Skultimate Secrets is the perfect Christmas gift for pre-teen girls

There aren't many challenging games made for younger girls, but that's something Outright Games and Mattel are changing with a new game. Monster High: Skultimate Secrets. The platformer is accessible to players of any gender or age, but it fills an important and unexplored gap in the gaming market, not only giving pre-teen girls a game that fits their interests, but also challenges them.

Outright Narrative Designer Destinee Cleveland and Assistant Producer Miguel Ortiz de Urbina Díaz share their insights on this target audience and how to share monster high serves them up in a recent interview with Game Rant. These features make it a winning choice for a pre-teen girl gamer's favorite gift.

Skultimate secrets to reach girl gamers

Monster High: Skultimate Secrets It is based on the latest third generation monster highwhich works for both pre-teen girls and those like Diaz who grew up on Mattel's popular IP. Released in 2022, Generation Three refined its appeal to that pre-teen girl audience and also made deliberate efforts to present a uniform. monster high Experience from movies to games

Outright goes a long way to both being a consistent part of Generation III and furthering players' understanding of Monster High. Cleveland, who worked closely with Mattel on the game's characters and narrative, offered insights into bringing the school to life:

There was just so much information online and there was only so much you could get from the series, especially since they've had three generations so far. But figuring out how they were going to go with it really helped me develop the characters so that they were integral to the show and things like that. Watch the show and play the game, it's still the same Twyla, it's still the same Draculaura… it's an open world where you can explore and do all the things you can't see or can't do in the show see We do not see it in other games

He also mentioned that some secrets in the heart monster high It may have answers in the game, but he said players will have to choose the title for themselves to find out what those answers are. And this attention to detail wasn't the only thing Mattel helped the game connect with its target audience of pre-teen girls and older secondary audiences. monster high Fans of Mattel explained that the couple prioritizes a good show. Ever since the introduction of professional Barbies—including Game Designer and Tomb Raider Barbie—Mattel has made girls' diverse experiences a core and central part of its franchises. Frankie from monster highThe current generation's genderfluid and player personality is recognized in it Secrets of Skultimate For example, no gender is defined for them.

Girl gamers want a challenge

Many games made for girls, and even games aimed at adult women, tend to focus on low-risk experiences. The main games for girls are walking simulators or dress up titles. While these games, and cozy games in general, have an important place in the industry, their femininity hurts gamers with complex interests. This includes gamer girls.

Diaz noted that in the past few years, the trend toward offering girls simpler games has begun to change, and part of Monster High: Skultimate Secrets. And she explained that it's not just instinct about gender equality that Outright is following, but cold statistics.

We have real data from our playtests with this game and other titles from the catalog that clearly show us how girls want that challenge as much as boys, so that's one of the reasons why
Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets
Not just a dress up game. There's obviously an element of customization that plays into diversity and inclusion and being yourself, which is integral to Monster High, but it's also primarily a platforming game. We have some fairly challenging platforming segments aimed at a younger target audience. We really wanted to make sure the game wasn't too easy. If you wanted to find a challenge in the game, you could.

Anecdotally, Cleveland shared some life experiences that back up these statistics and provide insight into why the market is ticking. monster high Goals are very underserved. It goes without saying that there are girl gamers, but according to Diaz, women make up more than half of the market. Despite this, attitudes towards female gamers are not always supportive.

Cleveland started a group called Dames for Games, which held its inaugural event last year, to try to raise the voices of women in the industry to counter the perception that gaming remains a male space. Mattel also wants to challenge that idea, so working with them to create a game that appeals to young girls is what she set out to do.

I always promote that you need to be seen, heard and respected in this industry because that's really important… I think, as we were growing up, there was this idea that games were somehow for boys and not Not so much for girls, but just looking at it statistically, girls are just as involved in games, wanting to be streamers, wanting to be developers, wanting to do all kinds of things that engage the gaming community. does I think the reason this is important is because we're growing as an industry and we want to make sure that everyone includes girls as we move into the future, which includes all genders that they want to see. They show themselves in games.

And the reception of the game has been very positive. Cleveland and Diaz's main complaint is that the 10-hour game could have been longer, which both describe as a good problem. This kind of positive review so soon after the game's late October release bodes well for a possible sequel in the future, which both were potentially interested in working on.

From those promising reviews to games reaching an underserved market, Monster High: Skultimate Secrets A favorite gift for pre-teen girls this holiday season is an entryway show.