Meet Otara Croft, a new role model

By SIMON COLLINS

Girls are muscling in on the traditionally male sport of computer games - with more strategic role-playing games instead of shoot-outs.

Takapuna game designer Maru Nihoniho, who is developing one of New Zealand's first female-based games for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation, said those designing shooting games were missing out on a huge market.

"It's mainly the females that buy the games. They buy them as presents. I buy them for my son," she said.

"But as far as development goes, it's mainly male-dominated. Females may not want to sit in a studio all day with a whole group of guys."

Christchurch-born Ms Nihoniho moved to Auckland 14 years ago and managed restaurants for 10 years before training at the National College of Design and Technology and starting her own business.

Her company is named Metia, Maori for "do it", and the main character in her first game is Maia, "a female warrior-type guardian of ancient artefacts" nicknamed "Otara Croft" after the heroine of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft.

"She's not overly drawn in certain places, she doesn't look offensive to females, she's female-friendly," Ms Nihoniho said.

She estimates the company will need to raise up to $1 million from investors to get the game to the world market.

Ms Nihoniho is part of a "Games and Girls" symposium being held in the Auckland Town Hall next Wednesday as part of the first New Zealand Innovation Festival.

Symposium organiser Frances Valintine of the Media Design School said New Zealand was five years behind other countries in developing games for females.

"We need to identify and establish a niche that New Zealand is known for, and one of the least saturated markets is the female market," she said.

Other events in the month-long festival, initiated by the organisers of a similar festival in Australia, include a three-day "sci-tech experience" for students on applying science in industry at the Auckland and Manukau Institutes of Technology and Unitec next week and a week-long "Technofest" starting in Hamilton on Sunday.

There is also an open day at the Waikato Innovation Park on Sunday.

NZ Innovation Festival