Blog Tour: The Holder's Dominion by Genese Davis, Author Guest Post

Today, I am very excited to welcome Genese Davis to the blog and to share with y'all her guest post on Women in the World of Video Games.

About the Author:

Genese Davis grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At age twelve she got her first job at a dressage equestrian center, where she cleaned stalls and water tanks and exercised clients’ horses. She soon fell in love with the art of dressage and show jumping. Davis saved up five hundred dollars and purchased a rambunctious Norwegian Fjord that no one dared ride but her. After months of training she began competing throughout the state and, against all odds, the pair won many first-place ribbons and trophies in the horse trials competition called Eventing. Davis used her knowledge and experience to teach others and became a riding instructor at seventeen.
In addition to horses, piloting aircraft became another of her early passions. Davis says that flying is in her blood (her father and grandfather flew aircraft), and she studied voraciously at a summer aircraft program, learning aeronautics at a rapid rate. She won the highest honor attainable in the program by being the first to solo and obtained her student pilot’s license at fourteen. (taken from Goodreads)

Women in the World of Video Games

By Genese Davis

There exists a running joke in the world of video games that goes like this: a woman logs in to a video game, speaks one word into the microphone, and a male player will interject: “Hey, that cannot be a girl. Girls don’t play video games.”

Whether you’re an avid gamer or about to log in for the first time, chances are high that you’ll hear that running joke over and over again. But the truth of the matter: women have a significant presence in the world of video games, and not only as video game players. Women also hold significant influence in the creation of video games. From conception and design, to production and quality assurance, women are a part of every aspect of the video game industry.

1.      Professional Women in the Video Game Industry  

Ø  There are many professional women in the video game industry. Female artists create worlds and life-like models that will be essential for the game’s success. Female producers implement schedules and budgets, as well coordinate artist needs, and they oversee the entire game’s production pipeline from start to finish. Directors of production like Noel Wolfman have significant impact in the video game industry. Noel leads an entire department and overseas its production on a massive scale from conception to completion.

           

2.     Women Play Video Games

Ø  When we hear the term “video game players”, people often think of a throng of children, or a group of men. However, the average age of every video game player is thirty-three. And the percentages for male and female video game players are getting closer and closer together. The facts: Statistics taken from the ESA (Entertainment Software Association, http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp) show that 47% of video game players are women. If it seems there are more men playing video games than women, remember that men are often more vocal about playing video games. If you keep asking and looking around, you’ll discover there are more and more women playing video games every day.

Ø  Video games can improve everyone’s comfort level in social environments, but in particular, this is true for women. Video games teach players to think strategically, they force players to improvise, solve problems, and remain exceptionally aware. Learning these skills in-game are easily transferable into our social circles as well. Women can play video games and learn an array of new information about art, technology, programming, entertainment, and community, and transfer these experiences to their social networks. They will have new angles, skills, and tools for building camaraderie that can benefit all types of social environments.

3.     Video Games Benefit Women’s Relationships

Ø  Healthy and content relationships blossom when both partners take a pro-active interest in each other’s lifestyle. By taking the time to play a video game together couples can bond, learn, and discover more about each other. They will be interacting on new micro and macro levels.

Ø  Communication improves when playing video games together much more than when watching TV or movies. Video games require adaptation, and quick decision-making. Video games will constantly challenge couples to come up with strategies together. Video games can benefit relationships, bring people together, and improve our awareness and brainpower all at the same time.

Women definitely impact the world of video games in a very real way. As players, designers, artists, and producers, we are fundamental pieces for the world of video games. Legacy storylines in video games are often created around inspiring female icons. Women influence various video game plots, themes, and characters and can access a whole spectrum of professional and personal skill sets through video games. The next time you hear that running joke about women not being a part of this industry, remember we’re there! And we’re excited to be a part of the video game industry on various micro and macro levels.

The Holder's Dominion by Genese Davis, March 1, 2013. Published by Beaver's Pond Press.

After her father’s death on a mountain rescue mission, Kaylie Ames watched her family shatter. She fled Tacoma for college in faraway Austin, figuring that even the worst campus drama would be a relief. But when her old friend Elliott turns up on his knees in the grocery store aisle, raving about something called a morphis, Kaylie feels compelled to enter Elliott’s unfamiliar world.
Guided by Elliott and his friends, Kaylie signs on to the massively popular online game Edannair. There she discovers a world of beautiful vistas and magical creatures, where people from all over the globe step into the roles of warriors on fantastical quests. But a real-world evil threatens the players: the mysterious Holder, leader of the elite team known as Sarkmarr, is coercing his followers into traumatic offline dares known as “morphis assignments.” To save her friends, Kaylie must infiltrate Sarkmarr and survive the Holder’s tests.
Will she find the courage there to hold her real-world family together? 

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