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Week 4 Comment on Alexis's Week 2 Entry

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Alexis's entry is interesting to me because today it is a common assumption that video games are made for and target marketed to gross boys. But when did this change occur?

I remember waaaaaaay waaaaaaaay back on our family's Apple II, I used to play a game called "Oo Topos" or something like that. It was a text based game. I remember going through a castle, finding items and making choices about them. But the memory is fuzzy. I just remember it was a 3D/spatial game, but the player created the space in her mind. There were no graphics at all, let alone 3D graphics.

Then came the Atari system. My sister and I played a lot of Frogger. There was no objectification of women, no shooting, just a frog that the player had to get across the street. If the frog got splatted by oncoming traffic and died, that round ended. Now that I think about it, it's not exactly a feminist message, but we didn't think about whether it was "for girls" or "for boys" any more than we asked that about kickball or climbing trees or playing with Fashion Plates.

My sister like Mario Brothers, and I didn't like the graphics. But we both really really liked Road Rash. It was a driving game, and I still use the skills I developed from the game when driving the tight curves of Highway 1 or Highway 17.

So what is different about the 70s and 80s and now? Now, there is a lot more marketing, everywhere you look. We were marketed to as kids in the 70s and 80s, but we were not as inundated. We did what we did, only grandparents suggested there were things "for girls" and things "for boys." It was so old school, back then.
Two, American culture is more militaristic now, or more celebratory of militarism. I grew up in an era when men wore flowered shirts to say screw the Viet Nam war. NRA probable has more power now, too. It would be interesting to see a study that followed their involvement with the game industry, if one exists. Logic suggests one probably does...
Three, there are fewer, yes FEWER women in computer science. So maybe when more women were in CS, more women were involved in game design?
Four, we still played outside. We'd play video games in the winter, or we played for an hour and then moved on. We didn't get addicted to video games back then. Why do kids now? Is it more adrenaline? More hyper-realistic graphics? Less attention from too-busy parents?
Lots of interesting angles from which to ponder this cultural shift.

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Excellent points! Susana Ruiz Excellent points!
Contents of this reply:
1. Week 4 Comment on Alexis's Week 2 Entry Alexis's entry is interesting to me because today it is a common assumption that video games are made for and target marketed to gross boys. But when did this change occur? I remember waaaaaaay waaaaaaaay back on our family's Apple II, I used to play a game called "Oo Topos" or something like that. It was a text based game. I remember going through a castle, finding items and making choices about them. But the memory is fuzzy. I just remember it was a 3D/spatial game, but the player created the space in her mind. There were no graphics at all, let alone 3D graphics. Then came the Atari system. My sister and I played a lot of Frogger. There was no objectification of women, no shooting, just a frog that the player had to get across the street. If the frog got splatted by oncoming traffic and died, that round ended. Now that I think about it, it's not exactly a feminist message, but we didn't think about whether it was "for girls" or "for boys" any more than we asked that about kickball or climbing trees or playing with Fashion Plates. My sister like Mario Brothers, and I didn't like the graphics. But we both really really liked Road Rash. It was a driving game, and I still use the skills I developed from the game when driving the tight curves of Highway 1 or Highway 17. So what is different about the 70s and 80s and now? Now, there is a lot more marketing, everywhere you look. We were marketed to as kids in the 70s and 80s, but we were not as inundated. We did what we did, only grandparents suggested there were things "for girls" and things "for boys." It was so old school, back then. Two, American culture is more militaristic now, or more celebratory of militarism. I grew up in an era when men wore flowered shirts to say screw the Viet Nam war. NRA probable has more power now, too. It would be interesting to see a study that followed their involvement with the game industry, if one exists. Logic suggests one probably does... Three, there are fewer, yes FEWER women in computer science. So maybe when more women were in CS, more women were involved in game design? Four, we still played outside. We'd play video games in the winter, or we played for an hour and then moved on. We didn't get addicted to video games back then. Why do kids now? Is it more adrenaline? More hyper-realistic graphics? Less attention from too-busy parents? Lots of interesting angles from which to ponder this cultural shift.
Excellent points! Susana Ruiz Excellent points!
Contents of this reply:
1. Week 4 Comment on Alexis's Week 2 Entry Alexis's entry is interesting to me because today it is a common assumption that video games are made for and target marketed to gross boys. But when did this change occur? I remember waaaaaaay waaaaaaaay back on our family's Apple II, I used to play a game called "Oo Topos" or something like that. It was a text based game. I remember going through a castle, finding items and making choices about them. But the memory is fuzzy. I just remember it was a 3D/spatial game, but the player created the space in her mind. There were no graphics at all, let alone 3D graphics. Then came the Atari system. My sister and I played a lot of Frogger. There was no objectification of women, no shooting, just a frog that the player had to get across the street. If the frog got splatted by oncoming traffic and died, that round ended. Now that I think about it, it's not exactly a feminist message, but we didn't think about whether it was "for girls" or "for boys" any more than we asked that about kickball or climbing trees or playing with Fashion Plates. My sister like Mario Brothers, and I didn't like the graphics. But we both really really liked Road Rash. It was a driving game, and I still use the skills I developed from the game when driving the tight curves of Highway 1 or Highway 17. So what is different about the 70s and 80s and now? Now, there is a lot more marketing, everywhere you look. We were marketed to as kids in the 70s and 80s, but we were not as inundated. We did what we did, only grandparents suggested there were things "for girls" and things "for boys." It was so old school, back then. Two, American culture is more militaristic now, or more celebratory of militarism. I grew up in an era when men wore flowered shirts to say screw the Viet Nam war. NRA probable has more power now, too. It would be interesting to see a study that followed their involvement with the game industry, if one exists. Logic suggests one probably does... Three, there are fewer, yes FEWER women in computer science. So maybe when more women were in CS, more women were involved in game design? Four, we still played outside. We'd play video games in the winter, or we played for an hour and then moved on. We didn't get addicted to video games back then. Why do kids now? Is it more adrenaline? More hyper-realistic graphics? Less attention from too-busy parents? Lots of interesting angles from which to ponder this cultural shift.

Contents of this reply:

Week 2