Post by leunas on Mar 21, 2007 2:31:57 GMT -5
It's almost a given that anyone who's ever played an MMORPG has probably encountered flirtation of sorts from other characters. More often than not, you're off on a hunt and a low-level female character gives you some buffs and starts a conversation. Of course it's hard to resist that voluptuous paladin in steel thongs. Then it happens- as you start liking the character after a few hours, the lady asks for gold or items.
Of course there's that slim chance that the person running that character is a cute girl in real life, but just as likely is the premise that the owner of the character is a 60 year-old hermit named Earl living in some cave with a laptop.
Whatever the case, experts at the California State University say that the number of female gamers is increasing every day. It's been documented that the woman's choice when it comes to game genre are RPGs, puzzle games and simulations. World of Warcraft, The Sims and Second Life are runaway favorites.
Professor Genelle Belman says she's a big WoW fan and explains "I've always loved fantasy. The appeal for me in playing massive multiplayer online role-playing games is meeting people and playing with people I've met in real life. I've met a number of people I've played with in the game."
Professor Diane Witmer agrees, and says that more often than not, female users do not use flirtation to gain special favors from other players. She explains that one of the draws of playing MMOs is that characters can be female and can remain in anonymity and blend in with the rest of the community dominated by males.
Witmer, however, admits that the game does make flirtation easier because of the manner in which female characters were designed. She says it's hard to find an unsightly female character and sometimes players get confused with avatars and real people. Most females are scantily clad while for men, it's full body armor.
Article:
feeds.feedburner.com/~r/qj/qjnet/~3/102791273/86646