Sexual Aspect of Gaming

During our last meeting, the artists brought up their ideas for female armor. This, of course, was in drastic contrast to male armor that was practical and realistic. Historically speaking, women have worn armor designed for men whenever they were deployed to the battlefield. Because of the cost involved in designing and manufacturing armor, and the relatively few number of women who are required to wear it, armor has never been specifically designed for women (except, of course, for Roman gladiators, who often wore armor exposing one breast).

But in our society, sex sells. Both Hollywood and the game industry push the idea of form fitting armor for women, often to the point of booby cups and armored bras, and it has not only become acceptable, but expected. Of course, this notion is backed by the "fact" that the vast majority of gamers are teenage boys. However, According to ESA, a 2008 survey concluded that 60% of gamers were male, and the average age was 35. In fact, News Week concluded that only 3% fewer girls aged 8 to 12 play games compared to boys the same age and 7% less between the ages of 13 to 17.

The article contributes the ever growing social factor of games for this substantial increase in female gamers. But it also means that designers must focus on more than the "teenage boy" customer if they hope to produce a successful game. Does this mean that more conservative character design should be applied to all games?

Absolutely not. Game design is about bringing a vision into reality, not about bending to the current social morays. For games like Age of Conan, expressive sexuality is a primary component of the lore and appeal. For a game like Firestorm, it is very difficult to add strong sexual undertones in a universe ruled by practicality. It is cheaper and more efficient for a military to adopt a "one size fits all" approach to clothing, body armor, and weapons.

So the question is, at what point would character design be the most optimal for both the spirit of the game and appeal to players who desire a more stylized approach? I've given it a bit of thought, and I've come to the conclusion that this is an opportunity, not a challenge.

The Human empire in Firestorm stretches across 400 different planets, each with their own resources for basic material production. It is entirely possible for BDU's from one planet to allow for a more comfortable fit on women, while another is desperate enough that production must be maximized by producing only one type of product. For mercenaries, this produces a large and fluctuating market of goods. For players, it means finding the armor they want in a particular style is both challenging and rewarding. It also allows for more creative freedom, as armor or weapons from different cultures can appear drastically different.

Bearing this in mind, it is worth mentioning that games like Modern Warfare 2 have no sexual undertones whatsoever, but still sell a record number of copies. Designing a game is about creating something that is, above all else, fun to play.