Proposal to create a YouTube channel called the "I Make Games Project" featuring female game developers to help provide role models in the games industry. The campaign is sponsored by IGDA and WIGI. This deck is a call to action to game developers large and small to create their own videos and add them to the channel.
1. (an easy) call to action to game developers
I Make Games Project - video campaign
I Make Games
IMakeGamesProject@gmail.com
2. The games industry has 3 related problems:
1. too few female game developers (all disciplines)
2. shortage of software engineers (male & female)
3. perception that women are unwelcome
problems
3. problem 1:
There are too few female game developers.
problem: shortage of female game developers
4. 2007 2014
Programmers 3% women 5% women
Game Designers 7% 13%
Artists 9% 9%
Producers 18% 22%
problem: shortage of female game developers
Gamasutra Salary Survey 2007 Gamasutra Salary Survey 2014
5. Research shows that gender diversity
improves the bottom line.
The lack of women in game development
is bad for the games industry.
problem: shortage of female game developers
Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance, Credit Suisse Research Institute, August 2012.
6. The lack of women in game development is
bad for women, too.
Women are missing out on great jobs in a
creative and well-paid industry.
problem: shortage of female game developers
7. problem 2:
There is a shortage of software engineers.
problem: shortage of software engineers
8. New jobs in
computer science
added to American
economy every year:
problem: shortage of software engineers
National Bureau of Labor Statistics
140,000
New graduates in
computer science
every year:
National Science Foundation
40,000
9. A contributing factor to the shortage of
software engineers:
Half the population tends to avoid the field.
problem: shortage of software engineers
10. Percent of Computer Science undergraduate
degree recipients who were women:
problem: shortage of software engineers
National Center for Women in Technology
37% 18%
1985 2012
11. If we could get
more girls motivated to make games
problem: shortage of software engineers
we’d get
more girls studying computer science
which means
more software engineers
12. problem 3:
Controversy over sexism in video game
culture begs the question:
Are women welcome in the game industry?
problem: women are being attacked in the game community
See http://www.gamersagainstgamergate.com/ for information about GamerGate and the fight against it; see
also Washington Post, New York Times and Wikipedia.
14. Inspired by the “It Gets Better” campaign...
the “I Makes Games” channel will
provide role models to girls
role models make a difference
15. I Make Games Project - video campaign
“It Gets Better Project”: lots of videos of inspirational role
models. Campaign has had over 4 Million views.
17. I Make Games Project - video campaign
The new “I Make Games Project” YouTube channel will
also provide inspirational role models.
*
Mock up of the new I Make Games YouTube channel, including mocks of some of the videos
18. “I Make Games” will be a new YouTube
channel
hosting an ever-growing number of
videos about female game developers.
role models make a difference
21. Studies show that girls lose interest in math
and science during middle school.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
22. Why do girls start losing interest in STEM in
middle school?
(STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
understanding why girls avoid STEM
23. The research points to many reasons.
The “I Make Games” videos can help combat
some of those reasons.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
24. Nearly half of all girls say that they would feel
uncomfortable being the only girl in a
group or class.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
25. Many girls prefer working in groups and
collaborating with others to solve problems,
and they believe that STEM work culture
is isolating.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
26. 57% of all girls say that if they went into a
STEM career, they’d have to work harder
than a man just to be taken seriously.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
27. Entertainment culture appears to make it
“uncool” to be smart in subjects like math
or science and a barrier to being noticed by
boys.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
28. The rise in the “brogramming” culture has
made computer science less attractive to
women.
brogramming: “a term that seeks to recast the geek identity
with a competitive frat house flavor”
Brogramming: The disturbing rise of frat culture in Silicon Valley, The Week Staff , April 30, 2012
understanding why girls avoid STEM
29. Changes in university policies to limit CS
enrollment during tech booms had a
disproportionately negative effect on
women.
Encouraging Women in Computer Science, Eric S. Roberts, Marina Kassianidou, Lilly Irani. Department of
Computer Science, Stanford University. June 2002 issue of Inroads, the quarterly bulletin of the ACM Special
Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
understanding why girls avoid STEM
30. The “I Make Games” channel won’t solve all
of those problems.
But the research suggests that game
development has distinct advantages
when it comes to getting girls into STEM.
role models for girls
31. Girls like collaboration.
Game development is a team sport.
It is all about collaboration among people
with different skill sets.
game development should be a great field for girls
32. Girls fear that doing “smart” things makes
them uncool.
Game development is “smart” work that
leads to cool and popular products.
game development should be a great field for girls
33. Girls are already interested in game
development.
game development should be a great field for girls
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
34. 57%percent of girls agreed “I think it
would be fun to create an iPhone app or
design a computer/video game.” (Goes up
to 67% for African American and Hispanic
girls)
game development should be a great field for girls
Generation STEM: What Girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. A report from the Girl Scout
Research Institute. 2012.
35. Game development is
● collaborative
● cool
● interesting to girls
Now let’s add Role Models
game development should be a great field for girls
36. Research shows that role models bolster
confidence, especially when they exist at
every step of the career ladder.
role models make a difference
Encouraging Women in Computer Science, Eric S. Roberts, Marina Kassianidou, Lilly Irani. Department of
Computer Science, Stanford University. June 2002 issue of Inroads, the quarterly bulletin of the ACM Special
Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)
38. For 20 years, work has focused on boosting
girls’ interest in STEM.
Recent research suggests that a big focus
should be on confidence.
Nadya Fouad, Tracking The Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science And Math, University of Wisconsin, Sep 8, 2008
role models make a difference
39. Confidence leads to interest.
"If they feel they can do it,
it feeds their interest."
role models make a difference
Nadya Fouad, Tracking The Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science And Math, University of Wisconsin, Sep 8, 2008
40. Kids can be very impressionable;
stereotypes can be self-fulfilling prophecies.
role models make a difference
41. When girls believe they are expected to be
bad at math, they do much worse on math
tests than the boys.
When they are told that boys and girls are
equally good at math, then they perform as
well as the boys.
understanding why girls avoid STEM
"Constraints into Preferences: Gender, Status, and Emerging Career Aspirations", American Sociological Review,
Correll (2004)
42. Show female role models in game
development:
Give girls confidence that
they can succeed in game development.
role models make a difference
43. Goal of this presentation:
Get game companies to make videos
showcasing their female developers and
put them on the new “I Make Games”
YouTube channel that will launch in March
2015.
role models make a difference
44. The videos will come from game developers
large and small:
from Electronic Arts and Zynga,
to indie studios,
to universities and high schools
I Make Games Project - video campaign
45. The videos will be similar to the producer-
narrated trailers that game companies
already make,
with talking heads and video game footage.
I Make Games Project - video campaign
46. These videos will show women
at every level of game development,
and in every discipline,
talking about their work
I Make Games Project - video campaign
48. Take a stand
Celebrate the women who are already
making games
Encourage a new generation of girls to join
their ranks.
I Make Games Project - video campaign
49. Contributing videos to “I Make Games” is
good for your company:
● Recruiting women
● Promoting your games
● Taking a stand
I Make Games Project - video campaign
50. OK, I’m in.
How do I get my company involved in
“I Make Games”?
51. 1. Email imakegamesproject@gmail.com to say that you are in! We’ll
send you some video assets and guidelines for an outro slates
2. Create videos featuring your female developers (see guidelines below)
3. Share the your videos with us so we can put them on the channel
4. Also host the videos on your company site
5. Keep making videos after that, and adding them to the I Make Games
Project YouTube channel
I Make Games Project - video campaign
52. Video guidelines:
● Who
○ Women - the first set will be all women
○ Developers - all fields of game development
○ All levels - junior women and senior women
● Content
○ Each woman tells a story (see next slide for story ideas)
○ Show game footage and game assets
○ Use provided intro & outro slates
● Length:
○ 1 - 3 min is ideal
● Names:
○ Giving the full name is optional.
○ Warn people that being a woman in a video saying you are game developer might
make you a target for hate groups.
I Make Games Project - video campaign
53. Story ideas
● A (constructive) war story of a near disaster during development
● A funny or unexpected or marvelous thing that happened during
development
● A game she worked on that got little recognition but she was still
pleased about
● When she first realized she wanted to make games
● Her favorite feature she designed, or coded, or favorite piece of art or
audio she created
I Make Games Project - video campaign
54. Don’t glamorize: just let the developers be
themselves on camera.
I Make Games Project - video campaign
"Do Female and Male Role Models Who Embody STEM Stereotypes Hinder Women's Anticipated Success in
STEM?", Social Psychological and Personality Science, Cheryan, et al. (2011)
55. I Make Games Project - video campaign
These producer walkthroughs
(from The Sims Medieval and
The Sims 3) shows multiple
speakers and lots of footage
from a game in development.
Imagine something like these,
but featuring women telling
interesting stories about game
development.
56. The I Make Games Project is sponsored by
IGDA and WIGI.
I Make Games Project - video campaign
