WIGI-San Francisco
"From Production to Profit: Creating and Marketing Games for Women" Tuesday, March 6, 2007,
1 pm to 7 pm
Electronic Arts, Redwood City
The female consumer market is as broad and diverse as any market segment in the games industry. Recent reports, surveys and studies indicate that women are playing games in greater numbers all the time. This half-day conference will introduce ways developers can specifically address that market. Industry insiders will look at game structure, genre, content, the question of sex and violence, stereotypes and other hot-button topics on developing and marketing game titles for women.
1 pm Opening Address Sheri Graner Ray (bio) Executive Chair, Women in Games International
1:10 pm Opening Keynote Lucy Bradshaw (bio) VP and Head of Production and Development, Maxis/Electronic Arts
“The Secrets of The Sims Success”
Bradshaw explores how The Sims found initial popularity among a typical gaming audience and then crossed over to mainstream success as male gamers shared the game with their sisters, mothers, girlfriends and wives. In discussing this, Lucy will explain which aspects of the game appealed to this audience, and give examples of how developers and publishers can learn from The Sims success.
On this panel, developers from a variety of disciplines talk about features, products and processes they have put in place to ensure that their games will reach the broadest audience possible - an audience that not only includes, but embraces female players. It's not just about casual games anymore!
3 pm The Medium Is The Message: Marketing Games to Women who Play
Reaching the female market requires fresh thinking when it comes to advertising, sales and community outreach. Drawing on experiences from a variety of games, our panelists will share some of their most instructional failures and rewarding successes.
3:50 pm Closing Keynote Ernest Adams (bio) Game Designer, International Hobo Design Group
"Developing Backwards and in High Heels" "Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels." Women game developers must also work backwards and in high heels -- backwards because they are usually developing games for a male market; in high heels because they are often impeded by a masculine development culture. In this lecture, we look at the past and future of women in gaming: what they contributed to the early development of the medium and how they will change it in the 21st century, including the way women are portrayed in games; women as designers and developers; and the wants and needs of the female player.
New hires talk about challenges in recruiting, work/life balance perceptions, and other potential barriers to entry for aspiring female developers. What helped them get over these barriers and how can we remove them in the future?
Industry veterans from a several disciplines speak about how their careers have developed over time. What are some of the challenges and opportunities we all have to look forward to?
What does it take to be a top notch producer? In this discussion, experienced producers talk about how they got into the role, what they do each day, and what keeps them (and their teams) coming back for more.
Pull up a chair and speak with the ladies of design! Find out how they contribute each day to an impressive lineup of products - from casual games to console to sim and strategy titles.
Managing personal life and the demands of a game industry career is an ongoing challenge for both newcomers and veteran game developers. This discussion will focus on practical and successful strategies for managing your time and for promoting proper time management in teams, companies and the industry as a whole.
Now you’ve decided you want to be in the game industry, how do you get there? Once in, how do you keep up to speed with what others are doing and where your next opportunity might lie? This discussion covers resume writing, interviews, and networking and support structures for women in games, and developers in general.
The game industry is beginning to realize that to produce titles that reach a more diverse audience, they need to diversify their workforce. But finding women to join the industry can be a challenge. Come talk about where and how to attract women into the industry and how to keep them there!
Meet the women of Frag Dolls, who are changing how female gamers are perceived in the world of videogames.
6 pm WIGI Networking Reception
Hosted by Electronic Arts, mix and mingle with your game industry contemporaries and colleagues at our always-popular networking party!
Game Developers Conference
Thanks to sponsor ECD Systems, WIGI will be a GDC exhibitor this year! Visit your
WIGI colleaguesin our impromptu lounge, located at Booth #238 on the main show floor. Be sure tograb and wear your own WIGI button, sponsored by Mary-Margaret.com.
Electronic Arts
Milestone Auditorium
250 Shoreline Drive
Redwood City, CA
Directions to EA's 250 Building
FROM SAN FRANCISCO:
Take 101 South Towards San Jose.
Take the Holly Street Exit. While exiting you will see a sign for Redwood Shores Parkway Exit - take this. This will take you east over the freeway.
Drive about 1/2 mile. At the 4th stoplight you will see Shoreline Drive. Turn left onto Shoreline Drive and follow the road around the first turns. You will see signs for Electronic Arts and there will be a small area for visitor parking. Turn in. Please go to the second driveway where you will see the large gray EA stone (marker) out in front of the driveway. The 250 Building (which is the 4-story building behind the other two buildings) please go in to the reception area.
(Across the street is a small shopping center with a Nob Hill Foods, etc.)
FROM THE SAN JOSE:
Take 101 North Towards San Francisco
Take the Holly Street Exit. While exiting you will see a sign for Redwood Shores Parkway Exit - take this. You will be heading to the east side.
Drive about 1/2 mile. At the 4th stoplight you will see Shoreline Drive. Turn left onto Shoreline Drive and follow the road around the first turns. You will see signs for Electronic Arts and there will be a small area for visitor parking. Turn in. Please go to the second driveway where you will see the large gray EA stone (marker) out in front of the driveway.
The 250 Building (which is the 4-story building behind the other two buildings) please go in to the reception area.
(Across the street is a small shopping center with a Nob Hill Foods, etc.)
Event Sponsors
Electronic Arts - Platinum Sponsor - 2007 Conference Series ECD Systems - Platinum Sponsor - 2007 Conference Series Intel - Silver Sponsor - San Francisco
