Representatives from non-profit organization Women in Games International have announced a new conference to take place in Dallas on April 22nd. The conference will be entitled "Advancing Your Career in Game Development: The Women's Perspective" and will address a variety of issues related to women working in the video games industry.
Topics at the seminar will include how to advance within game industry and balancing work and personal life. Round-table discussions will include: attracting women into games; what game artists, programmers, and producers do; marketing and PR; and resolving quality of life issues. There will also be a recruiter Q&A session on site as well.
Confirmed speakers include Norma Crippen, Sr. Account Manager, Mary Margaret.com; Don Daglow, President CEO, Stormfront Studios; Sheri Davenport, HR Manager, Sony Online Entertainment; Lori Durham, Vice President of Operations, Aspyr; Lisa Farina, Content Designer, Sony Online Entertainment; Sheri Graner Ray, Senior Designer/Author; Marc Holmes, Art Director, Ensemble Studios; Sam Lewis, Cartoon Network, Lead Designer; Karen McMullan, Game Designer, Ensemble Studios; Mike McShaffry, Head of Studio-Austin, Breakaway Games; Evangeline Marzec, Test Lead, GameINSTINCT; Leah Miller, Director of Brand Management, Aspyr; Susan O’Conner, President, Susan O'Connor Writing Studio; Tamir Nadav, Associate Programmer, KingsIsle Entertainment; Peter Raad, Executive Director, The Guildhall at SMU; Niki Robinson, Programmer, LimeLife; Karen Swanson, UI Designer, Ensemble Studios; and Spencer Zuzolo, Director, GameCamp.
Conference sponsors are Microsoft Game Studios, Ubisoft, International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Game Developers Conference (GDC), GameInstinct, Austin Game Developers, Girls in Games, Mary-Margaret.com, ThemePark Studios, WomenGamers.com and BusinessWire.
"As the games industry continues to grow, the interest in attracting women into the industry has also grown," stated Sheri Graner Ray, Steering Committee Chair for Women in Games International. "Women in Games International is a place for people to work together to identify and address the issues of women in the industry. Through Women In Games International, we continue to work to further grow the games industry into an economically strong, diverse, and exciting place to be for everyone."
The conference will feature a keynote by Denise Fulton, Head of Studio for Midway-Austin entitled "The Best Defense...Why Gender Doesn't Matter (As Much As You Might Think)," where she will address looking past the issue of gender and focusing on individual accomplishments of women.
More information, as well instructions on how to register, can be found on
the event's website.
