如果你是一名女性游戏玩家，那么这将是一件值得庆祝的好事。美国娱乐软件协会的最新调查表明，在所有游戏玩家中，女性玩家所占的比例高达40%，并且这个数量还在持续增长。尽管人们对于典型的女性游戏玩家还存在着很多刻板的观点，但是女性游戏玩家能够进行的游戏却不再受局限了，她们不只乐衷于战略游戏，休闲游戏和智力游戏，她们还积极尝试体验那些较为“阳刚”的射击游戏。因为当今女性玩家兴趣的多样化，我们已经不能够去定义女性游戏玩家的真正本质了。

然而很不幸，尽管游戏在女性群体间如此受欢迎，但是却甚少出现能够与游戏产业中的男性游戏开发者相竞争的女性游戏开发者。出现这种情况可能有两种原因，一是女性所接受的游戏设计和开发课程远远少于男性；二是进入游戏市场的障碍使得女性游戏开发者们举步维艰。

也许是因为游戏领域是个竞争极端激烈的行业，它所要求的巨大工作强度使得那些虽然对游戏开发感兴趣，但却不得不兼顾着家庭琐事的女性们望而止步。但是不论有何原因，事实就是，在游戏开发业中女性开发者的数量还远远少于男性。

Silicon Sisters是一所总部位于温哥华的游戏工作室，包括创始人和绝大多数员工都是由女性所组成的。最近她们发行了一款名为《School 26》的iOS游戏，以此锁定那些少女玩家。该工作室首席执行官布伦达（Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch），这位对于所面临的任何挑战始终抱着敏锐的洞察力的女性在最近的访谈中讲述了她对女性玩家、女性游戏开发者的看法。

以下是游戏邦编译的访谈内容：

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch

是什么原因驱使你们自主创立这家游戏工作室？

毫无疑问，在游戏产业里绝大多数游戏工作室都以男性为主导。我和克里斯汀·福布斯（Kirsten Forbes）在那些男性唱主角的游戏工作室里呆了许多年，并且我们一直希望能够建立起一家由女性自己设计，编程游戏角色的工作室。

在2010年，我们俩意识到不能再维持现状了。随着任天堂，iPhone，新的电脑单机游戏和社交游戏等都很大程度地吸引了绝大多数的女性用户，此时制作属于这些女性用户的特别游戏就变得更加有意义了，而由对游戏感兴趣的女性来完成这项工作也变得再适合不过了。

身为女性，你是否遇到过一些重大的障碍或者挑战？同时你是否能够给那些同样也在努力客服这些困难的女性们提供一些建议？

我所面临的最艰难的挑战之一来自于那些资助者。尽管早有数据表明女性所创立的公司有较高的成功比例，但是却仍有许多人对于女性在高科技领域的创业项目怀有强烈偏见。硅谷虽然能给创业者带来希望，但对女性创业者来说未必如此。所以我们希望能够创造成功的游戏，并以此打破这一行对于女性的偏见。

尽管在游戏产业中已经有无数款独特的游戏，但你是否觉得有哪些特别的类型或者主题被忽略了？如果有，能不能说说你的看法？

我觉得并不是哪一种特别的类型被忽略了，而是在这个产业中并未出现任何拥有独特设计的游戏。因为游戏开发是一种重复性的行为，所以很多游戏开发者还仍只是依靠着那些之前开发过的游戏。而女性开发者对于游戏的第一视角却是与众不同的，我们希望能够摆脱现有的游戏的束缚，为游戏玩家们带来一种前所未有的新鲜感。我想我们的游戏之所以能够吸引众多女孩，是因为我们并未借鉴任何现有的游戏，并未费尽心思地只是给现有的游戏裹上一层粉红色的闪亮外衣，而是我们始终把这些目标用户摆在首位，尽心尽力地创造属于她们的特殊游戏。

你能否跟我们讲讲关于Silicon Sisters的情况呢？譬如你们的工作环境如何？我之前拜访过温哥华的盖士镇，发现那真的是一座充满生气和活力的城镇。所以这是否也是推动你在此工作的动力之一呢？

我们热爱着盖士镇的一切。这是一座汇聚着各行各业人士，时尚却又怀旧的城市。这座城市不仅有很多像John Fluvog这类型的潮流者（游戏邦注：他们不仅在自己的旗舰店里工作，同时也在那里生活），同时还有很多来自于温哥华东部地区（游戏邦注：北美贫穷率最高的地区之一）的群体，可以说这是个具有两面性的多元化城市。它虽然充满生气，但却异常现实。这里有很多让人惊喜的酒吧和餐馆，也有无数华丽的购物中心。我们整个团队都热爱着这个城镇里的一切。

比起那些拥有大比例的男性员工和小比例的女性员工的工作室来说，我们的工作环境比较特别， 因为我们的工作团队几乎是以女性员工为主的。我们一直在尝试着建立一间以女性为主的工作室，并且希望能够雇佣那些最适合这份工作的人。但是我们同时也在寻找着那些热衷于制作好游戏，并且能够按照我们的市场细分来思考的员工们。因此我们的员工不仅来自于我们的细分市场（包括妇女和女孩），而且对于我们的市场细分拥有强烈的认同感和理解的群体。

作为一名女性玩家，你是否想要克服或者反驳一些偏见？你认为这些偏见的核心内容是什么并且该如何做才能消除这些偏见呢？

我认为那些对于游戏玩家，对于各种类型的游戏玩家的偏见正在逐渐被瓦解着，对此我感到无比的欣慰。根据美国游戏分机组织娱乐软件定级委员会（ESRB）最新报告表示，很多接受调查的家长们都认为电子游戏在他们孩子的生活中日益扮演起一个正面的角色。而这种情况在过去却是不曾出现过的。

当游戏产业在不断扩大并日益发展成为一个多样性的媒介时，整个社会与电子游戏的关系也正在发生着变化，并且这种变化将会一直持续下去。在今天的游戏市场里，30岁以上的女性玩家所占的比例已经远远超过于18岁以下的男性玩家了。

你最喜欢哪一款iOS游戏呢？

我一直很喜欢《Fight Control》，并且直到现在还经常玩这款游戏。我一直深深着迷于通用航空，所以任何与飞行相关的游戏对我来说都很有吸引力。同时我还很喜欢iPad上的《Mirror’s Edge》。我喜欢这款游戏的触屏设置，因为比起游戏机，我更喜欢通过触屏玩游戏。

你最喜欢的电子游戏或者游戏平台是什么？为什么？

这真的是一个很难回答的问题啊。你看我都活了大半辈子了，所有玩过的游戏却都是历历在目呢。我一直对于第一个让我着迷的游戏印象深刻。在70年代的时候我会把所有通过当保姆赚得的钱花在“行星游戏”上，80年代，我们变成了热衷于“小蜜蜂”（日本游戏公司南梦宫在1979年推出的街机游戏），到了90年代，我们开始在世嘉游戏机上玩《古墓丽影》，而最近这10年风靡于世界的则是任天堂的Okami和Katamari。同时我也非常喜欢《Scribblenaughts》，我觉得这是一款非常出色的游戏。

School 26

能跟我们透露一些关于你们公司即将上市的游戏么？

除了《School 26》，我们同样也在设计一款属于40代以前的女性们的专属游戏。这款游戏在不久的将来就会问世了。

尽管游戏的定位是女性，但你们否觉得自己的游戏其实能够很容易得到所有性别群体的喜爱呢？

我们将游戏定位于那些特定的游戏群体，但是这并不意味着那些非目标用户不能喜欢这些游戏。这种情况跟那些锁定男性游戏玩家的射击游戏和其他“阳刚”游戏类似，即使不是目标用户也有可能喜欢上这种游戏。但是绝大多数的游戏玩家还是属于游戏的目标群体。

举个例子来说吧，《School 26》是一款结合情节和“力量”的游戏，专门为那些青少年女性设计。但是当我们在开发这款游戏时也挑选了一些青少年男性进行游戏测试，结果表明他们中的绝大多数也很喜欢这款游戏。

希望通过开发《School 26》这类游戏实现一些什么目标呢？

我们希望使那些玩游戏的女孩们能够意识到她们所拥有的技巧在这些领域（包括交际，认同，解决问题等方面）的重要性，不只在学校能够帮助她们，同时在将来的社会生活上能够使其受益。也就是说，不论女性游戏玩家是否认为自己是个“游戏玩家”，我们都希望创造出能够使她们愿意去尝试的游戏。

Silicon Sisters的口号是“创造属于我们的游戏”（Games for Us），这也正是我们现在所做的努力，即创造出让玩家想玩的游戏而不只是作为当今游戏产业的代表。

你认为女性游戏群体在未来的几年将会有何变化呢？

我认为女性游戏玩家团体将不断壮大，特别是在当今这个智能手机盛行的年代里。大众对于游戏的定义也已经发生了变化。今天绝大多数游戏玩家不再是那些连续好几个小时泡在在游戏机上的硬核游戏玩家了，而是更倾向于在手机，电脑或者Facebook页面上玩些小型“爆破游戏”的休闲游戏玩家。游戏产业需要适应这些变化，既要继续生产适合硬核游戏玩家体验的游戏，也要创造出适合休闲游戏玩家的内容，但也不能忽视同时适合这两种不同游戏玩家的产品。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Women in Gaming: An Interview With Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch

If you’re a female gamer, there’s reason to celebrate. A recent study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association found that women constitute 40% of the total gamer population, and this number is sure to increase over time. Although there are numerous stereotypes regarding the typical female gamer, female gamers take interest in a wide variety of games ranging from the more “masculine” shooters to strategy games, casual games, and puzzles. If we were asked to profile a female gamer, we would say we could not, since her interests vary tremendously.

Unfortunately, the popularity of gaming among women does not seem to produce nearly enough female game developers to compete with men in the industry. This could be due to the fact that the percentage of women pursuing game design and development curriculum is considerably lower than that of men, or the fact that barriers to entry in this marketplace make it difficult.

Perhaps it’s because the game development industry is one that is extremely aggressive, and requires a level of work intensity that may not be ideal for a woman interested in game development who also considers raising a family at some point. Whatever the reasons may be, the fact is that there are simply far fewer women in game development than men, and we hope that this changes in the near future.

To address some of these concerns and curiosities, I had the pleasure of interviewing Silicon Sisters’ CEO, Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, who has provided some fascinating insight into some of the challenges she faced, her inspiration, goals, favorite games, and more. Silicon Sisters is a Vancouver-based game studio that is female founded and staffed. They recently released School 26, and you can read our review here.

STP: What inspired you to start your own gaming studio?

Brenda: In the game industry, there’s no escaping the fact that most studios are dominated by men. Having been in the industry for many years, Kirsten Forbes and I have both worked in those studios and we’ve both dreamed of working in a studio that had more women working in design and programming roles.

In 2010, we decided there was no time like the present! The gaming audience is growing to include more and more women, due to factors like the Wii, the iPhone, new trends in PC gaming, and social gaming catching on strongly with women. It makes sense to build games for this audience, and who better to do it than women who are passionate about games?

STP: Have there been any significant barriers or challenges you’ve had to overcome primarily because of your gender, and can you give some advice to other women who may face these issues in their own endeavors?

Brenda: One of the toughest challenges is working with funders. There is a decided bias against women-run tech start-ups, even though the stats show that starts-ups led by women have a higher degree of success. Silicon Valley is not as female-friendly as one might hope. Our hope is that once our games are successful, our product will help us break through this barrier. See the Forbes article on this topic here.

STP: Despite the overabundance of games out there, is there a particular genre or topic that you feel is often overlooked? If so, why do you feel it’s that way?

Brenda: I wouldn’t say it is a particular genre that is overlooked; I view it more that games that are designed from a particular view point aren’t out there. Game development is iterative; we tend to build on what has come before us. We are hoping to look away from that example and try to bring a fresh, female first perspective to gameplay. We are designing from the first line of code up for girls– not taking existing product and adapting it, or making it pink and sparkly so that it will attract girls.

STP: Could you please tell us a little more about Silicon Sisters? What’s your work environment like? When I visited the Gastown in Vancouver, I found it to be a lively, fun place. Does this enhance your work in any way?

Brenda: We love being in Gastown. It’s a funky old section of the city where all walks of life collide. There are trendsters like John Fluvog who lives and works in his flagship store, and there are folks from the East Side of Vancouver which has one of the highest poverty rates of any North American city. And everything in between. It’s vibrant but real, and there are lots of amazing bars and restaurants, as well as cool shopping. Our team loves it here.

Our work environment is a bit different from most studios because instead of being mostly guys with a few gals, we are mostly gals with a few guys. We aren’t trying to be a women-only studio, we will always hire the person who is best for the job, but we do look for people who are truly interested in making quality games for this market, and who can think like our market segment. So, that is either going to be someone from our market segment (women or girls) or someone who is empathetic and has good understanding of that segment (grew up with sisters or has daughters, for example).

STP: As a female gamer, what are the stereotypes you’ve had to overcome or disprove? What do you feel is at the core of these beliefs and what can be done to break these stereotypes?

Brenda: I think the typical stereotypes about gamers– all types of gamers– are being broken down across the board right now, and I’m grateful for that. The ESRB recently reported that a majority of parents surveyed stated that video games were a positive influence in their child’s life. That never used to be the case!

Society’s relationship to video games is in flux, as we expand and become a more diverse medium, that will continue to change. There are more women over 30 playing video games than there are boys under 18 in today’s market. Go figure!

STP: What is your favorite game for the iOS platform?

Brenda: I’ve always loved Flight Control, and even now still play it pretty regularly. I’m really into general aviation, so anything flight-related connects for me. I also really love Mirror’s Edge on iPad. I love the touchpad mechanics with that game. I love it way more than I did on console.

STP: What’s your favorite video game of all time, any platform? Why?

Brenda: No way, really? That is a brutal question. I’m really old, you know, so my catchment is all games ever made. I’ll go with my first really serious addiction. When I was 11 and used to go to this arcade in my small town on Vancouver Island. We’re going back to the 70’s here, and I spent all of my babysitting money playing Asteroids. In the 80’s it switched to Galaxian, and in the 90’s probably Tomb Raider on the Sega Saturn. Next decade, Okami on Wii or maybe Katamari. I also really loved Scribblenaughts, I thought that was genius.

STP: Can you tell us about another upcoming game of yours?

Brenda: In addition to School 26, we’re also working on a social game designed for women in their early 40s. We’ll have more to say about it soon!

STP: Do you feel that despite being targeted for women, your games are gender-neutral and can easily be enjoyed by all?

Brenda: Our games are aimed at a specific audience, there’s no avoiding that. This doesn’t mean that people outside the target demographic can’t enjoy it. It’s really no different than a shooter or any other game that’s designed with a typical male audience in mind– people outside the target audience will enjoy it, but the majority of players will be the ones the game was designed for.

For example, School 26 is a game with scenarios and mechanics that were deliberately designed to appeal to teen and tween girls. While we were working on the game, we had boys in the same age group playtest the game, and some of them enjoyed it a lot.

STP: What do you hope in achieving from the creation of games like School 26?

Brenda: With School 26 specifically, we hope to empower girls who don’t realize how important their skills in areas like communication, empathy, and problem solving can be, not only while they’re in school, but also later in life. More generally, we hope to create games that women will like to play, whether they consider themselves “gamers” or not.

Silicon Sisters’ slogan is “Games for Us” and that’s really what we’re making– the types of games that we want to play and don’t feel are truly represented in the industry right now.

STP: In what ways do you feel the female gaming community will change over the years?

Brenda: We think it will continue to grow, especially as devices like smartphones become more prevalent. The definition of gaming is changing. Most of today’s gamers are not hardcore video gamers playing hours upon hours of action games on consoles, but casual gamers who are playing in smaller bursts on their phones, their computers, their Facebook pages. The industry needs to keep up by adapting to these changes– by continuing to make games for the hardcore audience, sure, but also by creating games for the growing casual audience and some games that will appeal to both.（source: slidetoplay）