While gaming may not be “just for men,” game development is still dominated by men. That may be changing.
The Guildhall of Southern Methodist University, a graduate program focused on game design, has just reported its incoming class is 20 percent female, a far cry from the standard four to seven percent present in the gaming industry.
“We are extremely pleased that the January 2010 cohort has a higher ratio of women in the mix,” Founder and executive director of The Guildhall Peter Raad said. “There has been a disparity between the number of men versus women in the videogame industry far too long and we believe this increase represents a growing trend of more women seeking a career in game development.”
While 20 percent may not sound like much, it’s a huge shift and a possible indicator of what the industry may look like in the future. The numbers have definitely generated some excitement among The Guildhall’s faculty about the future of the industry.
“To create games that are compelling and games that appeal to an ever-expanding market of gamers, diversity must be cultivated within the development community, as well as within the individual teams that develop a single game,” Raad said.
The influx of women into the world of game design is definitely good news for us gamers. With more voices and backgrounds developing our games, it can only mean more great games for us to play.
Source: Gamepolitics
