How to Get the Girls Gaming: A Literature Study on Inclusive Design

This scoping literature review examines which game design concepts are important for engaging girls in serious games, with the aim of gathering requirements for educational games where girls do not feel excluded. The authors mapped 23 research papers published between 1994 and 2021, identified through Google Scholar searches and backward and forward citation tracking, and analysed them using a thematic approach that moved between deductive and inductive coding. The work is positioned as groundwork for a future computer science educational game developed within the Erasmus+ Gaming4Coding project, and is framed around addressing a research gap in inclusive game design.

The review identifies four design themes that appeal to girls: creativity and customisation, exploration without violence, collaborative interaction, and character diversity. Studies cited across the literature consistently report that girls favour the ability to modify characters, create artwork, and express themselves, while boys more often gravitate toward combat and violent feedback. Girls are also shown to value rich narratives, social interaction, and characters of both genders, including female protagonists, which in one cited study increased interest in technical subjects. A fifth theme examines the risks of gender-specific design, noting that preferences may stem more from exposure and marketing than from innate differences, and that games aimed only at girls may not translate into more women entering technical careers.

The authors conclude that an inclusive design serving girls and boys together is preferable to a girl-specific approach. They recommend a "low threshold, wide walls and high ceiling" model, with careful attention to narration, backstory, social interaction, graphics, sound, and customisable personalisation. The authors acknowledge the limitations of a scoping review and recommend a systematic review for a more complete picture.