International Women’s Day: The women who rocked the games industry last year

WHILE the gaming industry is pretty much male-centric, there are thousands of women in the industry doing amazing things to make gaming great.

Women don’t typically get that much of a spotlight in the gaming industry, but their contributions to gaming are undeniable, and many games wouldn’t be possible without them.

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To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of five women and one non-binary person in the games industry who have most influenced us over the past year.

Here’s our appreciation for the wonderful women who made great games possible.

Mari Shimazaki

Mari Shimazaki is one of the most celebrated character artists in the gaming industry, having worked on award-winning games such as Bayonetta and Soul Calbiur.

Shimazaki last worked on last year’s Bayonetta 3, working on new designs for both Bayonetta herself and a number of other powerful women in the game.

She created hundreds of designs for the original Bayonetta game, and the amount of detail she puts into her characters is unmatched.

Die-hard fans may notice tiny design decisions that act like mini Easter eggs, like the shape of an earring or the whorl on a demon’s back, that hint at the larger story in the games.

Manon Gauge

Manon Gage, the star of last year’s excellent film Immortality, played the role of Marissa Marcel, a missing actress, which prompted the player to discover her whereabouts.

Gage put an incredible amount of work into her role as Marissa, blurring the line between reality and fiction by playing an actor playing an actor.

Her performance, both as Marissa and the characters that Marissa portrays in the feature films, is one of the best performances in the gaming industry in recent history.

Gage pulled off a feat that few actors have ever been able to pull off, switching flawlessly between Matilda, Franny, or Zoe in all the movies you’re watching.

Yuri Stern and Barbara Wittmann

This dynamic duo was the sole creative force behind last year’s indie breakout Signalis, which was considered one of the best games of the year.

The pair worked together on all aspects of the game, designing, drawing, programming and writing everything in the game all by themselves.

Signalis was one of the most complex and touching stories in video games, not just of games released last year, but of games in general.

It tells the story of a lesbian couple who, despite the harsh and difficult environment they find themselves in, try their best to remain faithful to each other.

Robert Williams

Roberta Williams, one of the greats of the industry, is a pioneer in gaming, shaped the beginnings of video games and invented entire genres.

She designed and wrote for classic games like Mystery House, Phatasmagoria and the King’s Quest series as part of Sierra Online, which she co-founded.

After selling Sierra and signing a five-year deal with no competition, Williams began sailing around the world and largely retired from game development.

However, during the Covid lockdowns, she got the idea of ​​recreating the game that got her a start in the industry, Colossal Cave, and coming out of retirement to release it.

Ayako Furukawa

2022 was a year filled with dozens of beautiful games, but few have captured the eyes, hearts and souls of gamers as much as Triangle Strategy.

Art Director Ayako Furukawa was the mastermind behind the gorgeous 2.5D art that brought the world of Triangle Strategy’s Norzelia to life and secured her place in gaming history.

While many of the character designs in Triangle Strategy, Bravely Default, and Octopath Traveler were created by Naoki Ikushima, they would not have been possible without Furukawa.

They say that behind every great man there is a great woman, and in Triangle Strategy it’s easy to see how this is true as Furukawa shapes Ikushima’s designs to create something magical.

Written by Oliver Brandt and Georgina Young on behalf of GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN.

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