Event Wrap Up: Games for Women, Games by Women
The Women in Games International (WIGI) event in San Francisco, entitled "Games for Women, Games by Women," celebrated women on multiple levels — women developers who are trying to advance their careers, female game studies students wanting to break into their careers, female game players, non-exclusionary games (games designed for everybody), and so-called “girl games.” Highlights included discussions about how The Sims was marketed and whether World of Warcraft was designed for women.
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Several months ago, a group of women who have been active in promoting gender equality in the game industry formed a new group that would be dedicated to the cause. The result is Women in Games International (WIGI). Since then the group—founded by Ellen Beeman (Microsoft), Sheri Graner Ray (Sony Online Entertainment), Laura Fryer (Microsoft Game Studio), and others—has been organizing one-day events to promote and further its mission. The latest in the series, titled "Games for Women, Games by Women," was held at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center February 18. Gamasutra attended the one-day, one-room event alongside roughly 200 attendees.
The focal point of most game industry speaking engagements devoted to the topic of “women in the industry” is how to make the workplace and hiring process open to female employees. The WIGI event in San Francisco, on the other hand, celebrated women on multiple levels—women developers who are trying to advance their careers, female game studies students wanting to break into their careers, female game players, non-exclusionary games (games designed for everybody), and so-called “girl games.”
A keynote address from Robin Harper, senior vice president of community and support for Linden Lab, shared stories and user profiles from female Second Life players, which accounts for about 27 percent of the player base. Second Life, while not technically a game, is an open-world virtual environment in which all content is created and owned by the users. Because Linden Lab gives so much freedom to the Second Life community, it attracts a large number of game developers and game students who use the world to test out their design, programming, and art skills. However, many people in WIGI audience were as yet unfamiliar with the game, evidenced by the types of questions they asked Harper, such as “Does Linden Lab face much of a problem with players cheating?” (Since Second Life is not a game, there's nothing to be cheated.)
Among female developers, Second Life is regarded as having a very inclusive setup. Nothing about the game—down to its console, a computer—pushes women away from participating.
After the keynote, three panel discussions were held, followed by a break out of smaller and more specific roundtable discussions.