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A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with employee responsibilities split between individual disciplines, such as programmers, designers, artists, etc. Most game development companies have video game publisher financial and usually marketing support. Self-funded developers are known as independent or indie developers and usually make indie games.
DMG may refer to:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters have been depicted in video games since the 1980s. Throughout the history of video games, LGBT characters have been almost nonexistent for a long time, reflecting the overall heteronormativity of the medium. While there has been a trend towards greater representation of LGBT people in video games, they are frequently identified as LGBT in secondary material, such as comics, rather than in the games themselves. Often, LGBT characters and themes, when they are included, are underrepresented, minimized, or watered down. Queer games and characters have also often found themselves being the subjects of cultural crossfires or moral panics. In 2018, Sam Greer of GamesRadar+ found only 179 games commercially released games with any LGBT representation, only 83 of which have queer characters who are playable characters, and only 8 of those games feature a main character who is pre-written as queer as opposed to them being queer as an option.
Women in computing were among the first programmers in the early 20th century, and contributed substantially to the industry. As technology and practices altered, the role of women as programmers has changed, and the recorded history of the field has downplayed their achievements. Since the 18th century, women have developed scientific computations, including Nicole-Reine Lepaute's prediction of Halley's Comet, and Maria Mitchell's computation of the motion of Venus.
The relationship between women and video games has received extensive academic and media attention. Since the 1990s, female gamers have commonly been regarded as a minority. However, industry surveys have shown that over time, the gender ratio has become closer to equal. Beginning mainly in the 2010s, women have been found to make up around half of all gamers. The gender ratio differs significantly between game genres, and women are highly underrepresented in genres such as first-person shooters and grand strategy games. Sexism in video gaming, including sexual harassment, as well as underrepresentation of women as characters in games, is an increasing topic of discussion in video game culture.
Brenda Laurel is an American interaction designer, video game designer, and researcher. She is an advocate for diversity and inclusiveness in video games, a "pioneer in developing virtual reality", a public speaker, and an academic.
Rieko Kodama, also known as Phoenix Rie, was a Japanese video game artist, director, and producer employed by Sega from 1984 until her death. She is primarily known for her work on role-playing video games including the original Phantasy Star series, the 7th Dragon series, and Skies of Arcadia (2000). She is often recognized as one of the first successful women in the video game industry.
Anita Sarkeesian is a Canadian-American feminist media critic. She is the founder of Feminist Frequency, a website that hosts videos and commentary analyzing portrayals of women in popular culture. Her video series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, examines tropes in the depiction of female video game characters. Media scholar Soraya Murray calls Sarkeesian emblematic of "a burgeoning organized feminist critique" of stereotyped and objectified portrayals of women in video games.
Girls' toys and games are toys and games specifically targeted at girls by the toy industry. They may be traditionally associated either exclusively or primarily with girls by adults and used by girls as an expression of identity. One commentator have argued that the market for girl's toys and games is more challenging than that for boys' toys and games.
The portrayal of gender in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming. Although women make up about half of video game players, they are significantly underrepresented as characters in mainstream games, despite the prominence of iconic heroines such as Samus Aran or Lara Croft. Women in games often reflect traditional gender roles, sexual objectification, or stereotypes such as the "damsel in distress". Male characters are frequently depicted as big and muscular, and LGBT characters have been slow to appear due to the heteronormativity of the medium.
Many in Canada share concerns about the current and future roles of women in computing, especially as these occupations increase in importance. As in many nations where computing and information technology are large industries, women in Canada have historically faced underrepresentation in education and industry. As a result, some Canadian women pursuing careers in these fields have had a lack of role models and faced sexism. There are many institutions and initiatives in Canada, however, which seek to increase representation for women in computing fields, as well as the fields of natural science and engineering in general.
Sexism in video gaming is prejudiced behavior or discrimination based on sex or gender as experienced by people who play and create video games, primarily women. This may manifest as sexual harassment or in the way genders are represented in games, such as when characters are presented according to gender-related tropes and stereotypes.
Pixelles, located in Montreal, is a non-profit grassroots organization devoted to increasing gender diversity in the video game industry as a response to issues of sexism.
Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. Among its programs are a summer immersion program, a specialized campus program, after-school clubs, a college club, College Loops, and a series of books. The organization is based in New York and has programs in all fifty states, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. As of 2022, there were over 500,000 Girls Who Code alumni.
Diversity in computing refers to the representation and inclusion of underrepresented groups, such as women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, in the field of computing. The computing sector, like other STEM fields, lacks diversity in the United States.
Gender disparity in computing concerns the disparity between the number of men in the field of computing in relation to the lack of women in the field. Originally, computing was seen as a female occupation. As the field evolved, so too did the demographics, and the gender gap shifted from female dominated to male dominated. The believed need for more diversity and an equal gender gap has led to public policy debates regarding gender equality. Many organizations have sought to create initiatives to bring more women into the field of computing.
The External Development Summit (XDS) is a three-day event for the video game industry with its first edition held in 2013, and hosted annually in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The summit was established in order to share video game development best practices in the areas of 2D and 3D graphics, Animation, Software Engineering, Audio, Quality Assurance and Localization. Members of the XDS Advisory Committee are responsible for the design and delivery of the event.
Girls Make Games is an American organization established in 2014 which aims to support and encourage girls to pursue careers in the video game industry. The organization runs annual summer camps open to young girls where they learn how to design and build a video game.
Black Girl Gamers is a company and online community founded by Jay-Ann Lopez. It started as a closed Facebook group in 2015 and aims to provide a community for black women gamers. Black Girl Gamers later became a company, run by Lopez, with part-time staff.
Kara Stone is an independent Canadian video game designer, artist, and academic.
References
- ↑ "Dames making games at Ryerson". The Eyeopener. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
- ↑ Patterson, Megan. "Girls Make Games Too: A Chat with Dames Making Games". Toronto Standard. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- 1 2 3 Kaszor, Daniel (2014-10-24). "Jennie Faber explains how DMG (Dames Making Games) aims to make game creation more inclusive". Financial Post. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
- 1 2 3 Sapieha, Chad (27 September 2017). "Dames Making Games' Damage Camp set to help create an "alternative system" for marginalized game makers | Financial Post". Financial Post. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- 1 2 Kotzer, Zack (24 July 2013). "Dames saving games". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ↑ Nursall, Kim (2 January 2014). "Dames Making Games organization helps women make video games | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ↑ Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian. "Creating video games help indigenous girls boost self-confidence". Toronto Star. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ↑ "DMG's Board of Directors File for Insolvency". Dames Making Games. 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
