There are plenty of women entering the exciting field of video game development, and thankfully, that helps add a new layer of diversity to modern titles. It’s a unique change of pace, but when it comes to actually being heard among a crowd, an individual’s sex will have an influence. Media Molecule studio head Siobhan Reddy has been anything but quiet during her time at the British studio, and her recent keynote speech at the Women In Games conference focused on how women in the industry must fight to be heard.
"It's up to us as the women of the industry to be able to play our role in changing the perceptions of the technology fields, because otherwise the changes will come much slower," Reddy said (via GameIndustry International). "Saying 'f*** it' to the fear of it all, which is when we can actually make our big differences and make our mark on things."
Because of Reddy’s persistence, a female character was finally added to the soon-to-be-released Tearaway.
"It was important to me that we investigate a female lead on Tearaway. That doesn't mean that I think that every single game, book, television show needs to be for the broadest audience… but for this it was really important to me,” she continued. "She wouldn't exist if I hadn't put my foot down.”
This isn’t just a new movement projected to fizzle and eventually die, either. There are more and more women playing games today, and Reddy argues that this changing gamer demographic will alter how the products are made.
"Some people will still make really overly violent male characters and overly sexualized female characters," she said. "We have to show our distaste for that by not buying them and not working on them and by not supporting them."
