The panel for Women in Gaming proved to be a lot more insightful and slightly less feministic than originally expected.
My personal expectations was that of a panel of women talking about either professional gaming or female characters, but rather the panel was about women that work inside the video game industry.
The panel consisted of seven women working in the industry ranging anywhere from QA playtesting, education, producers, and designers.
The panel had a small set of introductions being restrained to personal introductions, job titles and company, as well as explaining how individual members got their foot in the industry door. The consensus being one of two ways; knowing someone in the industry already or just applying at the office.
After the quick introductions the panel turned to the audience for questions.
One of the first questions was about the work environment. The general response was that most men in the industry are quite respectful to women, but rather women tend to be shy.
Another question was that of for people, not just women, who do not have a degree or any formal education how can they get started in the industry.
The responses were varied, but all the resonated the message that those interested should show proactivity and start early. Start working on a portfolio by self-teaching and using online courses. Another advice was to start applying and becoming a playtester or even an assistant as well as starting to apply for internships.
Other questions included more personal inquiries like favorite games and genres. Responses included everything from “Saint’s Row” to “Tetris” and genres from casual games to hardcore horror games.
