This is Pandora. A short intro may be in order: I am a gamer geek who also happens to be a girl - we exist, honest! I play RPGs, table top games and console games and I take all of them very seriously. By seriously I mean I have a large collection of XBox games, I have characters for several RPGs and I have a fair few Warhammer and Warhammer 40K armies and a Warmachine army. Which is the point of the first piece that I am doing. I would like to point out that I know this isn't the case all of the time, with all people - this is based on some of my experiences and some experiences I know other girls have had.
First of all, back off into the mists of time, when I was still in college, my group of friends would often go to the local LAN arena to play. Normally this would mean a first person shooter, mainly Call of Duty, Day of Defeat, Battlefield Vietnam or Halo; and although I am not usually a PC gamer - preferring consoles for the lack of having to upgrade once a week to be able to run new releases. I became very good at them - note the DM and 4G can back this up, and I'm not just bragging. For example, holding off in a 2 vs. 1 scenario on Battlefield Vietnam for an hour and a half, and the other team having to napalm me out in the end. Now most of the people I played with did take me seriously, but I did get the occasional comment of "You're good … for a girl." This is the most rage inducing statement that anyone could make to me. I don't see why that should affect my ability to play computer games.
Ah, I hear you say that was then and this is now. Well this also goes into the game retail industry, and is still ongoing to this day. For example, imagine the total annoyance of this scenario: you are out shopping and find something you want to buy, but whilst you are trying to pay for said item the person serving is talking past you to the person you are with. This has happened to me on more than one occasion buying games, but only ever when the person I am shopping with is a guy. This has even happened when the person I am with has explained the game is for me and I am the one who is going to play it, but they still talked past me to them. This kind of leads me onto another point: this has only happened when I am buying FPS or combat/fighting games. Where as if I am buying an RPG or especially a JRPG I have never had that happen. Is there some sort of unwritten law that its fine for girls to be into some game types and not others? If so, why? I am good at FPS games, and beat 'em up games, though I still can't beat Auros at Soul Calibur - as well as RPGs. This happened recently enough for the game I was buying to be Red Dead Redemption.
I have to say I have been lucky with pen and paper RPGing, the group I play with, when I get chance, are totally cool with the idea that I am perfectly capable of playing, coming up with plans and kicking ass in most RPG scenarios. Table top war gaming, however, is a different matter. For example I have been told that for Warhammer and 40K that I have "typical girl armies." Again, another rage inducing statement. My armies are chosen because I like the models, background fluff and abilities of said army. For example, the first army I collected was the Sisters of Battle; not because it was a "girl's army" but because I like the idea of battle nuns. I liked the models and thought I could build and play well with them. My choice was that simple. It would be the same incentive guys use to buy their armies; Space Marines, for example, is a typical "guy army."
So there is my rant, I have tried not to get too wound up. I am sure there are a few girls out there who have similar, or worse experiences, and there are lots of people who take girl gamers seriously. It just seems the industry at large doesn't - games aimed at a female audience is a totally separate rant that I won't start now.
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