Why Game Development Isn’t Just for the Boys
The largest demographic of gamers are males in their teens to twenties, but that may change in the future as statistics show the percentile of female players in the United States gradually increasing from 41% in 2016 to 46% in 2019.
Happening Hobby
Gaming is a serious daily pastime for people from all walks of life, regardless of their age, gender, or ethnicity. From toddlers learning educational activities through games on their tablets to septuagenarians playing match-three games on their smartphones, video games are a favorite pastime, and a lucrative income stream for developers too.
Serious gamers spend hours playing games. The numbers show that, on average, gamers play for almost six hours per week. This figure doesn’t include those players who game for a living, playing e-sports on a professional level.
Gamer Gals
Pro-gaming is not just a career for guys. These 20 hot names in girl gaming are proof, with the number one ranked female game earning slightly short of $300,000, and winning the StarCraft professional tournament in the world’s gaming capital, South Korea. This is a tremendous accomplishment for any gamer, regardless of their gender.
Development Damsels
Men still dominate the world of gaming development. In 2017, there were only 21% of female developers worldwide, while their male counterparts chimed in at 74%. Could it be that development is not as much fun as gaming itself? Or is it because the plethora of software available to produce games is not user-friendly?
Construct (game engine) mention that software that’s available allows you to make any game, and the community forum on the site is a well of information. A bonus is that once your game has been released, every dime you make is yours. Some companies don’t take any royalties from the games developed with their software.
Gaming Genre
The category you decide on is your choice. There are so many to choose from, with some more popular than others. Aside from their genre, a lot has to do with the graphics, sound, and ability to interact with other players in real-time. It would also depend on your development skills.
Having a forum or message board to share ideas with other people in the field is an excellent resource. It’s also a fantastic place to find freelancers to become a member of your team if that’s the route you prefer to go down.
Research by newzoo shows that female gamers prefer puzzle games on mobile platforms and action/adventure games on consoles or PC. What’s also interesting is that with both male and female gamers, Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush rank as number ones on consoles, PC, and smart devices, respectively.
Leave with a High Score
As long as there are mobile devices, PCs, and gaming consoles around, there’ll be a market for gaming development. If you possess mad skills that you can contribute to a development team, you should make them known. Teamwork makes the dream work. Your team’s game could be the next world number one. Now, how’s that for a high score?