EQ2_Bloggers
05-19-2010, 07:01 PM
This is the first in what is intended to be a series of Q&A sessions with women who work in the computer game industry. I’m happy to announce that our first guest is Brenda Brathwaite, the Creative Director at LOLapps,*in addition to*serving on the board of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the advisory board for the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at the Strong Museum of Play and the advisory board for Game Developer Magazine. *Brenda has been working in the industry since 1981 and according to the research of Ernest Adams (http://www.edge-online.com/features/celebrating-female-game-devs-yesteryear), is “the longest-serving female game developer in the business”. *Brenda was hired at the age of 15 to work on the Wizardry series of games, and hasn’t stopped since.
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I recently had the opportunity to chat with Brenda and hear about how she broke into the industry, her feelings on being a female in this business and what she predicts for the future of women in gaming.
[Emily] Tell us a bit about the area of gaming you’re currently involved in – for example, where are you working, what is your job title, what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
[Brenda] Presently, I am working on social games, mostly for Facebook. As a Creative Director, it’s my job to give feedback to the game designers and project leads on both live and in-development projects. At any given time, I feel like I am working on five different things at once. I think this strengthens our brains as game designers by making us versatile. Furthermore, the mix allows us to consider how these different sets of mechanics and play dynamics influence players and the social graph in different ways. Outside of work, I am making two board games with my best friend (also a game designer) and working on my Mechanic is the Message series. The current game that has my attention is One Falls for Each of Us.
On a daily basis, I come in and do my morning grind on our products, respond to email, play a ton of new games, and spend a lot of time thinking about how a particular mechanic might influence things in a whole new way. It’s all games, all day.
[Emily] How common is it to find women working in your specific area of games?
[Brenda] To me, it feels like it’s unbelievably common now. Last week, I went to lunch with 20 women who work where I do. 20! Consider that this is 4x more than all the female game devs I was aware of when I first started in the industry in 1981. Every year, our ranks are growing, and that we are presently the core demographic of social games makes it even more important to have our input on game design decisions.
That said, statistically speaking, we are still a serious minority in the game industry overall.
[Emily] How do you feel that being a women helps or hinders you at work, if at all?
[Brenda] In social games, it’s certainly helpful that I literally am the target demographic – a 43 year old woman. Yay for me. I get the games, enjoy them, and have tons of friends playing them. I think it’s also benefitted me tremendously press-wise. I mean, we’re doing this interview because I’m a) a woman who is b) making games. While the press isn’t important for me, I do think visibility of women in tech is very important for women hoping to get into tech. I am glad that interviews like this are done so that girls and young women can get careers in tech on their radars, particular careers in social media where we are the core demographic and naturals.
I have not had any instances where it hindered me, really. On a couple of recent occasions, someone assumed I was “arm candy” for a friend of mine, and then assumed I was with the media or in PR because I was a woman. *There are women and men in those roles, it was a generalization that should have been avoided. It is unsafe to generalize my role or experience based on my gender.
[Emily] What types of games do you enjoy playing?
[Brenda] I deeply enjoy RPGs, RTSs and turn-based strategy games. Games which are inherently social are also fun to me. I’m a hardcore boardgame player, too.
[Emily] What games have you most enjoyed recently?
[Brenda] WoW, Civilization Revolution, SPP Ranch, Plants vs. Zombies, DOOM and Words with Friends.
[Emily] What game work have you done that you are most proud of?
[Brenda] Of all my commercial games, I remain the proudest of Wizardry 8. It was such an amazing development experience. I am also proud of the Mechanic is the Message series, and I’m really enjoying making the current one. I am proud of some of the decisions I’ve had to make.
[Emily] Can you describe any particularly positive or negative experiences working in the industry that you feel are specifically related to your being female?
Over the last few years, I’ve had women come up to me and thank me for no other reason than being a woman making games. They said that when they decided to make games themselves that they followed my career and researched me. It was so humbling to make that difference in someone’s life. My experience as a woman in the game industry has been wholly positive.
[Emily]. Which issues (if any) do you feel are most important to women either working or playing in gaming these days?
[Brenda] Visibility. This ties into my last point. For many women, game development just isn’t on their radar as a potential career path. I think it’s because it’s a new field, but it’s also because we need to do a better job of getting the word out there to girls about the possibility. What SOE is doing here is awesome. I’m also excited about the work of the IGDA’s Women in Games SIG and groups like Women in Games International. All are dedicated to creating a community that’s visible.
[Emily] Other male-dominated fields like engineering and physics are not new fields, but suffer the same problems that few women are in them. *Personally, I worry that focusing on visibility alone isn’t going to be nearly enough – that even when most or all women are aware of game design as a career, it may still end up underpopulated with women like engineering or physics. *Do you have any thoughts about that?
[Brenda] Yeah, I do. *Game design is a very creative art. It is about building and nurturing and teasing out the great in something that may not seem so great at first. It requires imagination, careful thought and tremendous sensitivity to players. Everything that makes someone a great nurse – a field women dominate – would also make a person a good game designer. So, I don’t see the same barrier here that I do to other tech fields.
At the same time, there are great cultural stereotypes to overcome. My daughter (she’s 9) was recently told that “girls don’t play video games,” to which she replied, “my mom makes them.” I loved her for that. I think that the recent wave of social games has done a lot to drive games in our direction, however. More moms, aunts, sisters and girls are aware of games now, and in a positive way, than ever before.
When I got into the industry, there were 5 of us that I knew of. We’ve massively multiplied and it is progress.
The problem, as you note, is larger than just visibility, but if I were given one thing to tackle, it would be way up there on my list.
[Emily] How do you think that the game industry in general might attract more women, both to work within the industry, and to play more games in general?
[Brenda] There are many ways we could attract more women, but some may require significant social changes. Why don’t we see articles on video games in typical women’s magazines? Why aren’t they covered in the entertainment section of the newspapers or even the arts section? Can we recruit in places where women tend to congregate? Will companies looking to recruit more women sponsor events that attract women? Will bringing more women into games, in turn, make games more friendly to women? Will we start to dress women avatars in games less like strippers and more like heroes?
[Emily] What specific actions (if any) would you encourage women working in gaming to take in order to make the industry more friendly to women?
[Brenda] I think those of us who have been here a while have a responsibility to reach out. At least I’ve been feeling that responsibility now. I used to not take it too seriously. I was a woman. I made games. So what? Then, and like I said way earlier, women started coming up to me and saying that I was a role model for them. That’s a surprising and super humbling thing to hear. I mean, a role model? It still astounds me. That made me take it seriously, though. While I didn’t have women to look up to in the industry when I first started, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to someone else. So, when I am asked to do something on behalf of women in games, and I am at all available to do it, I do. I actively mentor a number of women, too.
I think it’s also important that we don’t become yesterday’s issue. We need to keep visible, we need to keep talking about it, and we need to stay positive. As I’ve said, my experience as a woman in this industry has been 100% positive. I have no bad stories to tell. I have loved every minute of it, and look forward to years more. We need to spread happy stories, too.
I think that [networking] is where we as women in games really are challenged, too. If you’re networking with your friends and they are predominately female, the odds of you getting in are much less than guys networking with their friends. *That’s why visibility and events are so important for us.
[Emily] Are there any particular blogs, sites, books, twitter feeds, or other sources that you would recommend as particularly relevant or helpful to women in the gaming industry?
[Brenda] Yes! First off, find out who the women are. Look at the list of people I follow on twitter. I’m @bbrathwaite. Check out the women on my list and follow them. We are many! Join the IGDA and sign up for the women in games special interest group. Get active and participate in the mailing list. There are lots of great discussions going on.One thing that’s awesome about women in games is how incredibly accessible we really are. For instance, my junior designer Loren Hernandez (@LorenHernandez) has had some back and forth with Laralyn McWilliams and Sheri Graner Ray, both noted game designers, through Twitter. Get yourself integrated into the community. There are so many things to do, and discussions to have. *Many of these women maintain their own blogs.
[Emily] Any other thoughts you’d like to share about women, gaming, or what it means to you to be a woman in gaming?
[Brenda] My comments aren’t limited to just women. If games are your passion and making them is all you can think about, please join us. It won’t be easy. Lots of people want to do this for a living. You’ll have to work your butt off, practice, play everything you can get your hands on, and be a student of everything from writing to history to sci-fi to fantasy to…. things we’ve not considered yet. Here’s why you should do it though – because this is the most wonderful industry on the earth, and being given the opportunity to work on games is a gift. So, fight for it. Work hard. Find a mentor, and join us.
Many thanks to Brenda for taking the time to answer these questions!
More details of her extensive biography can be found at: *http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/about/.
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http://stationblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/brenda1.jpg?w=281&h=211 (http://stationblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/brenda1.jpg)
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Brenda and hear about how she broke into the industry, her feelings on being a female in this business and what she predicts for the future of women in gaming.
[Emily] Tell us a bit about the area of gaming you’re currently involved in – for example, where are you working, what is your job title, what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
[Brenda] Presently, I am working on social games, mostly for Facebook. As a Creative Director, it’s my job to give feedback to the game designers and project leads on both live and in-development projects. At any given time, I feel like I am working on five different things at once. I think this strengthens our brains as game designers by making us versatile. Furthermore, the mix allows us to consider how these different sets of mechanics and play dynamics influence players and the social graph in different ways. Outside of work, I am making two board games with my best friend (also a game designer) and working on my Mechanic is the Message series. The current game that has my attention is One Falls for Each of Us.
On a daily basis, I come in and do my morning grind on our products, respond to email, play a ton of new games, and spend a lot of time thinking about how a particular mechanic might influence things in a whole new way. It’s all games, all day.
[Emily] How common is it to find women working in your specific area of games?
[Brenda] To me, it feels like it’s unbelievably common now. Last week, I went to lunch with 20 women who work where I do. 20! Consider that this is 4x more than all the female game devs I was aware of when I first started in the industry in 1981. Every year, our ranks are growing, and that we are presently the core demographic of social games makes it even more important to have our input on game design decisions.
That said, statistically speaking, we are still a serious minority in the game industry overall.
[Emily] How do you feel that being a women helps or hinders you at work, if at all?
[Brenda] In social games, it’s certainly helpful that I literally am the target demographic – a 43 year old woman. Yay for me. I get the games, enjoy them, and have tons of friends playing them. I think it’s also benefitted me tremendously press-wise. I mean, we’re doing this interview because I’m a) a woman who is b) making games. While the press isn’t important for me, I do think visibility of women in tech is very important for women hoping to get into tech. I am glad that interviews like this are done so that girls and young women can get careers in tech on their radars, particular careers in social media where we are the core demographic and naturals.
I have not had any instances where it hindered me, really. On a couple of recent occasions, someone assumed I was “arm candy” for a friend of mine, and then assumed I was with the media or in PR because I was a woman. *There are women and men in those roles, it was a generalization that should have been avoided. It is unsafe to generalize my role or experience based on my gender.
[Emily] What types of games do you enjoy playing?
[Brenda] I deeply enjoy RPGs, RTSs and turn-based strategy games. Games which are inherently social are also fun to me. I’m a hardcore boardgame player, too.
[Emily] What games have you most enjoyed recently?
[Brenda] WoW, Civilization Revolution, SPP Ranch, Plants vs. Zombies, DOOM and Words with Friends.
[Emily] What game work have you done that you are most proud of?
[Brenda] Of all my commercial games, I remain the proudest of Wizardry 8. It was such an amazing development experience. I am also proud of the Mechanic is the Message series, and I’m really enjoying making the current one. I am proud of some of the decisions I’ve had to make.
[Emily] Can you describe any particularly positive or negative experiences working in the industry that you feel are specifically related to your being female?
Over the last few years, I’ve had women come up to me and thank me for no other reason than being a woman making games. They said that when they decided to make games themselves that they followed my career and researched me. It was so humbling to make that difference in someone’s life. My experience as a woman in the game industry has been wholly positive.
[Emily]. Which issues (if any) do you feel are most important to women either working or playing in gaming these days?
[Brenda] Visibility. This ties into my last point. For many women, game development just isn’t on their radar as a potential career path. I think it’s because it’s a new field, but it’s also because we need to do a better job of getting the word out there to girls about the possibility. What SOE is doing here is awesome. I’m also excited about the work of the IGDA’s Women in Games SIG and groups like Women in Games International. All are dedicated to creating a community that’s visible.
[Emily] Other male-dominated fields like engineering and physics are not new fields, but suffer the same problems that few women are in them. *Personally, I worry that focusing on visibility alone isn’t going to be nearly enough – that even when most or all women are aware of game design as a career, it may still end up underpopulated with women like engineering or physics. *Do you have any thoughts about that?
[Brenda] Yeah, I do. *Game design is a very creative art. It is about building and nurturing and teasing out the great in something that may not seem so great at first. It requires imagination, careful thought and tremendous sensitivity to players. Everything that makes someone a great nurse – a field women dominate – would also make a person a good game designer. So, I don’t see the same barrier here that I do to other tech fields.
At the same time, there are great cultural stereotypes to overcome. My daughter (she’s 9) was recently told that “girls don’t play video games,” to which she replied, “my mom makes them.” I loved her for that. I think that the recent wave of social games has done a lot to drive games in our direction, however. More moms, aunts, sisters and girls are aware of games now, and in a positive way, than ever before.
When I got into the industry, there were 5 of us that I knew of. We’ve massively multiplied and it is progress.
The problem, as you note, is larger than just visibility, but if I were given one thing to tackle, it would be way up there on my list.
[Emily] How do you think that the game industry in general might attract more women, both to work within the industry, and to play more games in general?
[Brenda] There are many ways we could attract more women, but some may require significant social changes. Why don’t we see articles on video games in typical women’s magazines? Why aren’t they covered in the entertainment section of the newspapers or even the arts section? Can we recruit in places where women tend to congregate? Will companies looking to recruit more women sponsor events that attract women? Will bringing more women into games, in turn, make games more friendly to women? Will we start to dress women avatars in games less like strippers and more like heroes?
[Emily] What specific actions (if any) would you encourage women working in gaming to take in order to make the industry more friendly to women?
[Brenda] I think those of us who have been here a while have a responsibility to reach out. At least I’ve been feeling that responsibility now. I used to not take it too seriously. I was a woman. I made games. So what? Then, and like I said way earlier, women started coming up to me and saying that I was a role model for them. That’s a surprising and super humbling thing to hear. I mean, a role model? It still astounds me. That made me take it seriously, though. While I didn’t have women to look up to in the industry when I first started, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to someone else. So, when I am asked to do something on behalf of women in games, and I am at all available to do it, I do. I actively mentor a number of women, too.
I think it’s also important that we don’t become yesterday’s issue. We need to keep visible, we need to keep talking about it, and we need to stay positive. As I’ve said, my experience as a woman in this industry has been 100% positive. I have no bad stories to tell. I have loved every minute of it, and look forward to years more. We need to spread happy stories, too.
I think that [networking] is where we as women in games really are challenged, too. If you’re networking with your friends and they are predominately female, the odds of you getting in are much less than guys networking with their friends. *That’s why visibility and events are so important for us.
[Emily] Are there any particular blogs, sites, books, twitter feeds, or other sources that you would recommend as particularly relevant or helpful to women in the gaming industry?
[Brenda] Yes! First off, find out who the women are. Look at the list of people I follow on twitter. I’m @bbrathwaite. Check out the women on my list and follow them. We are many! Join the IGDA and sign up for the women in games special interest group. Get active and participate in the mailing list. There are lots of great discussions going on.One thing that’s awesome about women in games is how incredibly accessible we really are. For instance, my junior designer Loren Hernandez (@LorenHernandez) has had some back and forth with Laralyn McWilliams and Sheri Graner Ray, both noted game designers, through Twitter. Get yourself integrated into the community. There are so many things to do, and discussions to have. *Many of these women maintain their own blogs.
[Emily] Any other thoughts you’d like to share about women, gaming, or what it means to you to be a woman in gaming?
[Brenda] My comments aren’t limited to just women. If games are your passion and making them is all you can think about, please join us. It won’t be easy. Lots of people want to do this for a living. You’ll have to work your butt off, practice, play everything you can get your hands on, and be a student of everything from writing to history to sci-fi to fantasy to…. things we’ve not considered yet. Here’s why you should do it though – because this is the most wonderful industry on the earth, and being given the opportunity to work on games is a gift. So, fight for it. Work hard. Find a mentor, and join us.
Many thanks to Brenda for taking the time to answer these questions!
More details of her extensive biography can be found at: *http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/about/.
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