Ben-DutkaDo you know what Portal designer Kim Swift's "secret wish" is? She wants the little girls of today to look at the Kim Swifts of the world and go, "Huh…girls make games, too."
In a new blog post , Swift addresses the complicated subject of girls in gaming, which – according to old-fashioned mainstream beliefs – still doesn't make any sense.
Swift attributes her success to her parents allowing her to chase her dreams, and she hopes other parents will do the same. She also hopes children won't be afraid to speak up, to be vocal, to be active, and ultimately get noticed:
"So, I have a secret wish. Whenever I’m in the public eye, whether it’s doing PR or giving a talk – and this is going to sound amazingly corny — I hope that there’s a little girl out there that sees me and thinks to herself, “Oh look! Girls make games too.” I say this because this problem isn’t going to change on a dime. A grown adult isn’t going to change their mind about their inherent beliefs or their personality because someone gave them the stink eye (or an Internet reaming)."
It's not so secret now, Kim. She goes on to say that if we really want diversity in gaming, a fair unbiased workplace, and if we want the industry to "just plain grow up," then we need to change the makeup of our industry. And this won't happen overnight; it'll happen in twenty years, when the kids of today see the "good example that we should be setting now" and act upon their dreams. In the end:
"Be visible. Be outspoken. Be strong. Be smart. Be kind."
The last part might actually be counterproductive in some ways (the business world can be cutthroat) but the point has been made. And it's hard to disagree. Change takes time, after all.
"You go, girl"!!!!
Sing it, sister!
She and I share a philosophy.
I wonder how different games would be if more were made by women. For some reason i see more Journeys.
Jade Raymond was one of the creators of Assassin's Creed.
Kudos to her – (at least) two big issues here:
– Some girls would make different games, that aren't being made now, which would widen the market.
– Other girls would like to make traditional 'testosterone-motivated' games, but are turned off by social attitudes and workplaces and management practices that are often sexist.
Maybe we would get more thoughtful female protagonists, I have no problem with the one-dimensional Juliet Starlings of the gaming world but more Madison Pages would be nice too.
Still though, gaming is a fantasy and there's a reason the men in games are just as exploited as the women, people want to play as someone they consider to be more than themselves.
Guys, it's ok. I'm trying! But seriously I am trying hard to become a concept artist and take comfort in the fact I've met so many actual female gamers in university that's it makes me feel a lot better about the future.
Good luck 🙂
Didn't even know Portal was created by a girl. Just knew it was an awesome game.