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<blockquote data-quote="Merkuri" data-source="post: 5342019" data-attributes="member: 41321">Do you know why video gaming is becoming more popular with women?&nbsp; I can sum it up with two words: The Sims.The video gaming hobby has changed over the past few years, and The Sims was the first game to have around a 50/50 split in gender of players.&nbsp; After that, game manufacturers realized that women could be interested in video games if they were the right video games.&nbsp; They started making and marketing more games to women.I'm a female gamer (both in the RPG and the video game sense) and nothing turns me off from a game (or anything) like seeing it advertised with scantily-clad big-breasted women.&nbsp; I understand your main demographic is teenage males, but you're actively driving away the women that might have been interested in your game.This may not translate exactly to the RPG hobby because RPGs were never advertised much to begin with, but a reputation feeds on itself.&nbsp; If people think of RPGs as a mostly male hobby then women will be less interested in looking into it.&nbsp; If you want more women in the hobby then you need to stop reinforcing the stereotype that RPGs are mostly for men.The books themselves have been making progress in this regards but in mostly subtle ways.&nbsp; They do not assume that all players are male, and they pretty equally use male and female pronouns to refer to players and PCs alike.&nbsp; There is also a bit of momentum away from the sexy chainmail bikini female art and towards art where male and female heroes are represented (and clothed/armored) equally.I guess what I'm saying is that if you want more females in the hobby you need to start leaving behind the idea that RPGs appeal more to men than to women.&nbsp; Just stop thinking that way.&nbsp; Don't treat women in your games any different than men in your games.&nbsp; Don't treat female prospective gamers any differently than male prospective gamers.&nbsp; If you meet a person that you think might be interested in RPGs, introduce them to it and don't worry about what type of genitalia that person has, because it's not going to matter at the table.I feel most comfortable in a game when the other players treat me like a player, not a female player.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Merkuri, post: 5342019, member: 41321"] Do you know why video gaming is becoming more popular with women? I can sum it up with two words: The Sims. The video gaming hobby has changed over the past few years, and The Sims was the first game to have around a 50/50 split in gender of players. After that, game manufacturers realized that women could be interested in video games if they were the right video games. They started making and marketing more games to women. I'm a female gamer (both in the RPG and the video game sense) and nothing turns me off from a game (or anything) like seeing it advertised with scantily-clad big-breasted women. I understand your main demographic is teenage males, but you're actively driving away the women that might have been interested in your game. This may not translate exactly to the RPG hobby because RPGs were never advertised much to begin with, but a reputation feeds on itself. If people think of RPGs as a mostly male hobby then women will be less interested in looking into it. If you want more women in the hobby then you need to stop reinforcing the stereotype that RPGs are mostly for men. The books themselves have been making progress in this regards but in mostly subtle ways. They do not assume that all players are male, and they pretty equally use male and female pronouns to refer to players and PCs alike. There is also a bit of momentum away from the sexy chainmail bikini female art and towards art where male and female heroes are represented (and clothed/armored) equally. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want more females in the hobby you need to start leaving behind the idea that RPGs appeal more to men than to women. Just stop thinking that way. Don't treat women in your games any different than men in your games. Don't treat female prospective gamers any differently than male prospective gamers. If you meet a person that you think might be interested in RPGs, introduce them to it and don't worry about what type of genitalia that person has, because it's not going to matter at the table. I feel most comfortable in a game when the other players treat me like a player, not a female player. [/QUOTE]

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