“We Are Two Strong Women”: Designing Empowerment in a Pervasive Game

The paper presents the design and evaluation of Codename Heroes, a gender-aware pervasive mobile game intended for teenage girls, and argues that gender-inclusive design is achievable by focusing on gameplay mechanics rather than surface aesthetics. Its central thesis is that pervasive games, which blend into everyday life, carry a heightened risk of reinforcing restrictive gender norms, and that designers can counter this by building around activities young women genuinely enjoy. The work is framed as design research, drawing on literature about young women's lives, including identity uncertainty, peer pressure, fear of the outside world, and limited confidence with technology.

The game's design centers on collaboration, secrecy, gift-giving, and a flat, meritocratic structure, wrapped in a superhero and spy theme meant to appeal to young women without appearing overtly "pink." Development proceeded through four playtest iterations, including a festival trial with 31 women and 21 men and a week-long field test that retained only two players. Across these trials, participants reported feeling safe when explicitly asked about it and preferred playing with others, though they expressed uncertainty about moving into indoor and semi-public spaces.

Later play-test findings reinforce the value of social design. Players often felt safer when playing in pairs, and they derived more satisfaction from achieving goals, such as locating hidden messages, than from accumulating points. Collaborative play and gift-giving helped reduce girls' apprehension about public space, but they did not eliminate a notable tendency among players, particularly women, to blame themselves when they became lost or confused.

Questionnaire responses rated the game roughly 4 to 5 out of 5, suggesting broad appeal across genders, although the game proved more attractive to women and male response rates were lower. The authors conclude that mechanics-led design can meaningfully broaden engagement, while acknowledging that self-blame remains unresolved and that longer-term play studies are needed to assess sustained impact.