Water Cooler Games
Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.
The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.
Browsing Women and Games archives. View all categories
by Ian Bogost December 7, 2008
Nintendo DS Spa
Health & Medicine Games, Women and Games
Here's a different take on games for health: the Nintendo DS Spa, which I spotted recently at Lenox Mall in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood. The service offers complimentary massages, during which time massagees are invited to play DS games. If in-mall massage-demos weren't enough evidence of Nintendo's commitment to advertising their ...
by Ian Bogost December 18, 2007
Do Girls Prefer 2D Games?
Game Design, Women and Games
The term is finally over and I'm ready to get back in the saddle here, at least until the holidays further interrupt our regularly scheduled programming. This study isn't new, but it's the first time I'd seen it. Tina R. Ziemek published the results of a study on 2D vs ...
by Ian Bogost October 4, 2007
Imagine Game History
Casual Games, Console & PC Games, Women and Games
Brian, Alice, and Leigh all wrote something snarky about Ubisoft's newly announced Imagine line for girls. They are right to point out the explicit, troubling, simplistic gender roles the games endorse. But none of them manage to locate these games historically. Videogame critics, bloggers, players, and journalists have a very ...
by Ian Bogost May 4, 2007
Intimate Controllers
Game Design, Social Games, Women and Games
Think you've seen every kind of alternate interface? NYU ITP student Jenny Chowdhury has devoted her masters thesis work to making a videogame controller out of a bra and undershorts. She calls it Intimate Controllers. Players have to touch each other in intimate places to play games created for the ...
by Ian Bogost April 4, 2007
Two Women in Games Events
Women and Games
One in Europe, one in the States. Women in Games 2007 will be held April 19-21 at the University of Wales, Newport. The program is here. Women in Games International 2007 will be held at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA on April 26, right after ...
by Gonzalo Frasca November 15, 2006
Column: Super Macho World
Women and Games
Hey there! As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting lately. The reason is simple: my PhD dissertation deadline approaches, so I am basically disconnected from the world. Hopefully, early next year I'll be a free man but, meanwhile, I'm sure Ian will post enough for both of us. ...
by Ian Bogost August 2, 2005
Farming, Gender, Narcotics, and other related things
Console & PC Games, Educational Games, Social Games, Women and Games
Last week Natsume released new versions of Harvest Moon: Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life for GameCube and Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town for GBA. I hesitate to say that I'm a "big fan" of Harvest Moon, but like Animal Crossing it's a game that charms and allures me, ...
by Ian Bogost July 17, 2005
Women in Games 2005
Women and Games
The Women in Games 2005 conference is coming up this August 8-10 at the University of Abertay Dundee in Scotland. The conference promises material about both the role of women in the games industry and future games that might appeal to women. Keynote speakers include Ernest Adams, an independent games ...
by Ian Bogost June 10, 2004
"Bored housewives" play online games
Casual Games, Women and Games
The BBC News reported today on a research study that says "bored housewives" are fueling the growth of online games. The article draws from a new Screen Digest research report about online gaming markets to 2007. From the article: "Amazingly, every single one of the major casual games service providers ...
by Ian Bogost June 7, 2004
Why the mobile carriers are slowing down the mobile game market
Casual Games, Women and Games
Anyone who has shared a room with me for more than five hours total has probably heard me complain about the wireless market. There's a lot to complain about, after all. Until February, I was an AT&T Wireless subscriber, a company whose sole purpose seemed focused on thwarting my wireless ...
by Ian Bogost May 23, 2004
Two Women & Gaming Conferences
Women and Games
Two conferences about women & gaming are on the horizon.... ...
by Ian Bogost May 4, 2004
Getting Off in Virtual Worlds
Console & PC Games, Social Games, Women and Games
Ah, irony. Just as TL Taylor launched a discussion on Terra Nova about women players' ability to birth in-game offspring in the forthcoming Wild West SIM MMOG, I got an email about the new Massively Multiuser Online Adult Environment, The Red Light World (warning: nudity). If you're over 18 and ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 23, 2004
Does Intel play with women?
Business Games, Women and Games
Here's the thing. It seems that Intel launch an IT Manager Game for training IT people. The fact is that the game is now offline (there is a message on their site:" Your Interest in the IT Manager game is appreciated. Intel is currently making revisions to the game, please ...
by Ian Bogost April 1, 2004
Women Gamers on NPR
Women and Games
A piece on women gamers from yesterday's Marketplace. (via the Serious Games Listserv) ...
by Ian Bogost March 26, 2004
Some Casual Games notes from GDC
Casual Games, Game Design, Women and Games
Mia Consalvo has been blogging from GDC, including this post on the Casual Games Summit. I was surprised by a few points raised at the summit (although I did not attend the entire day). First, even though the conversion rate for casual game purchases remains at direct mail levels -- ...
by Ian Bogost March 12, 2004
Yet More on Women Gamers and Casual Games
Women and Games
Another article apropos the AOL online games survey, this one in the Dallas Morning News (registration required) today. I have a few quotes in the article. All in all, it's clear to me that we have a lot to learn about casual games. I'm hoping to treat this topic with ...
by Ian Bogost March 4, 2004
More on Women Gamers and Casual Games
Game Design, Women and Games
I did an interview today about the recent AOL online games survey, which we discussed here on WCG. Gave my still nascent opinions about women and casual games. In preparation for it, I did an informal survey among a group of mothers ages ~ 35 - 45, asking why they ...
by Ian Bogost February 14, 2004
Women Dominate Online Games?
Game Design, Social Games, Women and Games
A recent AOL Study claims that women over 40 are more likely to play online games than any other demographic. Even though men spend more time on the Internet each week than women (23.2 vs. 21.6 hours), female game-players over 40 spend the most hours per week playing online games ...
by Ian Bogost November 9, 2003
The future of women gamers
Console & PC Games, Game Design, Social Games, Women and Games
A new, longish article on Game Girl Advance talks about the future of women gamers. It focuses specifically on the future of women console gamers, and I'd like to submit that this is the primary flaw of the article. Put more simply, I'm suspicious that the future of women gamers ...
by Ian Bogost October 28, 2003
Women Gamers in the Wall Street Journal
Women and Games
There was a nice article on women gamers (subscription required) in the Wall Street Journal today. It covers There's special iVillage zone within that persistent world game, women in XBox's holiday TV spots, and the continued growth of women casual gamers (zone.com reports that 68% of its visitors are women). ...
by Ian Bogost October 25, 2003
The Grocery Game
Game Design, Social Games, Women and Games
I recently found out about The Grocery Game on a parenting/education message board. The website gives subscribers access to a special grocery list, sorted by store and US location. The list is designed to maximize savings through strategic use of coupons and stockpiling. It's admittedly not an electronic game in ...
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