To post in 10 minutes or to not post...? That is the question. =]

Alright, so I'm in a bit of a time crunch to write this post since I pretty much burned all the available time on Guitar Hero-ing... but I'll manage. This one week deal has started out quite well with all the video gaming and all, but... I don't think that contributes to acheiving the pretty serious objective that this entire program is aiming for (y'know, getting girls immersed in the technical parts of technology). Don't get me wrong, I think this is reallyreallyreally fun and IT IS summer and all (nobody wants to focus their minds on something serious over the summer...), but this program really needs to do something more... hard and objective. Mmm, I still have had a great time though in these last couple semesters, but I wanted to throw this out there, for once. I hope I've communicated this idea in other ways before publishing this post, but hey... blogs are feedbacks/commentaries, so this is a good place to put some thoughts.

As for Sweetwater... West Texas has definitely grown on me during this summer. I spent 5 weeks at Texas Tech University at Lubbock earlier this summer and had an absolutely amazing time there. I guess I've slightly associated that experience with this one, so I'm optimistic. If otherwise, I'll get through this day by day. :D

Hmm... random sentiment, I'm definitely really tired of Guitar Hero at this point in time. =/ Maybe a couple days of separation would do me good. Hokay, 'til later people! <3

Games and my day

Today was a lot of fun, and I played Guitar hero for the first time. I know I'm such a loser haha. Oh well, I'll be cool one day hehe. So today we talked a lot about video games and who we think are the targeted audience for those games. The games inculded Smash Brothers, Mortal Kombat, Halo, and a Wii game called Monkey Ball. The differences between those games are pretty far from each other. The ones with all of the fighting and shooting or stabbing such as Mortal Kombat and Halo are geared towards the male youth I think. The women in Mortal Kombat fight in low cut tops and tiny skirts and high heels. I can hardly walk in those let alone fight a large winged beast. All of the outfits of course are for entertainment value but how entertaining can it be to a 17 year old girl...honestly? I think in some ways that kind of thing is degrading to women but it doesn't offend me in the slightest. I'm just worried about beating down who ever is trying to kick me at the time. That's about all for today...

Who woulda thunk?

Today is the first official day of Summer Academy. Today we played various video games in this extremely air-conditioned room, including SmashBros. on Game Cube, Monkey Ball on Wii, Mortal Kombat on PS2, Halo on XBox 360, and Guitar Hero on XBox/Wii. Some I liked more than others but I was especially surprised to have enjoyed playing Halo. I've played it once before but never really gave it a chance until today. I was actually pretty good at it after a little while. After playing all these games, we discussed the stereotypes and issues surrounding video games. We mostly agreed that girls are inferior when it comes to video games. We all observed that even though there are female characters in popular video games, their outfits are sexy and barely there. At the end of our discussion, we were asked who considered themselves a "gamer". Out of 21, only 4 girls (I was not one of them) considered themselves to be gamers. This showed how real the issue actually was when only a handful of girls were big on games, concluding our discussion. All in all, I enjoyed today because it was really fun playing these games for the first time....in a very long time.

On the First Day

Today was the first full day of our wonderful Sweet Water retreat. Starting at 9:30 a.m, we entered the Game Room and played different games on 4 different types of gaming systems. On the XBox, we played Halo which was a little hard, but fun once you got the gist on aiming and shooting ability. On the game cube we played Smash Brothers where we got to play against 3 other people and fight a lot. The character I mostly chose was Bowser because he was one of the biggest creatures and he looked like a ginormous porcupine. I played Mortal Kombat on the Playstation and was surprise by how easy it is to win when you press random buttons. On the Wii, I played MonkeyBall which was a tad hard depending on which game you selected.

After lunch, we came back to the Game Room and got into groups to discuss the suspected target audiences of each game and how women were portrayed, if they were, and how that may influence the gamer's thoughts and ideas. All in all I thought today was a very interesting day. I got to play games I had never played before and lose at Guitar Hero.

Girls and Games

I've noticed that "women as lesser" applies to video games too. Which isn't fair really, because if you were in this room right now with all us girls you'd understand we're very good at video games. All sorts too! We've got Mortal Kombat, Guitar Hero, Super Smash Brothers and all sorts of things... Video games are meant for all sorts of people. Not just boys. I mean, duh, its just moving some character around on a screen with a controller. Is that so hard? Can anyone gender be better at hand-eye coordination? And if you're technically speaking, women would be better since our minds scientifically move faster than boys and can process more at once than boys.

Basically, its a silly stereotype.

First Day of Gaming

Before coming here, I never had full access to Guitar Hero, Wii, Halo, etc. Having a whole day specifically set out to 'game' is pretty much amazing.
It's definitely a new and different experience seeing the gaming world, because I've never been a "gamer". During the school year, I'm so caught up in homework and extracurricular stuff that I don't have time to play Guitar Hero and what not. We had a discussion today about what audience the companies gear their games towards, and it was interesting because it's mostly towards guys ages 15-22. Even though most games are violent, there are some that appeal to girls, like Wii. My favorite was Wii because it was active and forced you to move around a bit. I definitely don't like the 'guy' games (basically the ones with all the violence and blood). It's interesting to see the different characters and the different cheat codes on the various games. Some people are so good at it that they don't even think twice about the cheat codes.
Overall, today was fun and I can't wait to start Second Life and see what it's all about. I'll admit I'm a little skeptical of the purpose of having a "Second Life", but I'm definitely open to learning more about it.

1st day

Today is the first day of IT Girl summer academy, and it's been pretty fun. We've been playing a lot of video games, interacting and hanging out with other IT Girls, and discussing the games played. The discussion wasn't that great because we were saying stuff that everyone already knows. Yea, more guys play than girls; yea, the women in video games are degrading... I just don't feel that we got to learn a lot out of the discussion.... I'm really looking forward to starting second life and can't wait. I love to play Sims, and this sounds like a better version of that game, plus there will be people all over the world to talk to. I love being here and I'm already getting a great experience. Well that's all for now... ti amo!

Very...Interesting.

To be honest, I've always stayed away from playing video games because I just wasn't interested. It's probably one of the last things on my priority list. Naturally, I was a bit hesitant about playing games today. And even though I've played a few games, I'm still not that excited about actually using the console. Most of the time, I just pressed random buttons and hoped for the best. It worked quite well. I still prefer watching my friends' progress instead of playing, though. Maybe it's because I'm not into all the violence and blood...I'd prefer happy, colorful games any day! I guess if I'm ever REALLY bored at a friend's house, I might consider playing...We'll see.

What is a Gamer?

Ok so honestly, I consider a gamer to be this pale, pimply, greasy, anti-social male or female, who uses games as a blanket to mask their own insecurities about being a teenager. Everyone struggles with adolescence and no one likes to feel awkward or out of place, but substituting games for real life human interaction, flaws and all, is in my opinion what is making the youth of America look like a joke. I mean honestly, other than like a tad bit of hand eye coordination, what can people learn from video games that they play for days and hours on end that will benefit them when they have to go to college, get a real job, get married, you know all that normal human behavior? From what I've seen in other people, gaming helps them interact virtually with other hermits like themselves. It also keeps them from getting REAL exercise, not Wii exercise, and keeps them out of the sun, so here they stay on a Saturday night. Not out to a movie with friends or on a date, but at home in their basement eating Cheetos and laughing at what their avatar just said to another avatar in second life. I mean really?! Come on this is the one chance we're teenagers and we are perfectly capable of doing almost all physical activity, we have the strength to lift weights, the good joints to run, and we aren't crippled by old age and a bad hip. Youth is wasted on the young if the young are going to stay inside and waste all their vitality and adolescence inside, playing a game in a virtual world, not a real world, this is virtual people. Honestly I'm not trying to bash all people that enjoy playing video games, I mean more power to you, that has never and will never be my thing...but honestly if these "gamers" would give themselves a chance to make mistakes with guys/girls, school, friends, awkward situations, whatever while they're young they will actually BE prepared for the real world, when we no longer live with our parents and actually have to stand on our own two feet. Please step out of your comfort zones and try new things, get outside, call your friends to go see the new batman movie, have a sleepover, be social, because the more social situations you put yourself in the easier it becomes, and before you know it video games have become just a random hobby in your very busy life.

Girls play games.

Girls play games. Yes, I do mean video games. Video games and Computer Games!!! Rumors otherwise are false. So alright, its true many females like to pick Peach when they play Super Smash Bros, but seriously, why does it matter? Girls understand the concept of games as much as guys do. The whole girls are weaker and won't beat us concept is from the past. Today is different. Unfortunately, today, many games are targeted towards teenage boys. Video game developers, hello, we are out here! Blood and Violence isn't always a major attraction. Wii sports is a favorite with us itgirls. The definition of a gamer may be changing but no one is noticing. Today we learned that the geek is not always the gamer and a gamer could be one who enjoys an hour of computer or video game bliss a week.

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I think that gaming shouldn't be a main priority in life, unless you're truly just bored. I think games in general are an accessible form of temporary entertainment at home. Once you feel tired or you don't want to play anymore you can pull yourself away from it. Right now I'm playing a game on my PSP. Besides the fact that I have it with me almost all the time, I wouldn't consider myself a gamer. Even though I have my PSP with me, I only play it when I have absolutely nothing else to do.

Game Day

I can understand how video games could be fun and a great way to learn for younger kids, but even after playing all of the most popular games today, I still don't think that they should be very high on anyone's list of priorities. Don't get me wrong, I have had the occasional Mario Kart tournament with my cousins, but there are so many different things that you could do with your time that involve the real world and interacting with people. Especially as a senior about to apply to college, there is no way I could even start to play video games regularly even if I wanted to. There's just not enough time in the day.

hmmmm.....video games

So, video games aren't really my thing. Today has been fun playing new games; I love playing the Wii, but I wanted to play the tennis game :(. The only other video games I have played are Gutiar Hero and Rockband. I love playing them both, but I have come to realize that I'm not very musically coordinated. Those games are sometimes a big challenge. Just a few minutes ago I was playing Guitar Hero while it was on medium. The only thing different was the blue button, but it really threw me off.

Girls vs. Guys

My group and I were discussing characters that we pick when we play video games, and most of us admitted to picking the so-called more "girly" characters. Are we just stereotypical girls? Why do we prefer the pink and frilly characters?

For me, at least, it is a matter of competition. Growing up with a twin brother, my brother would pick the macho, "manly" characters and I would pick their female counterparts. It was more about girl power than picking the cutest, sweetest character. And when I beat my brother at the game with my "wimpy," feminine character, there was a sense of pride in being a female character and being able to beat his "macho" character.

But maybe that's just me.

gaming: renewed interest

I've never been much of a 'gamer', so I began the day slightly unexcited about the games that the girlstart councelers were offering. The games included Super Smash Brothers, Halo, Monkeyball, and Mortal Kombat. However, to my suprise, by the end of the day I was enjoying myself and laughing with the other girls. Mortal Kombat was especially fun for me. As a kid I can remember watching the Mortal Kombat movies, so the familiarity with the characters was very appealing to me. I couldn't have imagined how fun it would be for me to fight as and against these mutants that I used to love as a little kid, and I've found that as a young adult that I still have a certain facination with them. In the days to come I plan on becoming more familiar with this game:)

-Avery-

First Full Day in Sweetwater

Today was the first full day in Sweetwater and we started out the day by playing different video games. I've never really played many video games before except for the occasional Wii while I was babysitting or Mario Kart when I was a child. It was fun to experience the different games that I've heard about but haven't played before. However, I wouldn't like to play video games more frequently, like some people I know. If I were to create a video game it would be something similar to Wii, where you don't have to just use your thumbs. It would be cool to create a game where you could stay in your house and play a soccer game with virtual teammates and teams in a virtual game. That way you could work out and have fun playing soccer without having to get a team and field together and traveling. Sure, it wouldn't be as entertaining, but it would still be fun until you could play with an actual team. I'm looking forward to getting issued my own laptop for this week and the lessons to come.

Analyzing Our Games

Hey there everyone!!
This is the first blog that I've ever done so just bear with me okay?

So today the we the ITgirl girls spent most of the morning playing video games. We then discussed these games further and came up with our own opinions about the games themselves and some issues that the games bring up.

I'll go over each game one by one and tell you what thoughts came to me.

First off I'll talk about the Game cube game Super Smash Bros Melee.
It's got to be my favorite of today because I'm a huge Nintendo girl.

The game is, in my opinion, a game that is built for all ages and genders. It has characters to fit all personalities as well, from the the hardcore alien-killer Samus, to the adorable but powerful electric mouse Pikachu.
You could be a little girl or an old man and you will still enjoy yourself.

Smash Bros does have it own down falls though...
Though quirky and fun, the random items and weapons that fall from nowhere can be difficult to take full advantage of. And though it is fun to see the characters get chucked in all directions, the camera movement can get really ridiculous.
In all the chaos and color it can be hard to see what you are doing in general. But when the camera suddenly shoots back about a hundred feet when Bowser gets sent flying, it's almost impossible to tell who's dot is who's.

The other game that I really enjoyed today was Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
Now I've never really been into Mortal Kombat before, mostly because of unpleasant experiences as a little kid, but I'm older and it was a whole lot of fun.
I personally would had turned the blood level down a notch but whatever. The graphics aren't that great anyway, it just looks like red gooey jelly.

I did have fun though, that's one of the cool things about Mortal Kombat.
You don't have to have ANY clue what you're doing to play.

As many people have said over the years, "JUST PRESS BUTTONS!!"

But I did get pretty good at it (Ashrah pwns). And the interactive environments are really cool.
But (and I KNOW that this has been brought up before) what is up with the chicks in this game??
I know they have to be muscular, but the clothes are so skimpy!! As if a death fighter would actually wear a thong and belly shirt (another reason why Ashran rocks... she actually wears clothes).

Well I've got to go, but I'll be back to with Analyzing Our Games part 2.

Gaming.

What a wonderful Monday. I've spent it playing video games and having fun. All of the games have been fairly interesting and, although some are quite violent, it is nice to play them and have a change of scenery. Mortal Combat is a classic violent fighting game, and it is always fairly enjoyable to beat a person silly. Halo took a while to get used to, but once we did Brittany and I enjoyed ourselves and were soon fairly into the game. I think that playing games for a change is a good pace changer, and it was fun to do it with the girls. Today has been fairly fun, and the beanbags in the room are AHHHHMAAAZZINNGGG!!!!

Over and Out.
Kortni.

Gamers; Technology vs. Excercise

To me, stereotypical gamers include pale, nerdy, usually obese boys who spend all of their time in their rooms playing video games all day. Today we discussed how we classify gamers, and also the different types of social issues video games promote. I am not much of a video game player myself, considering I only play about one hour a month, but I firmly believe that extensive gaming leads to many physical and social issues. Obesity is a problem already in America today, and video games provide an accessible and easy alternative to excercise. When I was younger, I always played outside. Many kids today don't realize the capability they have to excercise more than we can as adults, because they have much more energy. Healthy adults with an active excercise schedule usually start this pattern at a very young age. It frustrates me that kids are relying more on technology and proning themselves to obesity later on in life. I love technology -- don't get me wrong -- but there some things, such as excercise, that technology should never replace. I also don't really know very many girl gamers; most gamers I know are teenage boys or young-adult men, even though I know that is very stereotypical. I'm not the most social butterfly of the bunch, but I'm far from being a hermit either, which is what I consider gamers to be. I know there are a lot of people that don't fit these stereotypes, but, from personal observation, technology should never replace the good old-fashioned excercise just because video games are easier and not as much physical work.

2nd Life Event

Today I thought that the event went pretty well except for the fact that no one went to my art museum ;=(

Our event in SL is underway this afternoon and after a week of building and preparing, everyone is super excited. The girls have learned a ton in SL, have made some new virtual friends and have done a great job working in teams to create five very different
fun exhibits: a Fashion Show, an Art Museum, an informational Maze, an exhibit on Women in Technology and a dance club.
We're all completely amazed at all the hard work and creativity that has gone into this event and are just enjoying watching the audience reactions.












Here are some of our marketing representatives welcoming participants to the overall event.












Here is our Fashion Show group taking their bows after their first runway show.
We're taking tons of photos that we'll post throughout the day.

Second Life

Today was somewhat frustationing because I tried to delete some text but instead I deleted a whole wall in my muesum....as you can see in the picture. But other than that today was pretty cool because I was able to put up all my pictures up for my muesum with their information so I cant wait to show off my pretty muesum....LOL.

Day Two in Second Life

Woo! We got some awesome stuff going on! The club is up! Oh yeah! We got the colors fixed, so every thing looks really cool. We are going to have the best dance club ever!

Day 3: Creating Event

Second Life has been a very frustrating experience. Computers freeze and building has been complicated. But as for our space and event planning it has been going pretty well, we have improved on our section and have built a lot. We are looking forward to see our finished event and to see how well it plays out and see how other people react to our message of Latinas in Technology.

Group Blog (Fashion)

Despite our hatred for the freezing screens, we are all having a great time
with making the run way, the rotating sign, the backstage, chairs and the
various costumes that will be worn at the event.

We want sweet snacks. Robin should share her M&Ms :)

Women Maze Project

Our group is creating a maze with different rooms. In each room there will be 3 cutouts of different technological careers. When the people get into the room they will take a picture behind the cutout. They will be able to pick up the pictures at the end of the maze. We have created the outside walls and have started to create the rooms. We have selected all the careers we are going to use and we have found all the cutouts. A lot of the walls aren't together but it is coming along. We hope to have most of the rooms and walls done by 5. We are getting really frustrated but we are sort of staying calm. :)

Second Teen Life

This website is so AWESOME. I am getting more into it as we continue to create our exhibits for Friday. My experience in this virtual world is beyond what I can put into words because I never had an opportunity to have this experience and I know that I will remember this event for the rest of my life. :-)

Our Super Project of Doom!!! (Dance2Freedom)

Ok, not really doom.

Today we, my group, got together to plan out our project. Vanessa is in charge of building the building (walls, floors), Brandis is in charge of furnature, Jessica is in charge of posters/pictures and advirtising, Sara is in charge of research and is scribe for the group's blog. Cool. We all have jobs! Now we all will go to work!

See ya guys tomorrow :D

Project Management

Today the girls are well on the way to planning their group exhibits for their event in Teen Second Life. They are receiving project management training from one of our trainers and are outlining their projects and learning how to manage the process. They have all come up with great ideas and have gotten much more specific about what each group's exhibit will look like.

Here is a snapshot from SL of the girls hard at work during their project management training, with our trainer in the front leading the meeting.

These girls are A-MA-ZING!

Today has been quite an action packed day. All the girls have spent the majority of the day playing 4 main video games (Mortal Kombat-Armageddon, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Halo 3 and Super Monkey Ball). The games are played across all the major consoles-we've got a Wii, an Xbox 360, a PS2 and a slightly more old school Game Cube. I'm amazed at how focused the girls are at learning gaming skills and even more impressed with how quickly they go from inexperienced players to being naturally skilled gamers. I've never seen guys get the hang of things so quickly! I'm telling you, if these girls stick to it, within a matter of weeks they could beat any opponent-especially the boys that have been playing for YEARS! In weeks I say! That's how good they are.

The girls have also been discussing female portrayal in the games, which I think is a very important conversation for all female gamers to be a part of. The girls have some brilliant ideas about what to do to make some games more appealing to girls and one of the most fabulous things that I've heard all day is that the games themselves are not gender biased but that the design elements (part of marketing I'm sure) are to blame for girls' hesitancy to pick up a controller. Games with predominantly male characters or with misrepresented female characters are alienating the girls, not the actual game. This is an amazing take away because so many girls reject video games because they think games are for boys and they don't have the skill set for it, when in actuality, they are powerful gamers to be contended with! I'm very excited and hopeful that the girls will take today's gaming experience and keep on working on those fighting combos because with them at the helm as demanding and intelligent/aware consumers, the gaming industry will have to change their sexist attitude and give the girls what they want if they want their consumer loyalty (and $$$) in return. Women control 80% of household purchase decisions (I beleive that's roughly the number) so the industry is putting itself at a huge disadvantage by not answering to the demands of these female gamers.

Way to go ladies!! I'm so proud!! :)

Video games

Today was an awesome and relaxing day while I got to play video games such as supersmash brothers, halo, and monkey ball on the wii. Today I realized how unrealistic and stereotypical video games can be. Such as in Mortal Kombat Men are protrayed as strong, buff, and with six packs, as for women, they were shown with degrading clothing and with a large bust. But the unrealistic strenths and powers and physique that all the characters have is what make video games so fun to play. You can be mario, a monkey, or even a strong ninja, video games take you to another world!!!!

Games Games Games

Well today I had my first real gaming experience....it was fun but a little hard. I always thought the playing games would be pretty easy but it isn't. Halo, a shoot-them-up game took a lot of stratagy and perserverence. I played two times and only won the second time because i stayed where i was and waited for my oponent to come find me and then I just kept shooting in her direction. I also played a Wii game and controlling it is soooo much more difficult then one would think. You have to make your motions almost perfect and percise and as we all know that can be pretty hard, especially if one is a spaz like me. All in all I had a fun time and spent most of my time on the Wii because I liked the ability to play a varity of games and the fact that i didn't have to hold and leard the bottons of a controller really helped. I can now say that i have played video games but I think that I have a ways to go to become a gamer.

Lora

Playing Games

Today I played four different games with the other IT Girls.

My favorite was Mortal Kombat because I like fighting games in general. The wii game had cute graphics but it was too hard to control the controller and I'd prefer one big game instead of many little games. I also thought the SuperSmashBrothers was confusing because it had four players and I often lost track of where my character was. I thought Halo was too complicated and they were unclear with the directions so I didn't know what to do.

Overall, it was an awesome experience! I never knew I could be good at games but Dee helped me with the different combinations on Mortal Kombat and showed me cool stuff that I really enjoyed. I want to play Mortal Kombat EVERYDAY now! Yay!

First Day at TSTC

Alrighty, I'm gonna try to not just repeat what everyone else has said today....but that might be hard. Anyways! I had fun playing HALO. Hee hee....I finally got the hang of the controls and was able to somewhat move around and get the camera to go where I wanted it to. I must say, I was doing pretty good at our mission to kill a bunch of hunchback aliens (no, seriously, they were).

Sadly, I kinda gave up on attempting the Wii. It's not my friend :) Maybe it was just the frisbie game, but those controllers are so hard to use! Just me, but whatever.I think I now agree with my sister that I want to get the Super Mario Smash Brothers Mele (or whatever that game's called). I know some people have said that only kids play that game but....*grins* I love it.

So.......I guess that's all I have to say....more like I rambled, really. ^_^

Oh, actually....I'm currently watching some people play the Mortal Combat game. I didn't play it, but it's more amusing to watch......Oh....my....Caroline just sent Briana's character up into a huge fan....let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight involving decapitation and lots of blood....o_O....anyways.

That's it for now! Toodles!

07-21-08

Women in video games are portrayed the same way the are in movies, skinny, busty, and kick butt. while some say that women are shown that way because that's what guys like best, i think that if a game had a normal chick it wouldn't be as popular, because every one likes to appear better in video games.

Game Day

Today was the first day of camp, we played four different types of games. The one I liked most was Mortal Combat. One thing I did not like was the fact that the women were almost practically nude. Women do not dress like that in real life. The men are also really physically built which is not how men are in the real world either. I liked how the women were able to beat up the male characters. They were also faster since they are smaller. I liked the Mario Brothers game because its like a fairy tale type of game. The characters are not chosen by gender but you choose the one you like. I like playing the games and cannot wait to see what else we are going to do.

Game Day Experience

My experience today has been amazing. I have experienced video games like never before and discovered what i like and dislike about the games. I would have to say that my favorite was Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The reason being because I kinda got to take my stress out on the game and I enjoyed the fighting =D. Halo was pointless to me because all I was doing was walking around in a room that looked like all the other rooms, and I had nothing to shoot at for a while. Super Smash Brothers was my 2nd favorite just because it was more like a family game with cute characters. It makes me want to get it so i can play with my younger brother.

Monday Bloody Monday

Today I observed students shooting each other, splattering blood against the walls and floors of virtual environments. I also saw a student rip the heart out of another girl--while playing Mortal Kombat. I have mixed feelings about all this. My initial reaction to the violence is to cringe and cry out "My goodness. That's disgusting!!! Yuck!" But then I find myself laughing at the absurdity of the whole thing.

This group of girls has been exceptionally friendly and respectful of each other, so I don't think the violence in the gaming worlds will affect their relationships. However, I do worry that other people (one's with personality disorders) might become more violent after being agitated while playing the games.

This is the aspect of gaming and virtual reality that interests me the most: the extent to which it creates changes within our real life world. I would love to see a game that made people more calm and well balanced after playing it.

Video Games

What i think about video games is that the creator has to think very well what type of audience does he/she wants to appeal to. What i mean by this is that they have to be able to say if the video game was created for a people of certain age or sex, or if it was created for all kinds of people that might want to play it.
In my experience with video games i learned that it doesn't matter the character's appearance or the power it has on the game, what matters is that you have to know how to play and know what your character can do so you can be able to win.
I also think that a very attracting game to people can be a realistic game where they get a motivation to want to do what they do on the game in real life, like a music game or a fashion game. What i consider the most important thing a video game most have is the ability to make people have fun and enjoy.

Do characters really matter?

Today the first full day of camp is full of games. from Halo to monkey ball, there's a game for everyone. We shared our views on who the games were made for and who they truly do appeal towards. we talked about the stereo types they give women and men in the games, the way they create their characters to appeal to the buyer. I don't really mind on the character in the game because I believe it is the one with the controller in their hands that has the power to defeat their opponent. If you are a good player you will be able to win with any character. your talent will not be determined by the character you choose but by the power you give the character.

I absolutely LOVE gaming!It is so awesome....like seriously.

I never was actually into the whole video game scene but I have played a few with my cousins (mostly guys) and I enjoyed them(the games) quite a bit.

So far the games I like the most that we've played is Mortal Kombat and Smash Brothers because I am so used to playing fighting games.

Monday, First Day at Girlstart

Today at Girlstart Camp in Sweetwater, Texas, we have spent most of our day in the game room playing on various game consoles with different popular games. We have noticed many differences between the games, particularly between the characters. The girl characters are usually portrayed as an extreme of ultra femine or super masculine. These exagerations are unrealistic in the real world but usually ideal in the gaming world if these characters have special skills or weapons within the game. However, we have seen that personal skill level actually determines the ability of winning a level or game overall, not the appearance or characteristics of the character you may choose at random.

IT Girl Summer Academy Day 1

Today the girls have spent most of the day playing several games on different game consoles to get an idea of what popular games are available and what they're like. They were playing Halo, Mortal Kombat, Monkey Ball and Super Smash Brothers. After a lunch break, we talked about what audience the games were geared towards, the protrayal of male and female characters in the games and what characters the girls chose to play, and what kinds of games the girls would create if they had unlimited resources and could create any game they wanted.

The girls pointed out a number of ways that the gaming industry could enhance the gaming experience to be more inclusive, including creating more family oriented games that have various levels to challenge all members of the family, creating games that have more realistic characters, games which allow the user to design features of it (interior design, beauty, etc) rather than focusing on fighting or adventures, more learning in games, adventure games based on real travel, and games that are more user-friendly. The girls thought some of the games were hard to figure out how to control and manuever at first (especially Halo where you have to control your characters movements and camera views) and that these would be more fun if there was less of a learning curve to get started.

Our First Day at Girlstart academy

Today is our first full day in TSTC and we have been spending most of our time in the game room playing Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Monkey Ball something on Wii, and Mortal Combat. As a group we took some time together to discuss stereotypes of women portrayed in most video games these days which was an interesting and insightful activity. This day has been fun so far and the games are all fun, however, losing Mortal Combat to Jin-a twice was kind of lame. Just kidding.
-Caroline

Thoughts on the First Day of Camp

Today was fun. We played a bunch of video games, and then we analyzed some of the gender roles in the games. It was interesting to hear the other girls' thoughts. It was also great to play a bunch too. I played Super Smash Brothers Melee. :D I love that game! It actually has quite a few female characters- Peach, Zelda, Samus, Marth (I think), and I'm not sure about the animals... like the Pokemon, Yoshi, and Kirby... and the felmales have some kick-but moves. Peach can hit you with a frying pan! Wooo! I watched the other games- Halo, Mortal Kombat, and Super Monkey Ball for the Wii. Halo is so boring, and the control are strange... I have played Super Monkey Ball at home, and I find it frustrating and therefore annoying- so I didn't play that game. Mortal Combat looks like a game I would like... after I know how to play... :)
:D

What we learned from the games we played

Today, we played four different types of games and we were able to closely analyze them. It was observed that "Mortal Combat", like most other fighting games, was very stereotypical when it came to the female characters. The females in the game tended to be extremely busty and muscular but were a lot weaker when it came to their fighting abilities compared to the male characters that were strong and masculine by their abilities and their appearances. In the game "Super Smash Brothers", there were very few female characters and the few that were included tended to be pink and very cute compared to the male characters. In "Halo", some people discovered that there were no female characters in the game and questioned that because this game seemed to be designed for males, maybe that was why there were no female characters. As for the last game, "Monkey Ball", there really were no differences in abilities when it came to the different sexes. The only way to truly if the characters were male or female was by looking at the heads of the monkeys to find a small bow which were located only on the female characters' heads.

Gaming Stereotypes

Today after we had played the games for a while, Monkey Ball, Mortal Kombat,Super Smash Mario Borthers,and Halo; I realized how the characters cater to stereyotypes. The guys are all muscular and mysterious, while the girls are skimpy and manly. (excluding Monkey ball..) Although in Monkey Ball the girl characters wear bows, in all the other games the girls wear skimpy outfits and/or are more likly to loose the game because their slow actions. :[ hmm. odd. but kinda predictable.Last but not leaste, Halo is very much geared towards guys in general; there are no girl characters, but aside from that it is a pretty good game. I also noticed most girls will pick a guy character because they are stronger.

An overview of the games

I think that playing all the games was okay. I believe some of the games (i.e. Halo, Super Mario Bros., Mortal Combat) were a bit stereotypical because the girls were buff and busty and they were just a bit underdressed for some players. But in the Wii games the female characters were a bit more acceptable because they only wore pink bows.

IT Girl Summer Game Ideas

The current popular video games circulating about seem to tend to favor males. In fighting games the only difference between the boys and girls is that the girls have chests and their clothes are more revealing. The girl characters seem to be created to entertain boys when they play female characters instead of being realistic and making girls want to play the female characters. In other games the girls are portrayed as being weaker and are all dressed up in pink and frills. They are also used as the damsel in distress that must be saved by the big strong male character. There needs to be more realistic looking characters who could actually exist in real life and they should be dressed in clothes that would be acceptable to be worn out in public. Also the way current video games are controlled and the consul that they are played on has a major role in the feel of the game, so it is very important to make sure a game is programmed for the consul that would support the game best. There are a lot of games out there, but a lot of them seem to repeat themes, so there are still a lot of untapped areas that can still be explored.