Fashion Action Struts Its Way Into Videogames

Fashion Action Struts Its Way Into Videogames

The developers of a new videogame set in the fashion world believe there is a gap in their industry: action games with feminine appeal.

Their offering is called "Fashion Hazard," a game in which high-fashion models dodge obstacles, and each other, as they prance down runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris. The game comes from the two-year-old Interactive Product Group unit of Condé Nast, the publisher of magazines including Vogue, Glamour and GQ.

The group didn't set out to design videogames, but Juliana Stock, the unit's senior director of product and business development, got the idea last year as she watched her tween-age daughter avidly play "Temple Run." That popular videogame is a high-octane chase, where Indiana Jones-style characters are pursued after stealing artifacts from an ancient temple. The chase course reminded Ms. Stock's team of a fashion runway and voilà, "Fashion Hazard" was on its way. The app comes out Thursday on iTunes for iPhones and iPads, priced at 99 cents, and will be released later for Android and other formats.

A Hollywood pitch for "Fashion Hazard" might run along the lines of "Bourne Identity Meets Fashion Week." Players climb to higher levels, unlocking pieces of the models' personal stories, which include humble origins, a love triangle and ultimate success.

Unlike many fashion games, players don't dress the models or primp them backstage. The action, which is far slower than the breakneck pace of "Temple Run," is all on the runway. This can be a hazardous place, rife with models who trip each other and obstacles that are highly unlikely to ever actually appear on a runway: cobras and flying caffe lattes that splatter on the screen.

The idea is to blend action with girlish passions. "A lot of [popular] games have a male aesthetic. You're a juvenile delinquent, you're Indiana Jones," says Ms. Stock. Girls' games often involve making cake, slicing fruit, or dressing dolls. "I felt that's a weird message for girls."

Girls and women make up nearly half of gamers today, according to the Entertainment Software Association industry group, and women over 18 are one of the fastest-growing gaming segments—in part because they're newer to games than boys and men. In 2011, $16.6 billion worth of games were sold in the U.S., according to NPD Group. About one-third of gamers are under 18.

Women's penchant for a narrative is why "Fashion Hazard" includes a story line for each model at the same time that it ratchets the action up as the game progresses. And it is why the game brings the story to a conclusion rather than using the "endless runner" model of many games.

Interactive Product Group's role is to develop new businesses separate from Condé Nast's current operations, but might later augment them or lead to new strategies. The group previously helped develop an iPad presentation app called Idea Flight.

Many women and girls prefer action games yet are turned off by masculine-viewpoint imagery, says Sheri Graner Ray, studio design director for Schell Games in Austin, Texas, and author of the 2003 book, "Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding The Market."

Ms. Ray says games often reflect the people creating them. Only 11% of game developers are women. "Young, white, straight, able-bodied males" dominate the field, she says. Ms. Ray, who worked on the popular "Star Wars Galaxies" game, says she often encourages development teams to use less sexualized imagery to avoid alienating potential female consumers. Women also enjoy violent games, she says, if there is a logical reason for violence in the narrative.

"Fashion Hazard" is meant to make a profit, not advertise Condé Nast's fashion publications. Besides the purchase price, upgrades, ringtones, and "model packs" with new models will be sold midgame. One model pack includes an African-American male model named Rob Capo, whose bio says, "Rob was an All-American athlete….Modeling is just a steppingstone to his real aspiration: acting." The first female model that comes with the game is named Ellie. She's from Kansas and dreams of making it big in modeling. The group also is hoping to attract product placements in the game from fashion and retail brands.

Is the game a game-changer for girls? My 10-year-old daughter, Saskia, enjoyed the game, and particularly liked making it to the ultimate runway, Paris. But she said she still prefers "Temple Run" and other non-girlish games. She was confused by the flying coffees—"I just got hit with something," she said. But she preferred "Fashion Hazard" to other fashion games she has played. "My other fashion games are like, run a store," she said with an eye roll.