Games and identity

Hi all,

I have spent some time thinking about who games are designed for and how this impacts on people who do not fit into that demographic. It has been pointed out that the average gamer is in their thirties white and male, often games that show at least some parts of the characters played show them as being white, males presumably in the prime of thier lives. Anacdotially I thought that most people wouldn't be too sensitive as to be put of a game because of this. To me and to most gamers i would imagime that gameplay would be the most important aspect. I would have thought people would have just got into character and got on with it. However, I was reading an article in New Scientist magazine, which suggests that not only does it not matter about the what the avatar is gender, species or other possible difference the can have, that people play the game as themeselves. "It's a freedom most of us don't exploit" according to Nick Lee. The article explains that peoples online personalities, this reserch was done on WoW players, tend to corriliate to thier real personalities.

This confirms my initial hunch and also offers some insights into my own personality: perhaps i spend alot of time just slipping into character- a sobering thought!

On an even more alarming note the thought of people tracking online personalities and baseing advertising and the rest on that is a litte worring. Here's the link if anyones interested.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927964.100-online-games-reveal-players-personalities--to-who.html