Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: new perspectives on girls and games

The number of women and girl gamers has risen considerably in the last ten years. Women are now the majority of casual gamers; girl players participate in large numbers in virtual worlds, and professional all female teams are successful in competitions. Despite this, gender disparities remain in gaming. Women may be warriors in World of Warcraft, but they are also scantily clad "booth babes" whose sex appeal is used to promote games at trade shows. Player-generated content has revolutionized gaming, but few games marketed to girls allow "modding". Women may be into gaming but few venture into industry. In this talk, I'll examine the experiences of girl and women players in gaming communities; the need for different perspectives in game design; and concerns related to emerging serious games - games meant not only to entertain but also to educate, persuade, or change behavior. My goal is to look beyond the differences and to learn how we can design games that offer motivating, challenging, and enriching contexts for play to a more diverse population of players.