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New 'gaymer' survey explores sexual identity, interest in games
A new version of the gay gamer survey is making the rounds, years after the first-of-its-kind, academically approved study attempted to "quantify the existence of an invisible minority." The results of the original were interesting, with one the more surprising aspects being the large heterosexual sample who decided to participate.Now Paul Nowak, a student going for his masters at gaming school Full Sail, is seeking participants in a similar study (also academically approved), which focuses on "questions of content: such as plot, genre, customization and other in-game experiences."The survey takes about 20 minutes and none of the questions seemed offensive to us -- then again, we live on the internet. We also spoke with Nowak about what he hopes to learn and why he decided to do this survey. Check out our discussion after the break.Participate in the "New Gaymer Survey."
Joystiq interviews gay gamer survey's creator Jason Rockwood
Six months after the data for the "Gaymer Survey" was expected, we catch up with Jason Rockwood to find out what took so long, what he hopes the data is used for and what can various groups take away from the survey? What's the most surprising thing to you about the survey? The biggest surprise about the survey was the interest from the audience. I had over 10,000 people from over 35 countries take this survey -- in like a week! It was so much of an overwhelming response. That was the biggest surprise.What took so long for the results to be released? This was expected to be finished last fall, correct?It took a long time because I decided that my applications to graduate school would be strengthened by having brought the project to some level of completion, because of that, I was working on the project mostly independently, outside the context of the academic setting, even though I was under the supervision and association of UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). So, it took a long time because I was working on this alone. Most researchers doing this kind of work are in a PhD. program and have funding of some kind. I had neither.So, what do you hope happens with the data?I hope it sparks continued conversation between and among gamers and developers on the topic of gay and bi people in gaming. I hope that it forms a foundation for exploration in the academic community on the topics of gaming motivation and sexuality, and I hope more games end up being produced for a gay audience.
