The importance of diversity inside VR experiences from a design and play perspective
Some people still believe the old adage that all gamers are male, 40 year old nerds dwelling in their parents basement playing World of Warcraft. While in some cases this may still apply, nowadays both young and old, male and female gamers have entered the fray — with their gaming preferences and social backgrounds being just as diverse.
A contemporary audience means as designers, we need to be aware, during game development, of the look and feel of the environment — is it appealing to more than one target audience? Does it provide diverse groups with more than just the traditional gaming experience? Does it allow for a level playing field for people to choose the activity they want to specialise in?
Last year, games analytics company Quantic Foundry publish a report focussed on the preferred genres of games played by women. The report showed that less than 7% of female gamers enjoy typically masculine first-person shooters, sports and racing games. Compared to the 69% preferring farming simulators, 41% enjoying atmospheric/ exploration type gaming experiences and 37% looking to interactive drama style offerings.
Games need to be just as varied as the people that play them.
The more open and accessible a virtual universe is, the larger a player base will be and the more interesting the development and growth of the in-game economy and social community will be.
There needs to be options for everyone. For us, diversity is key and so we want to create something that moves away from what has become the focus and standard in modern gameplay — shooters, action and war-like environments. Of course, later down the line we will be incorporating some elements of conflict and physicality within universe, but as an option that the player chooses, at their own pace — not as the main feature of the game.
The essence of a diverse playing experience is that the user gets to enjoy having something to do of which they are interested or can specialize in, knowing full well that while participating as part of a team in-game, their contributions are just as valid as other team members.
Someone who enjoys farming crops in a game and decorating the guild headquarters can support the efforts of the members who go out to harvest materials and hunt resources.
We don’t want to build an “echo chamber” that reflects just one type of gamer profile. The VU project has built the bare bones of the game around simulating the most natural, primal experience that will appeal on an instinctual level to many different groups of people. Focusing on just being a human and the individual experiences that go along with that which together make up one whole — rather than specifically focusing on one gender, background or age.
Ciaran Foley is CEO of Ukledo and Immersive Entertainment, Inc. a Southern California virtual reality software company developing a new virtual engagement platform called Virtual Universe (VU).
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