Female Portrayal In Games

There is an interesting blog post from an Indie Developer over at GBGames' Blog that discusses the portrayal of females in video games. He makes an interesting point about attracting non-gamers with traditional game "stereotypes and highly-sexualized imagery".

I find this point interesting because I think he is correct. The traditional ways of high violence and great graphics are not going to attract non-gamers or even casual gamers like they do the hard core gamer. The casual gamers like to be able to sit down and play games that do not take a lot of time to learn or gain skill in. They can sit down and play them then get up and do what they need to do.

He goes on to mention that women are rarely playable characters and when they are playable characters they are sexualized with boobs with realistic physics. Many people read to much into things like this, but he does make you think. Most of the time it doesn't bother me if women are sexualized in games, but if they are the selling point of a game I find it disturbing. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball is such a game. There needs to be more to a game then chicks playing volleyball on a beach.

He goes on to talk about network play as well. It can be hard to play online if you are a female, but more so in first person shooter type games than casual games. If you are into playing first person shooters, you will have to deal with some derogatory name calling at times. Occasionally, casual gamers may have to deal with this, but probably not as often.

The blog definitely raises some interesting points and makes you stop and think.

Thanks GBGames Blog

Father's Day Sale

First I would like to say happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. Anawiki, a casual game company, is doing the same. For Saturday and Sunday only you can get 50% off of their games by entering the code FATHERSDAY2007. Most of the games on the site cost $19.95.

This is a great opportunity to pick up some casual games for an even cheaper than normal price. Anawiki sells the Chocolate Castle game I blogged about yesterday. They have a pretty good selection of games so head on over and check it out.

They also have a new game available Runes of Avalon. Runes of Avalon is a match 3 puzzle game set in a fantasy world. The more matches you make the more magic you gain. To clear the level you have to fill up your magic ball. If you like match 3 games, you should check this one out.

Thanks Anawiki

A Casual Gamer Could Go Broke

Many people complain about the high price of video games for console gaming systems, but I was thinking about casual games and in essence they can cost more than non-casual video games. I know most casual games fall into the free or inexpensive category, but if you buy a few games to play you can end up spending $60 before you know it.

The difference is that you need to buy two or three casual games before you spend the price of one Xbox 360 or PS3 console game. If you are really into casual gaming or like to play a few games at once to get a variety, then you could be set back some dough.

I think casual games are entertaining and are indeed inexpensive, but when I got to really thinking about it I discovered you could go broke buying casual games.

Chocolate and Puzzles, What Could Be Better?

Chocolate Castle is an interesting puzzle game. The developer decided to combine a puzzle game and chocolate. There are four different kinds of chocolate that need to be eaten and four different little animals that eat each kind of chocolate.

The puzzle type game comes into play when the animals eat the chocolate. After the animals eat their chocolate they are gone from the screen. You need to group all of the chocolate colors together and make them touch each other for the animal to eat the entire chocolate color. There is a catch, once you group the chocolate pieces together into a bigger group you can not take them apart. There is a redo and an undo in the game so if you make a mistake you can easily fix it.

As the levels progress of course they get harder. There are different obstacles that are in the way of you grouping the chocolate together. The animals are also surrounded by a different color chocolate than they eat so you need to free them before they can eat their chocolate.

The graphics are from 1985 and the time of the Nintendo Entertainment System. The graphics may be older, but they definitely fit the game and do not seem out of place at all.

I only downloaded the demo and played the first four levels, but I can definitely see this game getting addicting. If you like puzzle games, you should check out Chocolate Castle.

Check out what some other people on the web are saying:

It’s such a delightfully simple concept that can lead to some extremely fiendish puzzle play and if you’re a puzzle game fan I suspect this should be in your “must-have” collection. Apart from the huge number of puzzles it appears to come with there is also a level editor which should extend its play life too.”
- Caspian Prince, Game Tunnel

“All the elements are in and perfect. There are a small set of different puzzle elements, but each one greatly expands the possibilities, all of which are explored over the course of 120 levels.”
- Mike Hommel

Thanks Anawiki Blog

Just another break out game? Doesn't sound like it

Everybody has heard of the game breakout. Breakout has been redone time and time again with different spins put on it each time. Briktopia was a classic breakout game with a different spin of Lego blocks others such as 3D breakout added three demensions to the game. The list of clones goes on and on, but Ricochet Infinity, from Reflexive Entertainment, adds a much different spin to the normal breakout game.

Ricochet Infinity adds space ships and outer space to the breakout game. The paddle is a spaceship and the levels contain various planets in the galaxy. Gamezebo was able to preview the game and had this to say regarding the ambiance "The bricks are all in 3-D and smoothly animated -- in fact, some bricks will fly around in an elliptical pattern like satellites - so trying to hit some of these moving targets could be challenging. The designs of these bricks have to be seen to be believed, including one that resembles a huge metal car driving up and over rolling hills, complete with wheels that act like bombs."

This sounds like a great spin on an old game. Any game that adds outer space to the game play is a good game. What could be better than a breakout clone that takes place in the galaxy?

Ricochet Infinity will have over 200 levels to play with unlockable chapters, but the best part is the community contributed levels. There have been many levels designed by the community that will be available for download. "There are also three multiplayer "Mouse Party" options, which requires two mice attached to the same PC: one is a cooperative mode, another is a competitive mode and a third is a "Tailgunner" option, where one player controls the ship and the other controls the ball."

Ricochet Infinity sounds like great fun. Look for its release in July.

Thanks Gamezebo

What is a casual game?

There are many definitions for casual games, but the one I like is from wikipedia. The definition they give is "Casual games usually have a few simple rules and an engaging game design, making it easy for a new player to begin playing the game in just minutes. They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer."

The part I like about this definition is the part that states they require no long-term commitment or special skills. Just about anyone can sit down and start playing a casual game. There are no special skills that you need.

I find casual games can be very addicting. I always tell myself after this level I have to do "blah" and then I finish that level and it I keep playing the next level. I get sucked in and can't seem to put the game down. Doesn't seem to matter the type of casual game either. I like all different types of casual games, such word games, strategy games, etc. I get addicted to them all.

I like the fact that you don't need any special skills to play these games. Nor do you have to keep trying to beat them over and over again. There are no "bosses" at the end of the game levels that you have to beat to get by. Beating a boss requires practice and knowledge of that boss. Beating a level in a casual game requires a short amount of time and thats it.