Shimomura is the go-to woman for games developers in need of the perfect soundtrack
With the recent news coming out of Ubisoft in France, the rights of women in the online gaming industry are at the forefront of people’s minds like never before.
Luckily, there are female pioneers across the industry who continue to blaze a trail for those behind them to follow, as bit by bit the spectre of misogyny is banished from workplaces and online spaces to allow people of all sexes and sexual orientations to flourish.
Here are of just some of the many women who, on a daily basis, find a way to make the gaming industry a more egalitarian place to be.
Yoko Shimomura
Most people, when they play a video game tend not to put too much thought into how the game’s accompanying music came to be, and yet how annoying is a game that has a repetitive and out of place soundtrack? Very, is the answer.
That is where Japanese superstar video game composer Yoko Shimomura comes in, having produced music and sound for the likes of Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter 2.
There is a great video available on YouTube that gives an excellent insight into her processes and just how seriously she takes her craft.
Multiple Women Filling Up iGaming Boardrooms
If you have ever tried online casino games there is a very good chance that the person who oversaw the making of them was a woman. There are more female CEOs and FCOs overseeing the production of entertaining slots and other casino-based games than males.
As many other areas of the gaming industry, in general, continue to strive for more female participation, it is great to see that in this sector at least, major progress is being made.
Kim Phan
Kim Phan knows the games industry inside and out, having worked for years as the head of eSports at gaming giants Blizzard, where she was in charge of making sure some of the industry’s biggest eSports events ran flawlessly at all times.
She has since been wooed by a marketing agency to head up the marketing strategy of a huge and yet highly secretive tech company. Who knows where this industry hot shot will pop up next? She is certainly someone in high demand.
CAPTION: Phan’s controller wields more power than most
Kim Swift
Kim Swift is less interested in boardroom politics and far more intrigued by how to put together innovative games that make people think.
She shot to global recognition in 2007, when the game she was lead developer of, Portal, was immediately granted cult status.
Since then she has been lauded by institutions such as Forbes, and has gone on to develop other games like Star Wars Battlefront II and Left 4 Dead.
Jade Raymond
Few people, be they man or woman, have quite the resume that Jade Raymond does. She was one of the masterminds behind the Assassin’s Creed series, and now works on Google’s cloud gaming platform Stadia.
Her new role requires her and her team to come up with games that will draw players and viewers to the Cloud, where she hopes to create a new kind of gaming and storytelling ecosystem.
Se-yeon Kim
Thus far, we have only mentioned people behind the scenes who make and develop the games so many folk love and adore. But what about the players?
Well, prospective pro-female gamers got their shining light in the form of Se-yeon ‘Geguri’ Kim in 2016, when her performances in Overwatch eSports leagues were so good that she was accused of cheating.
Having proved her innocence and made jaws hit the floor in the process, Kim now continues to crush her opponents as part of the Shanghai Dragons eSports team.
Imane Anys
Online she is known only as Pokimane, and this Canadian of Moroccan descent has fast become the most successful female streamer on the planet.
She is highly active across streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, and has even begun to venture into the movie business.
With plenty of tech initiatives pushing for women to join the industry, new talent can hopefully follow the leads of some of these incredible industry disruptors and creators.