Let's Talk About Me

Last updated

Let's Talk About Me is a 1995 girl-oriented activity centre video game developed by GirlGames Inc. and team smartyPants!, and published by Simon & Schuster Interactive. [1] It was released on Macintosh, Windows, and Windows 3.x. A sequel entitled Let's Talk About Me Too was released in 1997.

Contents

Development

Some of the proto girl's games were Jenny of the Prairie , Cave Girl Clair , Kirsten and her Family , and Sara and her Friends in the 1980s. In 1995, software designer Lara Groppe continued this trend by researching girl's use of computers; she found they used them for shorter bursts and preferred content that was educational as well as entertaining. [2] As a result, she founded the company GirlGames in 1993 and created Let's Talk About Me as its debut title. [2]

Heather Kelley was hired in October 1995 as the company moved from Houston to Texas; her role was to do research for the game. [3] Groppe has apparently shown her resume to her mum, who said on the spot "hire her". [3] She split her time between working on the game and on the website. [3]

Development was unusual in the sense that the target market directly provided input in shaping the product rather than playtesting it upon completion. [2] Success of market leaders such as this title, Purple Moon, Her Interactive, and Girl Tech would all be founded in 1997. [2]

Gameplay

The game plays as an activity center for 10-14-year-old girls, with both quizzes and minigames that explore themes such as horoscopes and fashion. The game consists of four sections entitled "My Personality," "My Body," "My Life," and "My Future", which excluding the last one that is based on conjecture mix educational content with fun gameplay. [4] One such game explores the "perils of puberty". [5] The sequel features sections entitled My Diary, My Hairmaster Deluxe, My Zodiac Zone, and My Personality. [6]

SuperKids described it as an "interactive, multimedia version of Young Miss magazine". [4]

Critical reception

SuperKids felt the game offered a reason to get girls interested in using the computer, which was deemed a positive due to girls lagging behind boys when it came to PC use. [4] Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World felt it was a slow, girl-gendered counterpart to the "twitch" games that appealed to boys. [7] New Trends in Software Methodologies, Tools and Techniques felt the games were excellent programs for teenage girls. [8]

In its first eight months on the market, the game sold half a million copies. [2] Critical Readings: Media And Gender felt the game's success in the marketplace offered proof that young women were a viable target market for video gaming. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Pictures</span> Defunct video game developer from San Mateo, California

Digital Pictures was an American video game developer founded in 1991 by Lode Coen, Mark Klein, Ken Melville, Anne Flaut-Reed, Kevin Welsh and Tom Zito.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women and video games</span> Women as makers and consumers of video games

The relationship between women and video games has received extensive academic and media attention. Since the 1990s, female gamers have commonly been regarded as a minority. However, industry surveys have shown that over time, the gender ratio has become closer to equal. Beginning mainly in the 2010s, women have been found to make up around half of all gamers. The gender ratio differs significantly between game genres, and women are highly underrepresented in genres such as first-person shooters and grand strategy games. Sexism in video gaming, including sexual harassment, as well as underrepresentation of women as characters in games, is an increasing topic of discussion in video game culture.

<i>McKenzie & Co.</i> 1995 full-motion video game

McKenzie & Co. is a full-motion video CD-ROM dating sim game released by Her Interactive in 1995, designed to be played by girls. It was available for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Mac OS. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was planned but never released. "McKenzie" is the name of the protagonist's Geo Tracker—an acronym of Marvelous, Cool, Kinetic movement, Ever-lasting friendship, Non-conformist, Zany, Ingenious, and Empowered.

<i>Living Books</i> Interactive storybook series

Living Books is a series of interactive read-along adventures aimed at children aged 3–9. Created by Mark Schlichting, the series was mostly developed by Living Books for CD-ROM and published by Broderbund for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Two decades after the original release, the series was re-released by Wanderful Interactive Storybook for iOS and Android.

<i>Reader Rabbit</i> Video game series

Reader Rabbit is an educational game franchise created in 1983 by The Learning Company. The series is aimed at children from infancy to the age of nine. In 1998, a spiritual successor series called The ClueFinders was released for older students aged seven to twelve.

The LJN Video Art is an educational home video game console that was developed and manufactured by LJN. It was launched in 1987 with a two-year market presence of mostly negative critical reviews but sharing retail prestige among hit toys. It was discontinued in late 1989 at a heavy price drop, as ultimately a commercial failure. It is LJN's only video game console, and only nine games were made for it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepa (rapper)</span> Jamaican-born American rapper

Sandra Jacqueline Denton, better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American rapper, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008. Since January 2016, Denton has appeared as a supporting cast member on the music reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop which airs on We TV.

The Magic School Bus is a series of educational software video games developed by Music Pen and published by Microsoft via their Microsoft Home brand. The interactive adventures are part of the larger franchise and based on The Magic School Bus book series and public television series.

<i>The American Girls Premiere</i> 1997 video game

The American Girls Premiere is an educational computer game developed and published by The Learning Company for American Girl. The game allows players to create theatrical productions featuring characters from American Girl's Historical collection, along with scenes and other elements unique to each of the girls' respective time periods.

<i>Disneys Animated Storybook</i> Interactive storybook video game series

Disney's Animated Storybook is a point-and-click adventure interactive storybook video game series based on Walt Disney feature animations and Pixar films that were released throughout the 1990s. They were published by Disney Interactive for personal computers for children ages four to eight years old. Starting from 1994, most of the entries in the series were developed by Media Station. They have the same plots as their respective films, though abridged due to the limited medium.

Janese Swanson is an American inventor and software developer. Swanson co-developed the first of the Carmen Sandiego educational games, and founded the company Girl Tech, which creates products aimed at making technology more interesting for girls. She has developed award-winning curricula, electronic toys, and books that encourage girls to explore technology and inventions. Her toy inventions include the Snoop Stopper Keepsake Box, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N’ Lock Journal, and Swap-It Locket. Her publications include Tech Girl's Internet Adventures, Tech Girl's Activity Book, and Girlzine: A Magazine for the Global Girl.

<i>Disneys Activity Center</i> Video game series

Disney's Activity Center is a series of PC and PlayStation games released by Disney Interactive with each title consisting of various activities and minigames to be completed, using aspects of their licensed property.

<i>Chop Suey</i> (video game) 1995 point-and-click video game

Chop Suey is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Magnet Interactive Studios for the Macintosh in 1995. It was developed by Theresa Duncan and Monica Gesue to be a story disc for girls. Art is by Ian Svenonius, music and sound is by Brendan Canty, and narration is by author David Sedaris.

Madeline is a series of educational point-and-click adventure video games which were developed during the mid-1990s for Windows and Mac systems. The games are an extension of the Madeline series of children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans, which describe the adventures of a young French girl. The video-game series was produced concurrently with a TV series of the same name, with characters and voice actors from the show.

<i>Thinkin Things</i> Series of educational video games

Thinkin' Things is a series of educational video games by the Edmark Corporation and released for Windows and Mac in the 1990s. Entries in the series include Thinkin' Things Collection 1 (Formerly Thinkin Things) (1993), Thinkin' Things Collection 2 (1994), Thinkin' Things Collection 3 (1995), the adventure game Thinkin' Things: Sky Island Mysteries (1998), Thinkin’ Things Galactic Brain Benders (1999), Thinkin' Things: All Around Frippletown (1999) and Thinkin' Things: Toony the Loon's Lagoon (1999).

Detective Barbie is a series of three mystery themed point and click adventure games starring the character Barbie. The series consists of Detective Barbie In the Mystery of the Carnival Caper! (1998) Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery (1999), and Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise (2000). The first two games were developed by Gorilla Systems Corporation and published on the PC by Mattel Media/Mattel Interactive. The third game was developed for the PlayStation by Runecraft.

<i>Rocketts New School</i> 1997 video game

Rockett's New School is a 1997 girl-oriented video game developed by Silicon Valley-based Purple Moon. It was directed by Brenda Laurel.

<i>Magic Fairy Tales: Barbie as Rapunzel</i> 1997 video game

Magic Fairy Tales: Barbie as Rapunzel is a 1997 educational adventure game developed by Media Station and published by Mattel Media.

<i>Rugrats Adventure Game</i> 1998 educational adventure video game

Rugrats Adventure Game is an educational adventure point and click video game based on the Rugrats television series released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 30, 1998. It was developed and published by Broderbund. The game follows Tommy Pickles and friends Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as they try to rescue Tommy's beloved toy Reptar from being thrown out as garbage. The game incorporates point and click gameplay, with characters and objects appearing in different locations even after the player has visited them once. Angelica, the series' main antagonist, appears in the game to help further the story and ultimately become the game's main villain.

<i>Adventures with Barbie: Ocean Discovery</i> 1997 video game

Adventures with Barbie: Ocean Discovery is a 1997 video game developed by Gorilla Systems Corporation and published by Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing International for Windows. On the Game Boy Color, the game was known as Barbie: Ocean Discovery.

References

  1. ↑ "Let's Talk About Me for Macintosh (1996) - MobyGames". MobyGames.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Blair, Kristine; Takayoshi, Pamela (1 April 1999). Feminist Cyberscapes: Mapping Gendered Academic Spaces. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN   9781567504385 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 Cassell, Justine; Jenkins, Henry (1 April 2018). From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. MIT Press. ISBN   9780262531689 – via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 3 "SuperKids Software Review of Let's Talk About Me, from Girl Games, Inc". www.superkids.com.
  5. ↑ "Let's Talk about Me: Description". mathequity.terc.edu.
  6. ↑ "Let's Talk about Me Too: Description". mathequity.terc.edu.
  7. ↑ Inness, Sherrie A. (1 April 1998). Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780847691371 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Fujita, Hamido; Johannesson, Paul (1 April 2018). New Trends in Software Methodologies, Tools and Techniques: Proceedings of Lyee W03, the Second International Workshop on Lyee Methodology. IOS Press. ISBN   9781586033743 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Cynthia, Carter; Linda, Steiner (1 December 2003). Critical Readings: Media And Gender. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN   9780335210978 – via Google Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.