WiG | Polygamer

Carolyn VanEseltine is an accomplished game designer and developer, having worked at such studios as Harmonix and Giant Spacekat. Her recent presentation at Google, "Everyone can make games now", underscores her belief that the freedom to make games is a basic human right, and that games should open and accessible to all as a medium of artistic expression.

But what does it mean to be a game designer? Does one need to know how to program, or is that the province of game developers? Do the interactive fiction made possible by game engines such as Twine and Inform qualify as games? What basic skills should a participant in the upcoming Global Game Jam or Ludum Dare events have? In this podcast interview, Carolyn and Ken discuss these topics and more.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:16 — 23.0MB) | Embed

Sheri Graner Ray is a game developer with 25 years experience in the industry and credits that include games such as Ultima and Star Wars Galaxies and co-founding Women in Games International. In 2003, she published the book Gender Inclusive Game Design—Expanding the Market, on how to make games that appeal to both male and female players. In this interview, Ray explains some of the differences between how genders interact with technology, why male gamers shouldn’t see her proposals as threatening, how her book was received in an era before Facebook and Twitter, and how the market has changed since the book’s publication 11 years ago.

Watch the video below, or download the audio edition from iTunes or Stitcher.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Introduction
- Opening music is "Full Speed Ahead", part of the Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin album from OCRemix, with voiceover from Annie Lynsen
- PAX Prime 2014 schedule
- Less Than Or Equal
- Super Bonus Gaymer World
- IndieSider — combines Let’s Plays and indie game developer interviews
- GX: Everyone Games (aka GaymerX3) on Kickstarter
- Matt Conn on Patreon
Interview
- Sheri Graner Ray on Twitter
- Schell Games and Zombie Cat Studios
- 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (2005)
- Women in Games International
- IGDA’s Women in Games SIG (also on Twitter)
- MentorNet: Mentor + Protégé
- Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market, by Sheri Graner Ray (Amazon link)
- Women significantly outnumber teenage boys in gamer demographics
- Hearthstone tournament explains why women aren’t allowed to play
- Female developers who race cars: Kiki Wolfkill, Jeri Ellsworth and Quinn Dunki
- Anita Sarkeesian’s Ms. Male Character
- Sheri’s upcoming appearances:
  - Game Developers Conference (GDC) (March 2-6, 2015)
  - South by Southwest (March 13—17, 2015)
  - East Coast Game Conference (April 8–9, 2015)
- Full Sail University advisory board
- Margot Comstock of Softalk keynoted KansasFest 2014
- Gamasutra interview with Dona Bailey, creator of Centipede
- Ernest Adams’ "A Call to Arms for Decent Men"

Polygamer explores issues of equality and diversity in the gaming industry. New episodes air every other Wednesday on YouTube and in iTunes and Stitcher.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:14 — 30.5MB) | Embed

Tag Archives: WiG

Polygamer #37: Game designer Carolyn VanEseltine

Polygamer #04: Sheri Graner Ray on Gender-Inclusive Game Design