I have been honored with the task of helping to host the WIGD (Women in Games Development) SIG here at the GDC this year.Â
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And I have to confess to some amount fo trepidation.
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I’ve always avoided joining “women’s” organizations, I usually prefer to be much more low-key, do my own thing. In my limited experience they tend to be a lot of noise about how women are undervalued but not a lot else. I’ve never had a lot in common with the women I’ve worked with at non-gaming jobs in the past, besides having breasts, of course, so hanging out with large groups of women has never seemed like an attractive opportunity to me.
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When I joined the gaming industry, however, I ran across the forum list for Women in Games Development. It had just started (In fact I remember helping to hunt down our very first troll) and the personalities there were women that seemed more in line with my own. People (not just women, there are a good number of male game developers on the list as well) with bold personalities who understood the constant lure of the Xbox and just why getting a character wo “Epic” level was a cool thing.
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So I signed up. I still tend to be a lurker on the list unless something *really* trips my trigger, there are women on there in high-lofty places, and people just starting to consider games as a *real* career and they all seem to have something to say that’s worth listening to, questions worth asking. Not just about “Women in Games” as a topic, but all sorts of cool stuff.
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So while I am somewhat nervous about hosting this thing, I’m also pretty excited too. Excited to put faces to the names I’ve been reading, excited to see if we really do match. Some of these women have some SERIOUS industry chops as well, so (not for the first time) I’m probably going to spend most of my time feeling like to total poser at the party.
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LOL :) It’s almost like online dating, innit? I’ve “met” these women before, now I get to meet them for real and see if we fit 😀
