Table Of ContentGIRLS ON GAMES:
A Look at the Fairer Side of the Tabletop Industry
This book is dedicated to:
Girls on Games:
A Look at the Fairer Side of the Tabletop Industry
• The amazing contributors who made this project come to
Copyright © 2016 by Elisa Teague fruition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by
• My husband and kids, who have put up with my crazy work
any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,
hours and given up so much quality time with me, so I can help
recording, taping, Internet distribution, or by any information storage
this cause that means so much to me
retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, except in
the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews with
book citations noted. • My patient and supportive Kickstarter backers, who waited out
the many delays getting here but are the very reason this book
The views expressed in this work are solely those of each individual
exists
contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers,
the publisher, the editor, or each other.
A note to our readers:
In this book, you will find heated and heartfelt emotions, calls to action
for equality, and straightforward advice. This project hits so close to home
for women everywhere, and much of the subject matter is interpreted
on a deep and personal level for each author. What you will also find in
this book are the words “woman,” “female,” and “girl,” all used by author’s
choice and rather interchangibly, mostly in casual context.
While it is becoming more common for people to say “woman game
designer” rather than “female game designer,” the word “woman” is a noun,
and to say someone is a woman game designer is placing “woman” in an
adjective position, which wouldn’t get past any editor we have had working
on this project.
It is the absolute intention of this book to be completely inclusive
and all of the above words are meant to define any person who
identifies as a woman.
Contents
Foreword by Mike Selinker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
EQUALification by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Pushing Back by Peggy Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ermahgerd. Wermahn ern Germahng. by Gaby Weidling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Being Iconic by Crystal Frasier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Creating a Welcoming Gaming Environment by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Media Tie-In Writing (AKA Canon Fan Fiction) by Jennifer Brozek . . . . . . . . 36
What Army Does Your Boyfriend Play? by Jessica Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Mommy CEO: How to Stay Sane by Carmen De Mint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Pitching (a Game) Like a Girl by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Life Without Boxes by Kristin Looney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Building Blocks in Girls’ Game Design by Teeuwynn Woodruff . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
So What Now? by Nicole Lindroos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Being a Female Game Master by Satine Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
The Cred-Check: Set Up to Fail by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Games, Sexism, and Feminism by Tifa Robles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Being a Model in the Gaming Industry by Toni Darling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The Greatest Game of “I’ve Never” by Trin Garritano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Marketing Games to Girls (and the Lack Thereof) by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . 105
Being “Girly” and a Gamer. Yes, You Can Be Both. by Rebekah Zetty . . . . . . . 110
Tabletop Games Make a Difference by Tabitha Grace Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Breaking the Odds, Breaking the Ceiling by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Afterword . . . and Forward! by Elisa Teague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
2 Forewo r d 3
relations on the Internet debuted. One was intensely positive, though it
came in a hail of bullets. When Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree fueled
by his frustration at his failed sex life, he became a poster child for the
Mike Selinker poisonous thinking that women are somehow what every man deserves.
In the firestorm that ensued, the canard #NotAllMen was trotted out by
defenders of male privilege. They would whine, “Not all men rape, kill,
discriminate, marginalize, objectify, threaten, hate.”
Foreword
Which of course was not the point, and the #NotAllMenners knew
that. The hashtag was a classic example of derailment, which is what you
do when you want to end a conversation but you want to keep talking.
Not all men do those things, but all women have felt the sting of some
Tr igger warning: This book is serious business. The women herein
men treating them like objects. And so Twitter user @Gildedspine created
are going to describe their personal experiences in the game
#YesAllWomen to heighten awareness that yes, all women have dealt with
industry, and it isn’t always pretty. There are challenging stories,
serious problems generated by men. It was a rare moment where it was
and they might remind you of your own exposure to difficult situations.
impossible to disagree with the people in the right.2
All of the stories come against a backdrop of the question, “Why do we still
have to talk about this?”
As #YesAllWomen subsided, another hashtag ascended, and it was
of a decidedly less positive hue. #Gamergate was sparked by a so-called
We have to talk about it because we’re at a transition point. We are at
ethical debate about the gaming journalism landscape, yet somehow
a time of tremendous gains by women in a tremendously conservative
always seemed to come back to its central problem: that its most ardent
industry. Women1 are more welcome in the gaming field than they’ve been,
supporters were a bunch of entitled sexists who wanted to disenfranchise
but not in all jobs, and most assuredly not in all of the best ones. We have
the largest growing group of gamers in recent history. As the number of
come far, and we have far to go, and now we have to talk about where we
female gamers rose exponentially in the late 2000s, and the cost of indie
hope to end up.
design went down, female game designers3 appeared in record numbers,
and subtly changed the landscape of the games in the marketspace. Many
But that’s the wrong question. The question is really, “Why do we still
Gamergaters were having none of that noise, thank you very much.4
have to listen to this?”
And again, the voices of the internet’s women arose. There were female
And the answer is, because we just don’t listen enough. Every author in
defenders of the misguided hashtag, but the vast majority of female
this book might have had an easier road if people had just listened to them
a little more. Listening requires a willingness to subjugate your own needs 2 I, of course, was all too ready to agree, penning a Tumblr screed called “Mansplaining
for those of others. It’s so much harder to listen, and so we generally don’t #YesAllWomen to Elliot Rodger in Hell.”
bother. 3 I believe in this phrase over the more en vogue “women game designers.” “Female” is an
adjective that corresponds to “male.” The phrase “men game designers” makes no sense, so
I don’t see how the opposite works. So despite some disagreement with a few of this book’s
But the good news is, we’re starting to.
scribes, I’ll stick with my understanding of English. YMMV.
4 Once again, I added to the noise, noting to great attention on Twitter that zoologically,
In 2014, the two most important hashtags in the history of gender
the word “Gamergate” is a process that ants go through when they don’t have a queen. This
1 I’m going to use this word to describe all female gamers. I obviously support the title gained me some of my most illuminating Twitter responses. For example, did you know
of this book, but I will refrain from using the word “girls” here, except when referring to that there was a thing called “Watergate”? (Yes, I know I should really stop baiting these
those of younger age. idiots, but I was never much for self-control.)
4 F o r e w o r d Forewo r d 5
designers sided with Zoe Quinn as her life was turned into a hamburger about every noteworthy female game designer and editor in the tabletop
chain by the denizens of Trollsville. And as threats of sexual violence industry. I am not gender-blind in the slightest; I want a much more
against female gamers became regular events, the benighted defenders had diverse design team than anyone else has, because diversity of opinion
to abandon the movement or be lumped in with the firebrands. The ‘Gate is why we make the best games on earth. Not coincidentally, several of
slammed shut. the women in this book have @lonesharkgames.com email addresses,
including its editor in chief. I got called an “ally” in public by one of them,
At the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, if you read any part of and it made me feel really good.
the Internet at all, it became obvious that listening to the women of the
gaming world was among the highest priorities of people like me. It did I have made many, many mistakes. I have not always been the most
not become obvious to all people like me, of course, but the unaware are sensitive of team leaders. I have not always been able to keep women on
becoming less and less tolerated. The acceptance of women in gaming is no my team. I have said the wrong thing a lot. One of the greatest mistakes I
longer a difference of opinion. It is now a mandate. ever made was listening to the other men on my all-male team of creative
directors about the skills of one of my designers, when I knew otherwise.
We are on the cusp of having more female gamers than male ones. She left the team. I resolved it wouldn’t happen again, and then it happened
This is quite the achievement. We are no longer making games for girls, again. She left too. I resolved that the thing that would never happen again
as a rule. We are making games for gamers, many of which are girls. was that me having an all-male team of creative decision-makers, and that
(Sometimes those games are pink. But sometimes they are not.) Girls are hasn’t happened again.7
starting to play games younger, and – this is the important bit – they are
choosing to remain gamers when they get older.5 Those who fail to act on I have been asked on many occasions how I find female game designers.8
these trends will be left behind by the game industry. I always say, “Look where you would find gamers.” If you limit yourself to
looking where you would find only male game designers, you will find only
But for many male gamers, the problem is that they’ve given up on male game designers. This seems tautological, but it is what nearly every
trying to relate to female gamers. Gaming attracts people with social company does. I no longer put people through job interviews, and I no
anxiety, and that anxiety often extends to the opposite sex. The thing is, longer look at resumes. It is no secret that those two processes weed out
that works both ways. Many female gamers have problems relating to men women. If it is more important to you to have good processes than good
too. But they rarely have a choice about whether they do it. results, by all means continue with them. Meanwhile, my design team will
likely continue to be more diverse, and possibly more talented, than yours.
So, the elephant: It is probably obvious that I am not, nor will be6, a
female gamer. I can’t claim to get what women in gaming go through on As the president of a game company, I can influence three things in my
a daily basis. But I can claim to have seen some of it, and I can try to do world: my actions, the environment I create for my colleagues, and the
something about it. opinions of people who listen to me. As I said earlier, maybe we still don’t
do enough of that. But you did it for me, and I appreciate that.
At Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, and my own company Lone Shark
Games, I have hired, been hired by, and/or otherwise collaborated with just Now please join me in listening to these amazing women.
5 I was on a panel at PAX South this week when a man asked what he should do now
that his ten-year-old daughter and her girlfriends asked him to run an RPG campaign for 7 Well, except for one really important and public thing, and I’m going to fix that.
them. In front of 500 people, I told him, “For God’s sake, don’t screw this up.” 8 This week I got asked to give a lecture at a major comic convention about why I hire so
6 Not that there’d be anything wrong with that. We’ve seen the beginnings of acceptance many female designers. I declined, and asked my female team members to give the panel
of transgendered gamers as well. But this appears to be an even more difficult path to instead. Trust me, nobody wants to see a successful white man pontificating about how
acceptance than most women have undertaken. Much to do. enlightened he is. In fact, I’m amazed you’ve stuck with me this far.
6 EQUALificatio n 7
problems in our society (and isn’t just restricted to gender, but for the pur-
poses of this book, we’ll leave it there), and my feelings on this has caused a
lot of controversy among my peers on its own.
Elisa Teague
Yes, gender (and gender identity) is extremely important. But to view
every issue through a gendered eye causes us to skew equality, whether we
mean to or not. We are taught from birth to see things through gender, and
only in recent cultural trends are parents starting to actively raise children
EQUALification
in a gender-neutral environment. Unfortunately, the literature we read, the
movies we watch, the toys we’ve been given all of our lives have bred a sys-
temic cultural outlook on gender that has steeped for generations and will
take many more to break. We are on our way, though, which is great. But
Many of my friends have nicknamed me “The Lizard King,”
to what lengths do we tip the scale in the other direction to attempt to even
which was Jim Morrison’s moniker. Funny enough, Morrison
out the bias against women, especially in education and business?
really identified with the lizard as his animal deity, and his
drug-addled brain eventually thought he could control the creatures. This
This is an argument I’m presented with quite often, mostly by men, of
is certainly not why I take on the name.
course. It seems that we are being unfair to qualified men if we give women
a handicap when it comes to hiring for the same position. The dilemma is
I take on the name because of my constant drive to do All The Things™.
clear, and being completely objective, I understand the argument. I do have
Yet, I don’t want to be the Jack of all trades, I want to become the Master,
a response.
and if there is something I don’t know how to do, by golly, I’m going to
learn how to do it — and do it well.
Do I think that more women should be hired in the game industry (and
all industries, for that matter)? Absolutely. But not because we are women.
Some people see this as brilliant. Some people see it as a disaster. I’m
We should be hired because women have unique perspectives and abili-
about 50/50. Did I take on this book project in the middle of designing 3
ties that will round out a company’s workforce, increase productivity, and
games, being hired at a brand new company, running a magazine “on the
spark novel ideas. Our brains work differently and more efficiently in many
side,” and raising a family? I did. Is it manageable? It is. It is difficult, for
ways, especially when it comes to analytical and intuitive thinking (which,
certain, but it is doable. And I’ll talk about that in another chapter.
I must point out, is perfect for game design). We should be hired because
ultimately, a more qualified woman should always be hired over an un-
So yes, my friends and family on the whole shake their heads at my
der-qualified man in any case, ever.
Lizard King nickname, but there are several who have an entirely different
reason for disdain. A reason that I’m conflicted about at times, but I still
Let’s repeat that thought for a moment and really think about it: A more
hold my ground.
qualified woman should always be hired over an under-qualified man in
any case, ever.
Their question: Why “King?”
In today’s world (and pretty much all of history) there are more men
My answer: Well, first of all, “Queen” loses the reference, of course, but
who are less qualified than their female counterparts, who are hired AND
more importantly, and hear me out, as this can be seen as quite contro-
paid more BECAUSE THEY ARE MALE. And really, that’s about the only
versial: I refuse to insert gender into a genderless topic. I don’t like to give
reason. I don’t expect companies to go out and hire a woman to meet a
gender power, in general. I think it is the cause of many inequalities and
quota, regardless of her abilities. I would never hire an under-qualified
8 E Q U A L ifi c a tion 9
person to work for me, no matter who they were. So why are men getting a
free pass, here?
Which brings me back to my point: if a man and a woman both applied Peggy Brown
for the same job in my office, I would hire the most qualified and talented
one, regardless of their gender. And quite honestly, if I was ever after a po-
sition and was told that I was getting it because they “needed more women”
and not because I am the very best at what I do, I would not take the job.
Pushing Back
Because that is what equality is. Equal.
So here’s the rub. While we should be considered so, we’re not equal. Not
When Betty Friedan, a leading activist in the American women’s
even close. Sure, it is getting better. Yes, there are so many more women in
movement of the 1960s died a few years back, a headline in
this industry than there were 5, 10, and 15 years ago. But I still get looks
The Onion read: “Betty Friedan Honored With Second-Class
of surprise from gamers who find out that I’m a published game designer.
Postage Stamp.” It was one of those headlines that didn’t even have a story
I still run into those who want to talk to a male co-worker to “confirm”
written under it. It didn’t need one.
instead of taking my statements as truth. I still get inappropriate comments
of a sexual nature at conventions, from both convention-goers and indus-
I’ve been in the game business since I graduated college, specifically
try folk. And while “better” is good, “fixed” is what the goal is.
the mass market and mainstream specialty game business, working in the
creative end of things. An Industrial Designer by training, and an author,
Whether you agree with my rationale or not is one of the amazing things
inventor, writer, artist, and executive by experience, I’ve earned my chops
about this book. It is filled with anecdotes, experience and advice from
and have the scars to show for it. While I’ve been in the game biz now
many different women. Some of us have vastly different opinions, while
just a smidge more than half my life, I’d never have had the nerve to serve
others nearly repeat each other. One thing is common above all, however.
up my opinion on this topic before I turned forty, which for me marked
We all see the need for change, and we all want women to be seen as valid,
the welcome end of self-censorship, go-along-yness and don’t-rock-the-
integral, and respected parts of our gaming community. And while many
boatism.
of us have shared some negative experiences that we’ve had as women in
the industry, there are also many positive experiences and growth that we
A couple years ago, a longtime industry colleague was contemplating
have to share, as well. Whether you are looking to get your foot in the door,
retirement. He and I spent a couple afternoons on the phone with feet
already in our community, or one of our many male supporters of this
up on our desks, reminiscing and waxing philosophical about our lives
book who want some insight on how to make things better, there are some
and careers. I let my guard down a bit and let it squeak out that I think
great and powerful nuggets of wisdom in these pages.
my path would have been radically different if I too had been a man.
Evidently, this came a complete surprise to my colleague, whose response
So please, read on, as we share our insights, advice, and love for games.
was incredulous, to put it mildly. He had spent his career inside a huge
corporation, with resources and fat paychecks, expense accounts and
the promise of cushy retirement severance packages… not to mention
sharp and effective female administrative assistants who did a great job
of running interference on most of the details over his illustrious thirty-
plus year career, making his work monumentally easier. He immediately
insisted I was wrong, that maybe in other places women had it tougher
10 P u s h i n g B a c k Pushing B a c k 11
than men, but “not in our industry” could that possibly be true. I asked (that was the term we used way back in the day), that we didn’t really know
him to take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the center of it, write what to do. After he left, we had to think hard – we had never turned down
“Men” at the top of the left column and “Women” at the top of the right, work before. We couldn’t really afford to turn down work, but this guy was
then write the names of the big-chair execs at his company, or any game a real piece of work himself! After much deliberation, we decided to quote
company for that matter, in the appropriate column, distinguished by his projects at triple the rate we would have normally charged, to offset our
gender. personal cost of listening to his bluster and dealing with his offensive sexist
remarks. It was the first time I started to consciously understand my place
Well, that was the end of that phone call. Clearly I was nuts. I don’t think as a woman in the game that is the game business. And it was the first time
he ever actually did the exercise of listing the names in the columns, but I started to push back.
suffice it to say, since he was an avid game player, he’d have had plenty
of open real estate to host a tic-tac-toe tournament in that right-hand Eight years later after we closed our studio, I was hired at a mid-sized
column, because there would have been only a couple names in it. game company as creative director. I was put in charge of new product
development and execution, which included production-ready art, but I
It’s not like I set out to be a game business executive. As a matter of fact, was not put in charge of the male art director, because he refused to report
I’m such a maker at heart, and I’ve historically been so focused on the to a woman. So while I was responsible for directing him, I was not his
creative process and the conception and execution of the products I make, boss. I was given the responsibility to turn concepts into products, with
that it took me some real thinking and some years of observation to even no authority to officially direct my should-be subordinate, but with every
notice the gender gap. Or gender canyon, as it turned out to be. I was the responsibility to do so. And oh yeah, he was not an easy-going dude. I was
only female in my graduating class of industrial design students, but it forced to beg for his cooperation, which he delighted in withholding on a
never occurred to me there may be some disparity ahead. I was the only regular basis.
female in a four-man design department at the first game company where
I worked. Never occurred to me I may have picked a tough road. When I A couple years later when our boss, the VP of product development,
complained to my boss that they were giving me all the fluffy girly games left the company, I was promoted to his former position, but even at that
to work on, which, to his credit, he corrected right away, I never thought level, and even though the art director historically reported to the VP of
of it as any kind of unofficial bias. I loved games, and I love them still, and product development, the art director was not going to have to report
making them was and is the coolest job in the world. to me. As I sat in a top-level exec chair, I could not put into effect rules,
procedures, or changes of any kind in my own department, even though I
After a few years at the bottom rung of a big corporation, a female was held completely accountable for my department’s work product. With
college buddy and I set out to start our own game development company– my promotion, the art director no longer reported to the head of product
we hung out our shingle and bootstrapped a fledgling design studio with development, but was made a direct report of the VP of sales. Now, a
two hundred bucks and a set of juicy Prismacolor markers. We were in rational person might think that makes no sense, but the VP of sales had a
business! We drummed up game publisher clients, others found us by BFA in product design from an acclaimed college, ten years of experience
word-of-mouth, and we grew. After a couple years we had a staff of seven running a product design company working with every major game
or eight designers and we were making games for all the majors and lots of company in the country, had designed dozens of successful games… oh
others. Fun it was! wait. No he didn’t… That was MY resume. His resume? He was a man.
One day we met with a new client, an older man, at least older than we For a couple years on I got to put the fun in dysFUNctional product
were. He needed quite a lot of artwork and package design, merchandising development departments, but as was my M.O. – I kept focused on the
floor displays, all kinds of stuff. But in this first meeting, in our own games – thinking them up, building their components, working with
conference room, the client turned out to be such a male chauvinist pig engineers and printers and manufacturers domestically and in the Far East.
12 P u s h i n g B a c k Pushing B a c k 13
The games have always been the strong thread of why I voluntarily stayed. march down to the CEO’s office, and shut the door. I checked the time.
I made great friends – it wasn’t all bad, but the general culture was not only Thought about three minutes would do it. Yep. Almost like clockwork I
unwelcoming to women, it was downright discouraging, and there was heard her march march march march back to her office and shut the door.
precious little I could do about it. Timecheck – this time – one minute, tops. Ding!
It was another couple years before I was given the budget to hire a Incoming email in response to mine:
designer to alleviate some of my own workload… a designer (hallelujah) (paraphrasing)
whom I was allowed to have report to me. My own boss, the (male) CEO
came to my office to tell me in no uncertain terms that I was to fill the Dear Peggy,
new position with a man. A couple days later, the (male) president of the
company stopped me after a meeting to tell me that he sure would like to Please disregard those instructions and hire the most qualified
see a man in that position. candidate.
I reeeeally wish I remembered how I reacted in those moments - what Love, VP Legal
I said, what I did next. At this point I imagine my eyes may have crossed,
though I have no real recollection. But it wasn’t long after that, and before (Again, my memory fails me as to her exact ending, but you get the gist.)
I began interviewing candidates, that I tapped out a quick email to our
(female) VP of Legal (I might mention here that she was the daughter of Hindsight being 20/20, I now know that I would never stay in such a
the CEO and niece of his brother, the president of the company, and one work setting for so long ever again. Part of the problem is that as women,
might deduce she got hired despite her gender because in this particular we often put up and shut up because we know how hard we had to scrap
game company’s rule book, nepotism trumped sexism.) (Of course, that’s to claim the measly patch of turf we’ve come to control. It’s become clear
just my own silly girly opinion.) to me though, that by tolerating that kind of treatment, we unwittingly
condone it. We unconsciously make it acceptable. We do it to ourselves,
My email read: and we let the perpetrators off the hook. I’ve since become more conscious,
Dear (VP Legal Lady): more vigilant and more proactive, because by accepting it quietly in the
past, I became compliant in perpetuating it.
As you may know, I’m searching for designers to fill a new position in
my department. Both (the CEO) and (president) came to me on separate This has been my experience, and there are many more similar stories
occasions, instructing me to hire a man for the job. I could tell. Would my experience have been different if I were a man?
Of course. And no rational, honest person can argue that it wouldn’t
Whatever am I to do if the best man for the job is a woman? have been easier. Should my experience have been different because I’m
a woman? Of course. But should it have included any of the kinds of
Love, Peggy experiences I’ve recalled here? Nope.
(Okay, I may not have ended the email precisely that way, but it was a Fast-forward ten or so years: I’m still making games! I’ve made hundreds
long time ago.) that have made millions. I’ve won the TAGIE Award for Excellence in
Game Design. I’ve gone global. I still really really love making games.
This was just not that large a workplace, and the Legal veep’s office And there’s been progress on the gender gap. But has it been significant
was two doors down from mine. In exactly the amount of time it took progress? Nope.
for her to read my email, I heard her open her door, march march march
