Gen Z on gaming

Do you have any tips for gaming companies?

Use emotion, more emotion. I’ve got such an emotional connection to Pokemon, I love the nostalgia from old games. My dad and I used to play Zelda every Saturday when I was 13, and when we discovered the second game was coming out we counted down the days – I still occasionally play it now. Inside Out 2 has captured emotions so well, with the struggles of growing into a teenager by introducing a new main character called Anxiety. It’s made my generation feel as though it’s grown up with the film. 

Can you predict the future of gaming?

I can try! I think one exciting development will be tech advances in VR and AR completely changing the physical experience of visiting an arcade. We’re going to see the integration of digital elements into the real world, and blending of physical environments with digital overlays. As far as individual gaming is concerned, that looks like being AI led.

What would you change about the gaming world? 

Male heroes. It’s still so heavily focused on male heroes. The main point of Zelda is to be the hero and face challenges to beat the bad guys, and do everything the princess cannot apparently do. In Mario, the initial plot line was to save Princess Peach from Bowser. In so many games, the male characters could run and fast and complete the game easier than the female characters. Mario, Luigi, Toad were the playable male characters, but the female characters of Princess Peach and Rosalina would often run slowly and act poised as they were “royalty”.

What message does this give? A lasting impression that this is how women are meant to act. It is changing, slowly – now 48% of the world’s population of gamers are non-male (female or non-binary), and that proportion is growing.

I’m watching, and waiting!