10 Ways The Gaming Industry Can Further Engage The Female Audience

Regardless of what state you believe the video game industry to be in when it comes to gender politics, it's acceptable for us to acknowledge how far we've come in just 10 years. No longer are games like Beyond Good and Evil, where a female protagonist exists without being objectified, instantly considered inevitable failures. Games like Mass Effect, Tomb Raider, Dragon Age and even Bayonetta are starting to reveal how effective it is for video game companies to craft games that appeal to both genders, which is both a profitable and moral direction for us to go in as video games continue to evolve as a medium. But there is much more work to be done. Specifically, the video game industry has many lessons to learn and adapt to if they want to cultivate this growing audience of female gamers who are serious about spending money on great games. Hopefully, we'll see some of these changes become less radical as time goes on. Let the countdown begin!

10. Hire More Female Writers

One of the worst myths out there about women and video games is this odd notion that they only like casual games. The false assumption is that putting out a game based on a "female property" (like Bratz or some other nonsense) for the Nintendo Wii is going to suddenly awaken the wallets of the female gaming demographic. No. Women, like men, love good stories and immersive games. They like fleshed out characters and a world that they feel a part of. You know why? Because women aren't honestly that different from men when it comes to this medium. To that point, the best way to make women feel more included in the games they already love is to let more of them write the stories. This is not a difficult task as there are some amazing female writers already making a big name for themselves in the industry, and this is helped by an increase in the understanding that yes, diversity is a good thing.