All-male gaming 'just a stereotype'

Mar 1 2013

A young computer games designer has called for more women to follow her into the industry.

Sophia George, 22, won a Bafta "Ones to Watch" award last year and has since co-founded Swallowtail Games.

Launching her first game, Tick Tock Toys, the Abertay University graduate said she wants to inspire young women to create fun, accessible games for people of all ages.

"The popular stereotypes of gamers just being young men couldn't be more wrong, but they still persist despite around half of all gamers being female," she said.

"What's really worrying though is that this male-dominated idea is so pervasive, and it influences what families think about games and what young women think as they grow up and make decisions about their careers.

"I just hope that the release of Tick Tock Toys will help show young women that they can get into the games industry and that they too can create the games they love to play."

Ms George and her team won Abertay University's Dare to be Digital game design contest in 2011 and founded her company late last year with the help of a £25,000 award from the institution.

Tick Tock Toys is described as a family-friendly puzzle game for the iPhone and iPad.

Professor Louis Natanson, who leads computer games education at the university, said: "Through initiatives like our game design competition Dare to be Digital and the huge games festival we run in Dundee every year, we're introducing thousands of school children to the idea of creating their own games.

"Strong female role models like Sophia are an important part of that."