Romance in Games: What It Is, How It Is, and How Developers Can Improve It
This project extends my first “Romance in Games” survey, seeking to be of assistance to developers who produce romance content in their games, resulting in richer gaming experiences for a wider audience. I have sought information about market readiness for LGBT romance content in games, how the audience defines “romance games,” what people’s definition of “satisfying game romance” is and how well developers are living up to that definition, as well as what developers can do to make game romance more satisfying for players. This survey consisted of four sections: basic demographics, general gaming preferences, the nature of romance in games, and satisfaction with romance in games. The preliminary findings are that straight audiences are ready for—and queer audiences crave—more LGBT romance content in single-player role-playing games (RPGs); that BioWare warrants and deserves a prominent position in any critical discussion of romance in single-player RPGs; and that there are tangible reasons why customers might not find game romances satisfying, although these problems are reparable. The end suggestion, recognizing that there is much more to be gleaned from this data set, is that wider research be conducted about these matters with proper funding and staffing by researchers.
How Many People are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender?
Drawing on information from four recent national and two state-level population-based surveys, the analyses suggest that there are more than 8 million adults in the US who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population. There are also nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the US. In total, the study suggests that approximately 9 million Americans – roughly the population of New Jersey – identify as LGBT. Key findings from the study include among adults who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, bisexuals comprise a slight majority (1.8% compared to 1.7% who identify as lesbian or gay); women are substantially more likely than men to identify as bisexual; estimates of those who report any lifetime same-sex sexual behavior and any same-sex sexual attraction are substantially higher than estimates of those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. An estimated 19 million Americans (8.2%) report that they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and nearly 25.6 million Americans (11%) acknowledge at least some same-sex sexual attraction.
Cooperative Collection Development
The author discusses cooperative collection development from an historical perspective and examines some of the projects conceived and implemented during the past forty years. In many cases the projects failed even after years of concentrated effort. However, more important than these failures are new efforts that are being made. The major focus of this article is on both current regional projects and the more broadly based ARL-sponsored North American Collections Inventory Project. The author discusses these efforts and offers some specific judgments regarding the possibility that these projects will lead to a truly successful coordinated collection development project on a national basis.