In another positive step for recognition of the importance of video games, the folks at BBC Radio 4 have named Siobhan Reddy – the studio director of LittleBigPlanet creators Media Molecule – one of the “100 most powerful women in the UK today”. While Reddy hasn't made it into the top 20 (the only ranked part of the list, with the rest just in alphabetical order) with people like JK Rowling, Elisabeth Murdoch, and, well, the Queen, she is rubbing elbows with some pretty influential people along the lines of Dawn French, Stella McCartney, and Victoria Beckham.
Siobhan Reddy was born in South Africa in 1979, lived in Australia until relocating to England in the late '90s, and co-founded Media Molecule in 2006. On Twitter, where she refers to herself as “Game maker, Madame cat herder (aka studio director at Media Molecule), lover of dress up & gazing at the sky!”, Siobhan made it obvious that she hadn't been expecting to appear on the list:
@belindaparmar @marthalanefox @bbcwomanshour Thank you!! So incredibly surprised & honoured to be on #womenshourpowerlist #bettergetcracking
— siobhanreddy (@siobhanreddy) February 12, 2013
Siobhan and her team are currently working on Tearaway, a new IP from the studio that looks as quirky and unique as you'd expect from the people behind LittleBigPlanet. The Vita game involves exploring a papercraft world, with features that use the Vita hardware to allow you to poke your fingers “through” into the world and take pictures of objects and patterns in the real world to use in the game. Tearaway is due to launch later this year.
