Q: On your website, it is stated that Sirenia’s goal is to produce "technically sophisticated, fun" games for girls. Explain what that means to you and why you are emphasizing those characteristics of games.
A: For a while it was considered OK to develop a title for girls using really old or just plain lame technology with the excuse that they put more into the "content" because that’s what girls want. Well, that don’t fly in my book.
Girls today aren’t dumb and I won’t treat them as if they are. They see what their brothers are playing, heck they probably play some of those games themselves. And they are the fastest growing population segment on the internet today. They are technically savvy and they know what’s out there. To hand them three year old technology is pretty insulting.
Now, there is a caveat to that. When Dad decides he wants a hotter machine, what does he do with the old one? Does he give it to his son? Nope, he gives the old one to his daughter. My research indicates that a huge number of girls have hand-me-down machines, which means they are about a year behind in technology. Does that mean we have to design "dumber" or lamer games? Heck no, it means we have to work double hard to make last years' machines look as good and run as good as this years'! It means we have to really optimize code and squeeze everything out of it we can.
Q: What do you think about the common criticisms of girl games (examples: they are just as sexist as traditional shoot-em-up games for boys; they reinforce limiting gender stereotypes-- like girls are only interested in fashion, shopping, and popularity; they reinforce the notion that girls need games of their own because they don’t have the inherent capability to compete in male games)?
A: I addressed most of this in question 5. I believe we need to provide girls computer entertainment that is FUN, just FUN, for the girls. My goal is to make sure that girls have as much fun behind their keyboards as their brothers are. And if that means we do games about shopping, hair and makeup, then so be it.
However, one of the misconceptions flying around is that "girls’ games" is a single genre, sorta like RPG’s or Flight sims. It is not. "Girls’ games" is a market. There are girls that will love games about shopping, hair and makeup, there are girls that love puzzle games, there are girls that love RPG style games and there are girls that love first person shooters. We need to provide lots of different style games because not all girls are alike! We can’t pigeon hole all girls into one type of gamer.
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