探讨促使8-12岁女童玩游戏的原因及建议

作者：Peter Hofstede

只要提起“女童”一词，人们的脑海中立刻出现《暮光之城》迷、贾斯汀的忠实粉丝等画面。但是当你剥离这层共性，就会发现一个惊人的现实：这个群体掌控了近500亿美元的消费能力——她们是强大的品牌拥护者（只要看下她们为明星麦莉和凯蒂所做的事就知道了）。

而且，她们高度融入网络世界。这一群体中近50%是智能手机用户。超过三分之二的人使用宽带，她们每天在媒介内容上的平均投入时间高达7.5小时，其中有两小时用于玩手机。对游戏开发商而言，她们是一个有利可图且参与度较高的群体。

人们都知道成人女性是最大的休闲游戏群体，而8-12岁的女童也不例外——超过50%的小女生经常玩游戏。小女生市场的不同且令人兴奋之处在于，它仍然处在发展初期。这一市场为新来者提供了许多发展机遇。如果没有Facebook，这些女孩子就不会接触到《Farmville》或者《Words With Friends》，这意味着市场上仍存在一个巨大的女童游戏（游戏邦注：以及授权产品）发展空间。

那么，怎样才能让女孩子选择你的游戏？怎样才能让她们玩你的游戏？以下是一些见解，讨论如何开发讨小女生喜爱的游戏。

tween-girls(from venturebeat)

了解她们的心理：

开发适合这一年龄层的游戏，需要开发商了解她们的行为习惯以及促使她们玩游戏的动力。8-12岁这一年龄段的女生会开始注重外表打扮，这也是为何美女和装扮游戏盛行的原因。她们喜欢想象以及扮演未来的生活，所以角色扮演游戏再合适不过了——尤其是那些让她们尝试不同的职业的游戏，比如扮演兽医或者大厨。自我表现是这一群体的另一特点，所以设计性格测试和创造类游戏会尤其受到欢迎。

不能局限某一风格：

当然，大多数女孩子是喜欢粉色和打扮的，但也有许多女生喜欢冒险类游戏或者其他通常以男生为主导的游戏。女孩子们的兴趣种类很多且变化多端，但是她们共同的特点可能是追求一种与众不同。无论你创造哪种类型的游戏，你都要迎合她们的需求。

关注市场动态：

时尚内容在这一群体中最为盛行，这也是开发商需与时俱进，关注当前流行热潮的重要原因。开发商可以通过阅读相关的杂志，浏览网站以及听音乐探寻这群女孩所喜欢的元素。今天的贾斯汀有可能会成为明日的乔纳森，你也不想你所设计的游戏被贴上过时的标签吧。

保持简单性：

教育类游戏可以是很好的学习工具，但如果你的目标用户需要的是休闲或社交游戏体验，那么保持简单和轻松性才是上策。她们可能对文字繁杂，教程冗长或者控制方案复杂的游戏不感冒。

保证产品质量：

简单并非意味着单调乏味。特别是在流派主题游戏中，保持高水平的设计标准是吸引这类视觉用户的关键。

关注家长的反应：

许多情况下，父母是女孩子们参与在线活动的把关者，这也是把父母元素涵括在这些策略中的一个重要原因。因此要使用适宜家长的语言。当父母监控孩子们的在线行为时，他们通常能敏感地发现对其极为重要的条款、隐私权保护政策以及一些重要细节。

女童市场是游戏行业中正在快速发展的一角，且具有良好的发展前景。游戏开发商应像对待小众市场一样走进这个市场：做好功课，关注前沿趋势，总之——创造令你自豪的事物！不管你是否喜爱自己的游戏，这些女孩子都会知道并做出相关反应。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Why tween girls aren’t playing your games

Peter Hofstede

Just the mention of the word “tween” conjures up images of Bratz-toting, Twilight-reading, Justin Bieber-loving fans. But when you strip away the generalizations, a surprising reality emerges: this demographic controls nearly $50 billion in spending power — and they’re powerful brand advocates (just look at what they’ve done for stars like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry).

What’s more, they’re highly connected. Nearly 50 percent own smartphones. More than two-thirds have broadband access, and they consume, on average, a whopping 7.5 hours of media per day, two hours of which are spent on a mobile device. All of this adds up to a lucrative, highly engaged audience for game developers.

It’s no secret that adult females are some of the largest users of casual games, and in the 8 to 12-year-old tween demographic, it’s no different— more than 50 percent of tween girls play games on a regular basis. What makes the tween-girl market different, and frankly more exciting, is that it’s still in its infancy. There are plenty of opportunities for new entrants. Without access to Facebook, these girls haven’t been exposed to Farmville or Words With Friends, which means there’s still lots of room for the next big tween girl franchise (and licensing opportunities to boot).

So, what makes these girls tick, and what will get them playing your games? Here are some insights on how to create games that tween girls will love…

Understand the psychology: An informed approach to developing for this audience means understanding tween girls’ behavior and what motivates them. Between the ages of 8 and 12, girls are just starting to become aware of and experiment with their appearance, which explains why beauty and dress-up games reign supreme. They’re also interested in imagining and acting out their future lives, making role-playing games a great fit — particularly those that enable them to try various jobs on for size, like playing veterinarian or head chef. Self-expression is another hallmark of this demographic, making personality quizzes and creation games especially popular.

Don’t get stuck in one genre: Sure, plenty of girls love pink and dressing up, but many also love adventure games and other genres conventionally associated with boys. Girls have an endlessly diverse set of interests, but what is perhaps their most universal characteristic is a desire to feel special. No matter what kind of game you create, you should cater to them.

Pay attention to market trends: Fads move especially fast with this age group, which is why it is important to stay up-to-date on what’s popular now. Read relevant magazines, browse websites, and listen to music to figure out what tweens are into. Today’s Justin Bieber could be tomorrow’s Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and you don’t want to be caught with an outdated game.

Keep it simple: Educational games can be great learning tools, but if you are reaching tweens in an environment where they’re expecting a casual or social gaming experience, keeping it simple and light-hearted is the way to go. Games that are text heavy, have lengthy tutorials, or complex control schemes are likely to fall flat with this audience.

Don’t skimp on production quality: Simple shouldn’t mean bland. Particularly within genre-themed games, maintaining a high design standard is key to engaging this very visual audience.

Show parents some love: In many cases, parents are the gatekeepers to tweens’ online activities, which is why it’s important to include them in your strategy. Use parent-friendly language. Parents should easily be able to find terms, privacy policies, and other details that are important to them when monitoring their children’s online behavior.

The tween girls market is one of the fastest growing corners of the gaming industry, and it’s poised to take off in a major way. Developers should approach this like they would any new niche market: do your homework, immerse yourself in the trends, and above all — create something you’re proud of! Tweens are very clued in and connected socially, and whether you love your game or hate it, they’ll know and respond accordingly.（ source:venturebeat）