game, league of legends. Recently, a female league player Sakuya (formerly known as Remilia or Remi for short), participated in a tournament, but since she was the only one, she requested that her visuals and audio be hidden from the audience. This is a result of the atmosphere and environment established in today’s gaming, as well as how the viewers would perceive this occasion. Even in casual or less competitive play, women are scrutinized or discriminated due to how their abilities pale compared to men. However, this discourse, although supported by facts, is not always true.
Especially in non-professional play, females have begun to rise up. League of legends, as well as gaming in general, is seen as a male activity, but more and more females are entering this industry. It is no longer accurate to view gaming this way or consider it surprising and rare to find female gamers, as there are numerous of them nowadays. In fact, I am acquainted with many girls that play league of legends, as well as other games, and spend more time on it than multiple guys. They are already more popularized on twitch chat (although for other reasons). As for the matter of males being more skilled, this is not necessarily true. It is easy to believe that males are better but it is not always a testament to their individual abilities and intelligence. Even though this industry is more female populated, there are still a lot more men who are more dedicated. As a result, the ratio is still heavily imbalanced, so naturally, you would see more men with high ranks. But that does indicate males are superior females, just that more play and spend more time on it. In fact, I personally know far more male league players, but amongst the few females I am associated with, some are very skilled and play alongside some of the best players out of those friends of mine without feeding. In addition, those girls are also more outgoing, choosing to socialize more with others rather than leaguing all day. Therefore, we cannot just use the basic or unadjusted data such as leaderboards or ranks, but we must compare males and females relative to their ratio in league. This includes other online games as well.
Even in professional gaming, we can use the same argument, despite the fact it is virtually all males. However, it is more difficult to notice it given there is little supporting evidence (as in there is only one professional female league player out of the entire field). But professional gaming does not only refer to league. In other games, we have seen females rise up and eliminate males from tournaments. In Hearthstone, a very popular online card game, female players, such as Eloise, have become extremely popular. They compete in numerous tournaments, defeating men in the process. Their skills and abilities are comparable and better than millions of other men, although males are still at the top albeit.
In the past, online gaming has always been seen as a male activity and unfeminine. However, the women’s revolution in this industry has already commenced, with more and more populating today’s games. Although it is improbable they catch up to males in the near future, given the “head start” males have had, impacts are still being made. League, as well as gaming overall, can no longer be considered masculine, as many females are joining non-professional play. Even though in well-known games such as league and hearthstone, the best players and vast majority of professionals are males, that is expected due to the correlation between the two primary genders. It is just more likely that more males will be considered a professional, since there are more males in the game. However, this revolution is a working process, and it is only a matter of time (not saying a short amount of time) that more dedicated and skilled female gamers arise. We have already seen some females enter the field (Sakuya), so that amount will only increase in this modern age as gaming attracts the interest of more women. And as that occurs, professional female players will no longer feel the need to hide their identities on the competitive stage and can freely put themselves out there. Who knows, one day we may see more girls in high ranks than males, or a female rise to the top of esports and/or other online competitive games.
So now you know!
- Daniel Lin
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Survival Guide
Hello my friends,
Today I will be talking to you about how to survive in the world of gaming as a female. Of course, you will probably die anyways, but that's what respawns and extra lives are for! Now let's get to it.
If you're good enough at getting the attention of men, then you can try streaming on Twitch! Make sure to wear cute clothing or just very little clothing in order to maximise revenue. Speak in a cute voice and make sure that your face cam is bigger than the gameplay window. After all, we all know what your viewers really came to see!
So, just act cute, get on their good side and take advantage of their desire for female attention!
Step 2: When you're in trouble, cry out for help and wait for your male companions to come to your aid. Then thank them for their courage and whatnot.
Step 3: Troll a little bit to get more attention and goof around. Be playful, but don't do something horrible to their character or score. That will yield negative results.
Step 4: If you are able to, take all the kills and resources you can get. It will boost your score and make you seem more impressive.
Step 5: Use gaming and Twitch chat memes to appear funny and to get on their good sides.
Step 6: Profit. By now, you should have a crusade of white knights wrapped around your finger. Keep them within flirty, but friendly terms so that you can reap the benefits for as long as possible! CHA-CHING!
BONUS: If you can pull off a cute high pitched voice over coms, then go for it.
Some good examples are:
Overall, the moral of the story is to pretend to be somebody else in order to take advantage of lonely males online and make a profit... except that it's not. But unfortunately, that's the impression that many people have. You are not some object for men to ogle, you are not some stereotype, and you are not any less qualified to play games as boys.
If you're a female who happens to play video games, then play games for the sake of entertainment and enjoyment. After all, that's what games are made for! Play whatever games you want to. Don't be afraid of what people might think. If it makes you happy, then why should it matter what other people think? Sure being female will garner attention, but it really shouldn't matter what gender you are. You're playing for the same reason that everyone else is: to have fun (or to be alpha as **** and dominate others with your skillz). You aren't some stereotype or a weaker player because you're female. You're just a gamer. So don't be afraid of being a little different and have fun out there.
This blog is a place for all those who identify as females to discuss and to connect with each other. Just because we are a minority, does not mean that we should feel any different towards playing games as males do. However, since we are a minority, this place can act as a safe place, making it easier to meet other females who play games, to chat and to make friends. That being said, it can also be used to spread awareness and spark meaningful discussion between gamers of all genders.
The video game crash was caused by a bunch of bad games made by virtually anyone (= = ;), so naturally people lost trust in the quality of the products and stopped buying them. Then Nintendo came in and saved the industry by marketing the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) as a toy and not a gaming console since people still trusted in the quality of toys. To make a good come back with the limited resources that they had, they needed a new marketing strategy. No longer would they target just about everyone, but instead they needed to focus on a specific group to maximise profit.
After conducting some research, they discovered that the number of boys that used their product was more than the number of girls (at the time, boys were more encouraged to get involved with new technology, science, and engineering). And so, coming into the 1990s, they began advertising towards young boys under the age of 10. 5 years later, they advertised the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) to boys aged 10-15. This progression sold the idea that being a gamer was a lifelong attribute, which encouraged them to buy more games, and also solidified the new demographic for video games: boys.
Soon, people forgot that games weren't always only for boys and they believed what the advertisements wanted them to believe. And here we are, left with this notion that there is a huge discrepancy between genders in gaming. In the case of PC and console gaming, this is generally true because of the effects of marketing. However, with the introduction of mobile games and family oriented games, there is more room for female gamers, but there is a new discrepancy between "casual" and "real" games. This is a story for another day.
The point is that games aren't just for boys. That was never true. It was only something that people believed because of a marketing ploy that started up back in the late 80s and 90s. So don't worry and just have fun.
- Sarah Zhang
Today I will be talking to you about how to survive in the world of gaming as a female. Of course, you will probably die anyways, but that's what respawns and extra lives are for! Now let's get to it.
How to Reap the Benefits
Most of the time, as a female who plays video games, you will have a lot of attention drawn to you when among a male majority. This can lead to some major opportunity for personal gain. If you're friendly, flirty and nice, there is a chance that some of those men will shower you with in-game items, help you to succeed and just be your personal white knight.If you're good enough at getting the attention of men, then you can try streaming on Twitch! Make sure to wear cute clothing or just very little clothing in order to maximise revenue. Speak in a cute voice and make sure that your face cam is bigger than the gameplay window. After all, we all know what your viewers really came to see!
So, just act cute, get on their good side and take advantage of their desire for female attention!
 |
| Pink_Sparkles a la Twitch |
How to Not Look Like a Noob
Step 1: Always pick a supportive role, and preferably a scantily clad female character. Act weak and leave the heavy lifting to the men so you can praise them for being so strong and OP.Step 2: When you're in trouble, cry out for help and wait for your male companions to come to your aid. Then thank them for their courage and whatnot.
Step 3: Troll a little bit to get more attention and goof around. Be playful, but don't do something horrible to their character or score. That will yield negative results.
Step 4: If you are able to, take all the kills and resources you can get. It will boost your score and make you seem more impressive.
Step 5: Use gaming and Twitch chat memes to appear funny and to get on their good sides.
Step 6: Profit. By now, you should have a crusade of white knights wrapped around your finger. Keep them within flirty, but friendly terms so that you can reap the benefits for as long as possible! CHA-CHING!
BONUS: If you can pull off a cute high pitched voice over coms, then go for it.
Optimal Games to Play
The optimal games for profit are games that are both popular and multiplayer. The reason for this is so you can maximise your chances of meeting more men. Games with coms are also useful because you will instantly be recognised as a female and be the centre of attention.Some good examples are:
- League of Legends
- One of the most played PC games with many a male. Down side is that there are no coms.
- DoTA 2
- Less popular and more challenging than LoL, but has the benefits of coms.
- WoW
- RPG, therefore good character customization. Also very popular, but costs money.
- CS:GO
- Coms are present, but it's more important that you make calls rather than clogging them up trying to be cute during competitive. Other game modes make this more possible.
Some poor choices are:
- Hearthstone:
- Little to no opportunity for advances.
- Also a no skill, rng reliant, pay to win game. Boo.
- Minecraft
- Blocky characters limit your ability to have an alluring character.
- Mobile Phone games
- Filthy casuals (kidding)
- ANY single player game
- If you're only playing with AI, then how will you make a profit?
Overall, the moral of the story is to pretend to be somebody else in order to take advantage of lonely males online and make a profit... except that it's not. But unfortunately, that's the impression that many people have. You are not some object for men to ogle, you are not some stereotype, and you are not any less qualified to play games as boys.
If you're a female who happens to play video games, then play games for the sake of entertainment and enjoyment. After all, that's what games are made for! Play whatever games you want to. Don't be afraid of what people might think. If it makes you happy, then why should it matter what other people think? Sure being female will garner attention, but it really shouldn't matter what gender you are. You're playing for the same reason that everyone else is: to have fun (or to be alpha as **** and dominate others with your skillz). You aren't some stereotype or a weaker player because you're female. You're just a gamer. So don't be afraid of being a little different and have fun out there.
This blog is a place for all those who identify as females to discuss and to connect with each other. Just because we are a minority, does not mean that we should feel any different towards playing games as males do. However, since we are a minority, this place can act as a safe place, making it easier to meet other females who play games, to chat and to make friends. That being said, it can also be used to spread awareness and spark meaningful discussion between gamers of all genders.
Story Time
It should be noted that games were originally designed to be gender neutral and for people and families of all ages (ie. Pong). In fact, many females were involved in developing early games too. The only reason why games seem to be geared towards males is because of the effects of the video game crash beginning in 1983.The video game crash was caused by a bunch of bad games made by virtually anyone (= = ;), so naturally people lost trust in the quality of the products and stopped buying them. Then Nintendo came in and saved the industry by marketing the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) as a toy and not a gaming console since people still trusted in the quality of toys. To make a good come back with the limited resources that they had, they needed a new marketing strategy. No longer would they target just about everyone, but instead they needed to focus on a specific group to maximise profit.
After conducting some research, they discovered that the number of boys that used their product was more than the number of girls (at the time, boys were more encouraged to get involved with new technology, science, and engineering). And so, coming into the 1990s, they began advertising towards young boys under the age of 10. 5 years later, they advertised the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) to boys aged 10-15. This progression sold the idea that being a gamer was a lifelong attribute, which encouraged them to buy more games, and also solidified the new demographic for video games: boys.
Soon, people forgot that games weren't always only for boys and they believed what the advertisements wanted them to believe. And here we are, left with this notion that there is a huge discrepancy between genders in gaming. In the case of PC and console gaming, this is generally true because of the effects of marketing. However, with the introduction of mobile games and family oriented games, there is more room for female gamers, but there is a new discrepancy between "casual" and "real" games. This is a story for another day.
The point is that games aren't just for boys. That was never true. It was only something that people believed because of a marketing ploy that started up back in the late 80s and 90s. So don't worry and just have fun.
- Sarah Zhang
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