MMA: Doesn't want my Money. Game Devs... do you?

I was chatting with a buddy of mine today... she's kinda into MMA. Well... that's like saying that 2old2play is kinda into gaming. She was talking about being on a Montreal radio station talking about some sort of UFC thingie or some junk. I really didn't understand. I'm not much of a fan of the UFC.

But I could be.

See, every once in a while, my husband and I will go out for a few pops and watch UFC. After stunning analysis like "The guy with the busted nose is TOTALLY going to pwn the dude with no ears left" we bet on the outcome of the match. It's a good time because I usually win. But seriouslly, I like MMA/UFC because you never know what's going to happen. One minute a guy is getting punched in the face repeatedly, the next minute he has his opponent in an arm bar and it's over.  And you never know when a dude's ear is going to explode. Fun times. We have even purchased UFC on PPV at our house. Not cheap. But I can't imagine really getting into UFC or MMA, becoming a fan and spending money. Or hell, even admitting I watch in polite company. Why not?

Cause it's marketed for douchebag fratboys. And I'm not a douchebag fratboy.

I've tried, but all I see are tacky Ed Hardy Ts, half naked chicks and those idiots who hold up shitty ads for protein powder behind their guy. I can't get past it. And I want to... but I know that the UFC really doesn't want me as a fan otherwise I would see more analysis less idiocy. Which is sad, cause from what little I know, MMA isn't a stupid sport, there is actually lots of strategy. Or so I'm told. But again... it's like the marketing campaign at UFC HQ hasn't got past "make it look like boxing, sex sells and louder and tackier." I would easily understand how a significant other would veto a night out watching UFC for... almost anything else.

Then it hit me. Is this how some people see gaming?

We have a maturity problem in gaming, lads n lasses. Characters are not developed well, story lines are not crafted. An example I read this week compared gaming and movies. It begged the question, where is our Wizard of Oz? People rent and buy that movie generations later. Will our grandchildren play Bioshock? I say "no."  How many of you are playing it still?

Again... we seem to be in the "sex sells, louder and tackier" mode of marketing.  Action is paramount at the expense of a logical and compelling story. Think about how often games suffer from the "Slasher Film" method of moving action forward. The chick has to go into the basement where the serial killer is lurking... because running to the police station wouldn't move the action forward. But, let's be honest, this is the standard in games.

And when we come to character design, we see that female characters tend to be young, conventionally gorgeous and sadly interchangable. An excerpt from a must read article on character design:

Throughout the diaspora of modern games, female characters are not rare. There are many games with females as main playable characters as well as supporting roles, yet it is not uncommon for female audiences to find these characters unlikable and difficult to relate to. They are often hyper-sexualized, with generic, young faces and outfits that are more revealing of their bodies than a personality. These female characters are stark contrasts to the aesthetic goals of the male characters which encompass a much larger range of body types, costumes, and facial features.

The video game industry is comprised largely of male developers, as well as is its largest target audience. The desires of this demographic are clearly understood by those who create the games, and both male and female characters reflect this. However, the game industry is always expanding and changing, and more diverse groups of people are becoming interested in video games. Girls may find video games very boy-centric and become alienated from them as a result. This field review explores the aesthetics of female game characters and different ways that they can be designed. If it is possible to create female characters that are more universally attractive, unique, and likeable, the video game industry would be tremendously helped with its efforts to reach out to a broader range of audiences.

The point is gaming is marketed to Timmy, and we aren't Timmy. We're old, married, have kids and a brain in our skulls. While, yes, we do want some escapism in our entertainment, we can and should demand to be treated as intelligent adults, and marketed to as such. The sex sells method of marketing is insulting to the intelligence of men (grunt... boobs good, story bad) and it doesn't make women want to buy. How is this sustainable?

So yeah: gaming industry: there is a whole other market out there. And it's begging to give you it's money. Let's do it.