The game industry has a major problem when it comes to the treatment of women. Female voices are often silenced behind the scenes,the roles of female characters in AAA games are diminished, and many prominent game companies have few female developers at all. Change is desperately needed to create a more welcoming and equal environment, and Girls Make Games is collaborating with Google Play to make that change happen.
Girls Make Games is an organization that generally holds camps or workshops to teach young women how to make video games. The games that these participants createare then made available online, giving female programmers pivotal experience for joining the male-dominated games industry.
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The organization’s partnership with Google Play has opened another outlet for teenage girls to learn about this industry, with the Change the Game design challenge. Aspiring game designers, between ages 13-18, can submit their ideas for a mobile game to Google Play. Those with winning ideas will be entered into an online workshop to teach important game development skills, as well as earning the participant some additional swag and a free Chromebook.
This initiative is an excellent way to encourage more young women to join STEM fields. According to the Girls Make Games site, women make up over 46% of the population but less than 22% of the video games industry, an upsetting statistic. However, if this organization can continue its efforts to inspire teenage girls, then hopefully that will change in the future.
That said, the gaming industry still has a long way to go until diversity becomes the norm. Infamous AAA game developers such as Activision have come under firefor refusing to hire diverse folks, and there are likely countless untold stories of abuse from behind the scenes. Women and minority hires must become the norm to spread more often-ignored voices throughout the world.
