Women in videogames

I have some worries in videgames. One is the theme of innovative (well done), other is about making something useful with videogames, and several more themes. One of this themes worried me is women make videogames.

I know some women that make videogames, but appart from exceptional cases as the main designer of the marvelous sega videogame called "Skies of Arcadia", or the producer of the Ubisoft game "Assasins Creed", they don't have responsability places.

And if I am sincere, it's nothing strange for me. Women today usually don't get close to videogames as it should be. Women now uses a lot of computers, but is difficult them to adore computers like modders do. You have only to see the most of the pc', because they are very ugly, and women prefer beautiful things.

This could be the reason of the triumph among women of mobile games and Nintendo Ds. And if you want you can include the Psp. I have seen a lot of women at the train playing Psp and mobile games. And we can also speak about casual games. My smaller sister dislikes the games of the 3d generation, and is the same person that is able to finish Wonderboy at once or knowing the map of Castle of Illusion like his hand. But when Singstar, Samba de Amigo or Eyetoy arrived at home, she was able to spend a lot of time in this games, and not in Super Mario 64. The other day she says to me that the game buzz was liked by her. It's understandable.

There are other games genre that women doesn't dislike. For example, graphical adventures with interesting characters and stories and few action moments, the rpgs with charismatic characters and kawai beasts, strategic games like sims or tycoon style. And massive online games, where are a lot of women that can't stop playing.

But despiting all this things, women in general haven't make the jump to the game development. I know that this happens not only in Spain, where the only women working in videogames that I know are a graphic artists in gameloft, other in Digital Legends and other in Quest Tracers, one level designer in Enigma, other game designer and a texture expert in Novarama, i know there are several graphical artists at Pyro, a producer in Interaccion, and few time ago there was a producer at Digital Legends. In the world we know the examples of Roberta Williams, Jane Jansen (who returns now), and several girls I meet at the Gdc of London the last year.There are initiative like women in games conference (that for me is like the day of proud "what you want", but there is), but is a percent very small, lesser also than the one from male players/female players.

I don't know if it is because women haven't think about ir, or they don't know how arriving, or if it is very difficult. And is not so difficult, not so impossible to achieve this goal, and is wonderful once achieved. As I say, for being a game designer you only need knowing about games, languajes, creativity and don't being embarrased. Other places needs other characteristics.

I think videogames will benefit a lot of one hypothetic increment of more female designers, programmers, producers and less both babes. Surely world will be then a better place.

Opa Opa forever!