Gaming
Divinity: Original Sin Dev: “Where Are The Women?”
Divinity: Original Sin developer Swen Vincke, head of Larian Studios, has written a fascinating blog post asking “where are the women?” He’s referring to the female fans of Divinity: Original Sin. The game was a massive success on Kickstarter a couple of years back, and after its release in 2014, the old-style RPG grew quite popular. Now, Larian Studios has run a Kickstarter campaign for the sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and Vincke has noticed some stark statistics.
Vincke happened upon the statistics of his most recent Kickstarter campaign and found that just 4% of visitors to the project’s page were women. Similarly, only 9% of the game’s Facebook fan page are women.
“One of the blind assumptions I’ve always made about Divinity: Original Sin is that many women play it,” Vincke writes. “My feeling that many women play D:OS is further reinforced by the people I meet at trade shows. For every two or three male fans, there’s always at least one woman. Based on that, my lazy mind concluded that at least 25% to 33% of our audience is female, if not more (given that trade shows are not exactly gender balanced).”
To Vincke, the low number of women shown in the analytics and his anecdotal experiences just “didn’t compute at all.” So the first thing he did was check Kickstarter’s overall gender statistics. What he found, and what my own research found, was that around 70% of Kickstarter users are male as opposed to around 30% female. This left Vincke still feeling rather confused about why less than 5% of his project’s visits came from women.
Sadly, Vincke was unable to find gender statistics from the Steam analytics for Divinity: Original Sin. “This seriously sucked, because it could’ve validated (or invalidated) an idea that had formed on our group chat i.e. The women who play our games will play the hell out of them, but they will only take an active interest when the games are released or about to be released. Our male audience on the contrary might be more interested in backing us sooner, for what I guess will be a variety of reasons.”
It’s worth noting here that Google Analytics’ method of determining the gender of a site’s visitors can often be quite inaccurate, but even with that in mind, 4% does still seem low.
Vincke told Polygon that Larian Studios “put a lot of effort in so that it’s equally appealing to men and women, and it would be really sad if that did not reach its target audience.” They actually redrew the original concept art (shown below) so that the female character wasn’t showing as much midriff later on in the game’s development.
Gaming
Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.46 introduces an exciting addition to the roster of exclusive cars available in the PS5 and PS4 racing game
Gran Turismo 7 has just received an exciting update to version 1.46 on both PS5 and PS4. This latest update introduces a unique addition to the game: the Škoda Vision Gran Turismo, a car that you won’t come across in any other game. Škoda makes its debut in the franchise with a visionary study of a single-seater, all-electric racing concept car, designed exclusively for the Polyphony Digital racer.
Once you’ve downloaded update 1.46, you’ll have the opportunity to test drive not one but two additional cars: the AFEELA Prototype 2024 and the iconic Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 Sport Coupe ’70. Get ready for an exhilarating ride! Watch as they take to the track in the video above.
Additionally, the update introduces a new menu for players to tackle in the GT Café. At Collector Level 38, players have the opportunity to delve into the fascinating world of Ferrari 12-cylinder engines, gaining knowledge and expanding their collection. In World Circuits, players can look forward to exciting new events such as the Japanese Clubman Cup 550, the American FR Challenge 550, and the Vision Gran Turismo Trophy. For all the avid fans of Photo Mode, there’s an exciting opportunity to explore the captivating city of San Diego in a brand new Scape.
What are your thoughts on the latest update for Gran Turismo 7? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Gaming
ReFantazio Takes a Different Approach to Romance, Setting Itself Apart from the Persona Games
Atlus’ highly anticipated RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio, appears to incorporate familiar systems reminiscent of the developer’s acclaimed Persona series. The game features turn-based battles that heavily rely on exploiting enemy weaknesses. Additionally, players have the ability to summon warrior spirits during combat. However, the most significant aspect of this game, which will be discussed in this article, is the bonding system. Through this system, players can spend time with important characters and gain deeper insights into their personalities and stories.
In contrast to the Persona games, the bonding system ends at that point. Unfortunately, players will be unable to pursue romantic relationships with their beloved waifus, which may come as a disappointment to those who have developed strong feelings for Hulkenberg, the party’s charismatic red-haired elven knight.
According to Siliconera, the absence of romance came up during a recent question and answer session. Atlus emphasized the continued opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with your allies while also introducing additional narratives through substories. In addition, familiarizing yourself with the supporting characters will grant you access to new archetypes, which serve as the game’s character classes.
In the Persona games, romance is not obligatory; rather, it serves as a means to customize your playthrough. However, it is quite unexpected that Metaphor has chosen not to pursue such a venture, considering the significant amount of discussion it typically generates!
Were you anticipating any romantic elements in Metaphor? If you’re not satisfied with your pre-order, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Gaming
Shift Up unveils the intriguing details behind the physical packaging of Stellar Blade for the PS5
It appears that many
are eagerly anticipating the launch of the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade. Shift Up, the developer, has shared a lengthy video showcasing the “secrets” found in the physical box of the game for PS5. From what we can gather, these secrets include a reversible cover/dust jacket and a download code for cosmetic items.
We must clarify that while we do appreciate the variant cover, it may be more appealing than the game’s standard art. However, it is not something we would typically classify as a “secret.”. However, what’s interesting is that Shift Up has confirmed through the comments section that this will be the case in all regions. Additionally, the visually striking action RPG will remain uncensored worldwide.
「Stellar Blade」 Physical Package Secrets⚠️#StellarBlade #PS5 #Disc pic.twitter.com/WQSzKUSDQ4
— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) April 22, 2024
It’s refreshing to witness a developer going the extra mile for physical collectors, and it’s evident that the developer is determined to leave a favorable mark in the console realm. Stellar Blade is set to make its highly anticipated debut this Friday, April 26th, exclusively on the PS5.
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