Women Board Game Designers

Whilst parked inside Kuala Lumpur airpoirt, the light sound of energy tapping on something in my brain activated whilst perusing the toy shop for wacky merchandise … the question came – Which women have been working/pioneering in the world of board game/traditional game design?

This was a question to be followed up upon at a later date due to my limited 20 minute access time on the net, but lo and behold, there is a highly visible game designer out there who is just starting a career in board games … Who is this you ask – none other than the coolest screen villain Elle Driver, aka Daryl Hannah .

Apparently Daryl has been moon-lighting on the side of her actressing career, having produced two games. The most recent game, Liebrary, uses Balderdash-esque game-play, and revolves around knowledge of literature and player creativity. The players listen to the synopsis of a book and have to guess what the first lines of that book might be, trying to convince the other players’ that your lines are indeed true.

Well done Daryl Hannah – A new role model for women and games!!

Computer Game receives Cultural Award

Games can be serious – right?

CEO of Serious Games Simon Egenfeld-Nielsen is making a good case and point with his Serious Games game “Global Conflicts: Palestine”. The game is the first of an intended series of games which focus on global conflicts. The experience is generated by the student players’ taking on the role of a freelance journalist that must cover the conflict in a neutral manner – something which is programmed to be extremely difficult to do.

I’m looking forward to seeing the final product early next year, and even more so, reading about which schools’ embrace the product (including which type of schools can handle the demands of a 3D generated game), which teachers are able to take on this alternative form of learning, and how the students’ engage in this form of learning. Very exciting times ahead indeed!

In any case, we can already celebrate the break-through of (serious) computer games as cultural products; “Global Conflicts:Palestine” has recently received the KEK award (The Danish Culture and Business awards) in the category of best Creative Product – congratulations.

- Emma

A little extra about Serious Games:

Game philosophy at serious games:

“…to create computer games that include well-proven game features found in most computer games like action, death and violence but adding an agenda beyond entertainment … We do not merely wish people to play the game but really engage with it – feeling, thinking, and discussing it – they may be shocked, appalled, and disgusted seeing the inside of conflict not just the surface so often portrayed in current stereotypical computer games. This is not the glossy game universes you know.”

My very first Very Big Cheque

Well, that special day has arrived. I was handed over my first over-sized cheque this week — Glorious glorious times, another thing to cross of the “to accomplish before I die” list.

Here is the footage of Tina and I receiving the cardboard mock-up from the Danish Bank (Den Danske Bank) who is sponsoring our initiative LetzPlay with the funds for computers to the LetzPlay-Lab, which will be opening its doors to young women in Copenhagen in February 2007 from the location of the Vesterbro culture house.

Wii’ve come along way baby!

It’s a while after the D3’s came to town (Danish Electronic Entertainment Expo) and I have been meaning to do a big write up, but winter preperations seem to have overtaken, and this space has suffered

However, I have mustered up the energy to do a tiny spot on the Wii experience from the D3’s, followed up by a little anecdote on the power of marketing (excited or what!) …

Whilst the D3´s themselves were fairly tame in terms of event size and wow-factor, the Wii zone was dressed to impress: minimalist style. The very 2001: A Space Odyssey white layout played the perfect background to all the physical movement going on by the anxious Wii players.

Wii Sports was the game of choice on the 10+ machines, and it was an attraction in itself to watch people happily make utter fools of themselves. My personal favourite was Wii Boxing, and it must be said that I was laughing at the pair of “air boxers” in front of us — right up until I got into the make-shift ring. I haven’t sweated so much in 2 minutes, since, ever! Needless to say that I think I pulled several muscles in my forearms from swinging wildly at the air. D3´s I could have left behind, but the Wii experience coloured me happy, 100% … (moving towards the anecdote) …

I was sold on buying the Wii, without having even thought about the PS3 (which was presented at the D3’s in a locked off area, protected by a lonely security guard). Nintendo had been doing everything right in my books – marketing towards women as players, innovative game-play, and easy on the wallet. But then, the terrible happened – a guild mate spoiled my Nintendo dream by sending me a rather provocative ad that set PS3 vs. Wii in the fine metaphor of “Serious overweight woman Vs. Silly skinny girlie”. Interestingly, after seeing this ad (real or not real – you tell me?), I found myself googling PS3 and all its doo-dads & games.

Whilst the PS3 is still out of my league in terms of cost – I am definately writing up a for and against list for “What I really want from a console”: frivilous and cheap or serious and engaging … hmmm … what kind of gamer am I?