It was a cool evening, and I was visiting my cousin. I watched as ants moved down a stick from the right side of the screen. The environment surrounding them was vivid, and covered with green trees, like a forest bubbling with life. I could almost hear the birds chirping in the background. The ants marched along carrying leaves with letters on them. Just across the ants, was a hungry chameleon, and with each stroke of the keyboard that my cousin made, the chameleon ate the corresponding ant. This was my first introduction to the world of games — the Mavis Beacon Chameleon picnic game, and I was hooked. I grew up fascinated, and maybe a little bit obsessed with games. But like most girls, I never fancied myself a gamer, perhaps because I lacked the vocabulary to express my love for games, but also because I never considered gaming a viable career path.
What is gaming?
According to technopedia, gaming refers to playing electronic games, whether through consoles, computers, mobile phones, or other platforms.
According to this definition, if you enjoy a mean game of candy crush saga, you can proudly call yourself a gamer.
But while gaming can be fun, it is much more than that. Gaming is one of the fastest growing and most profitable industries. It has been posited that the industry is worth more than the movies and sports industries combined. A report by Statista estimates that the global gaming industry will be worth $269 billion dollars by the year 2025.
The African Gaming Industry
The gaming industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in Africa. Although Africa has traditionally lagged behind in terms of technological advancements due to infrastructural, economic and political problems associated with the continent, recent development has seen Africa poised to actively contribute to the global gaming industry. According to a study by Newzoo, in 2021, gamers in sub-Saharan Africa increased from $77 in Africa’s gaming industry generating $590 million dollars in revenue. From all indications, these figures are set to increase, as meteoric growth has been forecasted as a result of the evolution of mobile phones, and growing interest in an increasingly young population.
As Africans, our culture is communicated through the stories we tell, and we establish our values through the games we play, and what we find entertaining. And although there’s a lack of adequate data to determine the genre of games Africans find interesting, games that showcase our unique culture and heritage have been widely accepted in the continent. As an example, in 2018, Teddy Kossoko, a young man from the Central African Republic, released a completely African mobile game and the first of its kind, which gained wide acceptance in countries on the continent. A lot of work is currently being done to incorporate our history as a people into the entertainment we consume, and diverse experiences are needed to accomplish this.
Women and the Gaming Industry
For a long time, gaming had been associated with men, and games were created to appeal to me. But, the numbers are changing. As of 2020, 47% of gamers globally were female. 61% of mobile game players were women, an increase from the 53% recorded in 2016. The population of women who are into gaming has steadily been increasing over the past decade.
Interestingly, women globally are not only in front of consoles playing games, there’s also an increase in the number of women behind a console, creating games.
But there’s still a huge problem. Studies have shown that the majority of women active in the gaming industry workforce are involved in administrative roles. Only a small percentage of women in the workforce are directly involved in game development, and an even smaller percentage is found occupying leadership positions.
Why the disparity in the gaming population?
Multiple factors contribute to the evidence in the gaming population.
Firstly, traditionally, men had always dominated gaming because games were made by men, and catered specifically to the male gender. As little boys played games they loved, and grew to be interested in the gaming industry as a future career path. These boys become men who built from their experiences and interests, games that appealed to other men. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the cycle keeps repeating itself.
Secondly, there is an inadequate representation of women in games. In games, women are most often hyper-sexualized or presented as a love interest of the male protagonist, or seen as damsels in distress in need of rescuing.
There is also a significant absence of compelling female protagonists. According to data, only 18.4% of play station console games released in 2021 had a female protagonist. Poor, when compared to the number of games with male protagonists, but a significant improvement from the 8.6% of female protagonists of the previous year.
While only 12.8% of Xbox games released in 2021 had a female protagonist. Finally, of the total next-generation Xbox series released, only 12% had a female protagonist, 34% had a male protagonist, and 33% had both male and female protagonists.
Representation is important because it determines how we view ourselves, and our capabilities.
Effect of Inadequate gender representation.
We can tell that there is a gender imbalance in a sector when using the word “female” to qualify for a career position, i.e., “female gamers”. We never talk about “male” gamers, because well, they are the norm.
As a result of the gender imbalance, and systemic gender inequality present in the gaming industry, assumptions are made about the capabilities of women on the basis of gender. Because women are seen creating and developing games, a woman would have to work twice as hard and prove to be significantly better than her male counterparts, in order to be offered a seat at the table. This places women at a disadvantage further compounding the issue. A woman does need to be better than men of the same level to be considered for a position, like a man, she only needs to be good enough.
We also have the unicorns, the women who grew up playing games intended for a male audience but developed an interest in gaming regardless. These women grow to build a career in gaming, and whether they are in a boardroom making decisions, behind a console, creating games, or in front of a console, playing games, by embodying their interests, they bring a certain flavour and freshness to the gaming industry.
Why do we need more women to be involved in gaming?
Beyond desiring a fairer and juster world, it is important that more women are present in the industry for creative and economic benefits.
As more women get into the gaming industry, they bring their interests, and experiences to the creative process, thus building games that cater to a wider variety of audiences, thus bringing in greater profits for the business, and paving the way for more women to get into the industry.
In addition to that, women have high buying power. The majority of household purchases are done by women. Companies would definitely benefit from catering to the interests of women and having the gender with the higher purchasing power as a loyal customer base.
There is a growing population of female gamers, and if there are more games catering to their interests, this population will experience a significant increase.
What games do women find interesting?
If you’ve lived long enough, you have probably heard the annoying question, “what do women really want?” Usually said by males, and in response to the surprising fact that women are individuals with different wants and interests, and not a collective body of people with uniform desires and wishes.
Finally, we can truthfully answer that question in gaming. According to research, completion, and fantasy are features that motivate a woman to want to play a game. While games with a theme of excitement and challenge are least appealing to women.
Also, the game niche women find interesting differs from that of their male counterparts, with 64% of women preferring mobile gaming to other games, as opposed to 38% of men. We all have that one female friend who’s always playing puzzle-related games on her smartphone to pass the time while pretending to listen to our conversations.
How can we get more women involved in gaming?
We could start, from a young age, to expose girls to gaming, and the game designing process. By establishing coding schools, and training boot camps, girls will develop an interest in gaming, and the gaming industry. More communities catering to the different issues faced by women in the industry, need to be established, in order to foster collaboration and unity among women in the industry. Investors must make demands insisting on adequate female representation in executive positions of a company, before investing.
Lastly, there should be a better and more accurate representation of women in games.
The role of women in gaming
African women such as Sylvia Gathoni Wahome a professional Esports player, and content creator, Stephanie Ijoma, and Sam ‘Tech Girl’s Wright, a professional gamer, esports host, content creator, and writer, are trailblazers in the African Gaming Industry, paving the way for women in the industry, and serving as a visual representation of the role that women can play in gaming.
The Future of the African Gaming Industry
The gaming industry will continue to experience growth in the number of gamers, men and women, and the number of game developers. We would see a rise in more inclusive and better immersive games, that showcase our strengths, and cultural heritage as a people.
Gaming, like most careers in Technology, is fueled by passion, and there is no shortage of passion in Africa’s ever-increasing population of young people.
I think back to my passion for games as a child, I think it was a bit excessive, but what if I had access to advanced gaming technologies and platforms? How would that have affected my career choices and the industries I gravitated towards?
What if someone had told me, “ I can see you love games, would you like to learn how to build one?”
With the emerging technologies, support systems, and representation available today, I would have the opportunity to stand on platforms I could have only dreamt of.
……………….
Jane Harry
Content and Technical Writer, Gameverse Africa
