Since I'm new to the Game Positive staff, I wanted to introduce myself via blog. And what better topic to blog about than the world of the female gamer? I spend a lot of time playing with and chatting with other girl gamers. Sometimes I seek them out subconsciously like some kind of strange girl gaming metal detector. A few years ago, I woke up and found that all my gaming friends were men. This was around the same time that I was spending my nights playing Halo online. (And to this day, I can assure you that the Halo crowd is not one that lets women forget their gender.)

Today, women gamers are everywhere I look. Whether it's on Xbox Live or waiting in line for Phantom Hourglass. But it's still a sad glance at any end credits when I realize that women are such a minority in the industry - as programmers, designers, artists, producers, or testers. And the review biz is the same way.

There was an interesting article a couple weeks ago in the Sydney Morning Herald reflecting on the growing female gaming demographic and the apparent lack of titles "being made for women." Honestly, there were a lot of good points raised by both the reporter (Jason Hill) and the women he interviewed. But the whole "games made for women" idea just confuses me.

When I think of a game made for women, I think of one of two things: an "adult" game that monopolizes on property already supported by women (like Sex in the City or Desperate Housewives) or a so-called "pink" game that isn't really catering to women - it's catering to little girls (like Barbie or Hello Kitty). I think if a game developer decides to make a game for women, they're already starting off on the wrong foot. But I'll get more into that later.

It's true that a lot of women play casual games: puzzle games, cell phone games, web games. But that should be telling developers something! These women play these games no matter what the subject matter is. They don't restrict themselves to playing with Oprah-themed solitaire decks or Bejeweled with puppies, kittens, and babies. I believe there are certain gameplay elements that appeal to certain women - and that this holds true for male gamers and the largely untapped hardcore female gamer audience too.

So what do women like? Well, in many cases, they like character development and storytelling. They like puzzling and adventuring, discovering something new about a world and using this knowledge to their advantage. And they like cooperation and teamwork. I observe this in all kinds of game genres. When I play with women in an FPS, I find that they're much more likely to strategize, work together, familiarize themselves with a map, and get the most out of whatever assets they have. Men will often turn to improving individual skill before they talk strategy; how to aim better, kill faster, etc.

Now, before I go further, I have to be clear that these generalizations are, like all generalizations, huge stereotypes! There are, of course, many women who couldn't care less about character development in a video game. And lots of men who are incredible team players the day they first pick up a game controller. So, please don't be insulted if you feel I've miscast you, the reader, in some poor light.

A couple weeks ago, Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski notoriously announced that Gears of War 2 is going to be more "girlfriend-friendly". The female gaming community didn't take kindly to this statement. Was CliffyB implying that women are in need of lower difficulty settings? I didn't take it as an insult at all. I think that he was appealing to his largely male audience with promises that the sequel might not alienate the casual and non-gamers that most men know. He did, after all, say "girlfriend-friendly" and not "girl-friendly."

Still, it's a shame that Bleszinski's statements are so easily taken out of context. Even in context, he's reinforcing the stereotype that women are casual gamers and, therefore, require some sort of special catering.

Anyway, this is probably a bit more complicated than I can resolve in a blog, but that's my take for the time being. Game Positive hired me as a gamer and as a writer, not as a woman. So I know there are some people who "get it." In the meantime, I'm waiting for the bulk of the game industry to catch up.

If we're talking about "making a game for women," I say to hell with the "pink" subject matter and let's just focus on making a great game and marketing it in a way that ensures the female gaming population knows it's there. Maybe this is because I am female, but I think that a good game has all the elements that supposedly appeal to women anyway. Great games have character development and storytelling. Great multiplayer involves cooperation and problem-solving. And adventure stories feature puzzling and engrossing worlds.

I am far less interested in so-called "games for women" than I am in high-quality titles for everyone.