Sweet and Sour Is this a girl-oriented video game?

This project has two parts the short video game Sweet and Sour and the master thesis titled: Understanding the Phenomenon of “Girl-oriented” Video Games.

This master project was nominated for the Förderpreis design of ZHdK 2024.

Interview

Sweet and Sour

Is this a Girl-oriented game? Determining if a video game is designed for girls seems straightforward. But what factors truly contribute to this distinction? Enter «Sweet&Sour»: a game that challenges perceptions. The player’s actions change the game’s art style and topic from neutral to crazily girly – playing with the three pillar theories outlined in the Master’s thesis. «Understanding the Phenomenon of “Girl-Oriented” Video Games. The game gives players a creative space to interact with girl-oriented codes, encouraging reflection on the topic of gendered video games.

Kathleen Bohren: Creation, Illustrations, concept art, programmation, Game design, UI, UX…

Kristina Rieder: Deco Items illustrations.

Marin Wolf & Dimitri Gamboni: Sound design

Gideon Schaber: Music

Understanding the phenomenon of "Girl-oriented" video games.

Master thesis

Click here to read the thesis

This master’s thesis explores the concept of video games designed specifically for the female demographic. This topic raises several questions arising from the history of the video game and children’s toy industries.

It seems easy to immediately determine whether a game is intended for girls, but what factors contribute to this quick identification?

This work categorizes and understands “Girl-oriented Games” through the analysis of game design aspects as well as visuals and storytelling.

It is crucial to archive and discuss these works, which are often overlooked. “Girl Games” as a term and topic tends to have polarized opinions. This text collects and organizes these ideologies throughout the game industry’s history.

René Bauer & Mela Kocher: mentors