Comments on: Competition in Videogames and Gender http://www.pixiepalace.com/2009/11/11/competition-in-videogames-and-gender/ Talking about children\'s books and gender issues in stories and media Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:33:28 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rosepixie http://www.pixiepalace.com/2009/11/11/competition-in-videogames-and-gender/comment-page-1/#comment-49597 Rosepixie Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:34:50 +0000 http://www.pixiepalace.com/?p=4153#comment-49597 I'm glad you've had good experiences, Scarybug. I, personally, have observed far more instances of the kind of negative interchanges described in the original article and in mine in console games than in online games (XBox Live, etc.). It all depends on the community and not only does every game have it's own community, but there are pocket communities within games. But it's still a problem. I’m glad you’ve had good experiences, Scarybug. I, personally, have observed far more instances of the kind of negative interchanges described in the original article and in mine in console games than in online games (XBox Live, etc.). It all depends on the community and not only does every game have it’s own community, but there are pocket communities within games. But it’s still a problem.

]]> By: Scarybug http://www.pixiepalace.com/2009/11/11/competition-in-videogames-and-gender/comment-page-1/#comment-49590 Scarybug Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:39:36 +0000 http://www.pixiepalace.com/?p=4153#comment-49590 I admit I don't play games with strangers that often, but with my experience of the original StarCraft and Team Fortress 2, the most common communication given for winning or losing is "gg". (Good Game) Fiero is an important emotion to instill when designing a game. Being totally shut-out is no fun in competitive games, but losing a close match can be almost as fun as winning in the right social environment. Winning in a shut-out can be satisfying, but it usually fails at instilling fiero. That's why competitive team games try so hard to make sure the teams get balanced after a shut-out, and why 1v1 games online try to match you against players of a similar skill level. I'm not saying the abuse doesn't happen, I've certainly heard a lot of horror stories, but my personal experience at least shows that there's a model out there for good-sportsmanship in competitive online gaming. I admit I don’t play games with strangers that often, but with my experience of the original StarCraft and Team Fortress 2, the most common communication given for winning or losing is “gg”. (Good Game)

Fiero is an important emotion to instill when designing a game. Being totally shut-out is no fun in competitive games, but losing a close match can be almost as fun as winning in the right social environment. Winning in a shut-out can be satisfying, but it usually fails at instilling fiero. That’s why competitive team games try so hard to make sure the teams get balanced after a shut-out, and why 1v1 games online try to match you against players of a similar skill level.

I’m not saying the abuse doesn’t happen, I’ve certainly heard a lot of horror stories, but my personal experience at least shows that there’s a model out there for good-sportsmanship in competitive online gaming.

]]> By: Danc http://www.pixiepalace.com/2009/11/11/competition-in-videogames-and-gender/comment-page-1/#comment-49355 Danc Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:14:53 +0000 http://www.pixiepalace.com/?p=4153#comment-49355 Appreciate the thoughtful discussion of the topic. I didn't address the issues of competition in women directly since there was less research available, but I think you've provided some good insights around the alienating lad culture that poisons online core games. Here's an interesting article that gives some insight: http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/steroids-testosterone-women.htm (the original paper is unfortunately behind a paywall) The quote for me is ""Those who are motivated to play rugby because they enjoy having teammates and bonding experienced a much greater rise in pre-competition testosterone than those who were not motivated by bonding." So women get jazzed if they are competing <b>for</b> their friends. Appreciate the thoughtful discussion of the topic. I didn’t address the issues of competition in women directly since there was less research available, but I think you’ve provided some good insights around the alienating lad culture that poisons online core games.

Here’s an interesting article that gives some insight:
http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/steroids-testosterone-women.htm (the original paper is unfortunately behind a paywall)

The quote for me is “”Those who are motivated to play rugby because they enjoy having teammates and bonding experienced a much greater rise in pre-competition testosterone than those who were not motivated by bonding.”

So women get jazzed if they are competing for their friends.

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