Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
Support making the male-oriented games that the company has always
made
You decide to play it safe. You see the female portion of the gaming audience
is rising but you wonder if it's a trend that will stop by the time the game
is finished. Plus, you figure the company has been selling a steady amount
of games catering to the same target audience for many years, so why change?
In an industry constantly expanding and moving forward, your decision to
not try something new is not looked upon well. While the company continues
to sell the same amount of games they always have, the owners eventually realize
they could be selling even more.
Female gamers continue to buy games at a growing rate and your decision
to not include them is seen as a bad thing. You don't get invited to any more
meetings because the company sees the need to expand and embrace new ideas
and doesn't feel you're the person to do it. Because of this decision, the
company is even further behind the times.
"As games become more mainstream, it is possible that targeting only very
specific groups of people - young, and male - could harm a company," says
Lesley Phord-Toy, a game director. "But if we take our cue from other media
industries, you can create financially successful or critically acclaimed
products that target very specific audiences only.
"I do think that companies that only make one type of game, or games targeted
at a very specific audience, will probably not attract a broad range of potential
employees in the long run. And for this reason, it is probably advantageous
to broaden the types of games you make."