source taken from UO.UHAll


This week's VOICES Viewpoint Editorial - editorials written by UO Stratics Staff as fellow UO players looking to discuss the game & community in a candid and constructive way - comes to us from kittykat, UO Stratics Forum Administrator / Writer. As a reminder, Since this article will also be getting posted to our U.Hall General Discussion Forum, we encourage you to add your own opinions as well - but please keep in mind that all rules from our Rules of Conduct still apply. Keep it constructive and keep it fun! And with that, I give you kittykat:

**shuffles through the pages of her mind and picks out a subject for today's column**


The Girl Factor
by KittyKat, UO Stratics Forum Administrator / Writer

One of the ways that UO is unique is in how many women play, far more than most other MMO's out there. The reason that this is true is because of the genuine diversity that UO offers, a lot of it stuff that just really appeals more to girls than most common MMO content.

Without trying to deliberately stereotype people here, since I realize there are women out there that are among the deadliest PK's and men that love nothing more than to deco their house, I think it's safe to say that it's the 'girly' things that really do keep a broader appeal in UO. It has a unique blend of 'rough and tumble' stuff and 'sugar and spice' stuff; the blend of the two appealing across a broad spectrum of players. Whereas 'rough and tumble' might mostly appeal to the young guy, and 'sugar and spice' might appeal to women, by having a combination of the two, you appeal to both and a mixture of even more.

So what are some of the things that really bring the girls in? Well I'd say a huge factor is housing. It's not *just* housing either, but the way it's presented. We're given an incredible array of tools in building just the perfect style house to our tastes. Even before the advent of custom housing, we still had a wide array of house styles with (semi)realistic rooms and doors; a place that really could *feel* like a home. With custom housing, that feel was brought out even further as we could all make our homes exactly perfect, and when we got tired of perfect, just make it perfect again in another way. Custom housing, although sometimes an eyesore, was a brilliant addition to the game.

Another thing that goes hand in hand with the housing is the items available to decorate it. Being able to decorate that house exactly as one would our own house in RL has a huge appeal to a lot of players. There is a reason that the early buy bonus for 9th AE is so extremely appealing to a huge number of players; everyone wants those deco items to make their houses even better. But it goes beyond that too really. In fact, decorating our houses is only limited by our imaginations. There is likely not a UO player out there that has played in the past couple of years at least, that does not know about aquariums made of cloth. Take a few bolts of cloth, a couple of shells, do some layering, and whallah, a homemade aquarium. The possibilities are limitless.

But it's not just housing that appeals to the girl factor. Other things in UO include merchanting, crafting, and roleplaying. All of these are huge in UO, and not to say that they don't appeal to the manly man, but they definitely are on the appeal level of the girly girl. Merchanting, whether it be vendors at a house, or shopping out your wares at your local bank, just seems to have a natural appeal to women. Likewise crafting, and selling off those crafted items has that girly appeal. Then there is roleplaying, which can appeal across a broad spectrum of users but does have that appeal to women since it makes the game more than just a slash and hack 'em game.

Of course there are several other things that can appeal to women to help draw them into the game, and again I'm by no means trying to stereotype here. I realize that a lot of the afore mentioned gameplay points can be appealing to anyone regardless of sex. What I'm trying to say though, is that in general, it's this kind of play that draws in more women than otherwise would likely to happen. And once they're in for whatever reason appeals, then they can broaden their range to other things that they might not have tried to begin with.

So why is this important to UO? Well the simple reason is, it keeps players and brings in new players, people that otherwise would never have considered a MMO or might have passed them up. It's UO's unique little niche in the marketplace that no one else has really been able to equal yet. It is at least part of what keeps UO going strong.

So don't blame the devs for working on new content, and most specifically working on 'pretties' or girly type stuff for the game. There really is a reason they do and a reason why it's important. They know it keeps the game going, and it sells boxes which of course always makes the bean counters happy. It's good for UO and that's what really counts in the end.

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So as I've been writing this, I keep thinking everyone is going to kill me for stereotyping here and really I've been struggling not to do that!!! So before you blast me by saying "I'm a woman and I don't like that stuff" or "I'm a guy and I do like that stuff" please understand I'm making generalizations here about the way the world works, with the understanding that it all doesn't really work the same for everyone *smiles*.

So until next time...*goes off to play with her girly girl halloween house*

~kittykat
UO Stratics Forum Administrator/Writer
VOICES Viewpoint

She is not only hot, she is smart too.

It's good, because the more girls there are playing UO, the bigger chance there is for guys that plays games to find girls that play games. IM STILL AVAILABLE!


Just playing, good um.. what do you say? article?

I had my say on this on on uHall, so I won't bring it here. I normally don't post there and usually don't even read there, but this one.......

To be honest I didn't actually read it. I think I'll do that now though

edit: ok so I read it. ..I didn't get it, but I'm sure shes right, or what not.

I think UO simply appeals to all people, period. Not market target angsty teen, or anime only buffs, et cetera. And it's not just the diversity of what you can do in-game, it's the founding basis of what is Ultima in its core that also appeals to so many, regardless of age or gender. No other MMO in the world has ever been created out of two decades worth of legacy, lore, and overcoming all odds.

exactly, Terrence. Much as the writer would like you to believe that she is not stereotyping, her dislaimer does not hold up.

I thought most people played this game 'cause they had nothing better to do, there's actually fun stuff to do in game, go figure.

Haha! Well, I guess that too, DiP.

There is no other game to play but UO.

There are other games???

Fluffi



*countersigned by Mrs Fluffi*

Other games? No. I don't know who started that ugly rumor, but there is no truth in it. There are no other games.

Are you sure Eowyna, I thought other games were created to fill the void when updates were being implemented. Well, they call them games, but I'd refer to them as filler.