WiG 2007 - Invited Presentation Kim Blake, Blitz Games

Why Would A Woman Want To Work In Games…?

Kim Blake, Blitz Games

20 th April 2007

Introductions

Kim Blake, PA to the Directors

Gremlin Interactive / Infogrames

Development support & education

12 years in games project management

Particle Systems / Argonaut

Headfirst Productions

Blitz Game History

Today’s talk

What we all know…

A new perspective

What does working in games really involve?

Why a woman would want to work in games!

Why does anyone want to work in games?

Recent involvement with promoting jobs in games

The Usual Statistics

10% - 18% of development staff

47% of US gamer parents are women

Women aged 18 or older = 30% of US game-playing population

(Boys aged 17 or younger = 2 3% of US game-playing population)

70 % of online casual American gamers are women aged 40+

Stats from ESA and itfacts.biz

“ I suspect that the percentage is still so low because teen girls are not likely to consider making games as a potential career.” (Michelle Clay of Turbine Games, Dec 2006)

Computer Clubs for Girls Blitz Challenge

Creativity and technology can co-exist

Easy familiarity with technology

Wide variety of jobs in development

Designing games is complex and fun!

Student Open Days at Blitz

Why does anyone want to work in games? I love playing games! I’ll get to make the next Gears of War! I’ll make enough money to buy a Ferrari! I’m an obsessive nerd with no social skills! It’s so cool!

Warning : development heresy! Do you need to love playing games… … to love making them?

Game knowledge necessary…!

A Developer Speaks… “… On the other hand I figure that my creative skills are transferable and lend themselves well to this industry and that diversity is important in a company structure in order to add balance and an alternative viewpoint.” “ I sometimes feel a bit of a fraud working in the games industry when I am not a big gamer…”

How do we make games?

Pick a career… Admin Office Manager Senior Administrator Administration Assistant Accounts Accountant Accounts Assistant IT Support IT Manager Network Administrator IT Technician IT/Facilities Technician Admin Assistant Human Resources & Recruitment HR Manager HR Co-ordinator Public Relations PR Graphics Manager PR Graphics Manager Assistant PR Assistant Graphics Co-ordinator

Any career… Assistant Project Mgr / Tech Mgr / Creative Mgr / Design Mgr Pitch phase: Creative Visualiser Senior Designer Concept Artist + QA (testers) Alpha and beyond: Full development phase: Designers Level Designers 3D Artists Games Programmer(s) Audio Programmer Special Effects Programmer Animators Technical Manager Design Manager Concept artist(s) Scriptwriter Tech Team Creative Manager Project Manager Audio designer(s) Pre-development phase: Designer(s) Programmer(s) Concept artist(s) 3D Artist(s) Project Manager Creative Manager Design Manager Technical Manager Audio Designer

Game knowledge necessary…? Game knowledge necessary…?

Blitz Company Day 2006

Human-ness and constant learning

Passionate About Games!

This Is Why A Woman Would Want To Work In Games!