It’s not easy finding a job. But it’s particularly difficult when the deck is stacked against you.
Sydney Iturraran has interviewed for game designer positions via video. Often, it was readily apparent that her chances of getting a position were nil.
“Sometimes you know immediately that somebody has checked out or is not interested in the conversation,” says Iturraran, a game design manager for AGS. “I’ve definitely interviewed for some positions as I’ve moved through my career, and the moment my face appears on the screen, I can tell they’re uninterested. They don’t ask about my leadership skills or anything.”
Women have made immense strides over the past few decades in the gaming industry. There are advocacy groups, such as Global Gaming Women, that support the education and advancement of women. According to the American Gaming Association, 48% of the gaming industry’s workforce are woman.
But in other areas, female representation is minimal. With the dismissal of Amy Howe in May as FanDuel’s CEO, there are no women at major gambling companies in that role, according to CNBC. And World Metrics states that just 9% of game studio decision-makers are women.
Which is unfortunate, given that when women are put in such positions, they tend to thrive.
Kelsy Foster has worked in game design for a quarter century. Now Light & Wonder’s Vice President of Game Design, Foster majored in the actuarial science of business in college and was working for Fidelity Investments when her sister told her about game design.
“The idea that I could combine mathematics with creativity to create games that entertain players was incredibly exciting, so I took the leap,” Foster says. “More than 25 years later, I still feel incredibly fortunate to be doing work that challenges me every day.”
For game designer Kelly Trask, being challenged as a woman wasn’t her only obstacle. When she started in game design, she was in her 20s.
“Earlier in my career is when I felt the most unaccepted as a professional,” says Trask, now 35. “It took a lot longer to get my ideas across, gain the respect amongst other senior leaders – they always called me ‘kid.’ It took years to gain momentum and to be given credit for all the behind-the-scenes ideas that drove impact to the businesses I’ve worked for.”
Now that she is established, Trask has found that being a woman is an important part of her work, but her gender doesn’t overwhelm her. What sets her work apart is her approach to game design.
“I lead with commercial opportunity,” Trask says. “I start with analytics. I obsess over player behavior. Every feature, mechanic, and creative decision should have a purpose that is supported by data, not just instinct. Experience absolutely matters, but today’s market demands that we pair experience with curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.”
Those assumptions can be daunting. There are palpable differences that Iturraran notices between games that men and women design, with men tending to create games that are more intense or harder-edged.
“There’s a difference in a lens that a female perspective brings to the picture, or when designing characters,” Iturraran says.
But the challenge remains the same: to create a game that players will gravitate toward.
“What I find the most compelling about the work itself is that it’s a great juxtaposition of creative mathematical analytical problem solving with an intense amount of creativity and thought and a lot of player psychology,” Iturraran says. “It’s the cornerstone of so many different, interesting disciplines that it really just challenges me in a unique way. It’s the hope of making the game that really just aligns with people and what they want and trying to make people happy and joyous.”
Foster says she likes the idea that game design is constantly changing, that no single day is the same. But what gives her the most pleasure is being on a casino floor and seeing a game she’s helped to design being played.
It’s the result of collaboration until the best ideas surface and are realized.
“I believe the best games come from teams with different perspectives who are willing to share ideas and challenge each other creatively,” Foster says. “That’s something we continue to foster at Light & Wonder as we invest in developing both great games and great talent.”
