Four talented women from the North East’s video gaming community have had their hard work recognised after being shortlisted for a national award.
Hammerhead VR’s Sally Blake, Double Eleven’s Natalie Wicks, and Ubisoft Reflections's Lara Coulson and Lauren Frazer have all been nominated for awards at the MCV Women in Games Awards 2019.
The awards celebrates the contribution women make to the UK games industry and is organised by video game news site MCV in partnership Facebook.
Sally Blake has been shortlisted for the Mentor of the Year award. Ms Blake works as a senior producer at Gateshead’s Hammerhead VR, but has spend a great deal of her time setting up initiatives to encourage women to progress in the gaming industry. This includes the founding the local Women Making Games Group.
Commenting on her nomination, Ms Blake said: “I’m over the moon to have been nominated for the MCV Mentor of the Year! The North East has an amazing community of women and I’m so happy to be part of it.
“Mentoring has always been such a rewarding experience and I’m honestly humbled that people have taken time out of their day to nominate me. I hope to continue my mentoring work and building our WOMG North East community and really appreciate all the support.”
Newcastle games studio Ubisoft Reflections has also seen two of its team make the shortlist. Junior game designer Lara Coulson has been nominated for the Rising Star of the Year - Development prize, while level designer Lauren Frazer has made the list for the Creative Impact of the Year award.
Natalie Wicks, player engagement and content creator at Middlesbrough’s Double Eleven, is the final North East professional to be shortlisted. She has been nominated for the Rising Star of the Year - Business award.
Her role sees her engage with the company’s player audience in writing and through video content. She also has a hand in producing and making game trailers for the studio.
Ms Wicks said: “It’s an incredible honour to be shortlisted as a Rising Star in Business as I’ve always been a committed gamer. Finding my place in the industry is honestly a dream come true, and a career path that I never even considered would be open to me. Double Eleven has given me the space and, most importantly, the trust to grow in the role.
“Women make up around half of the UK’s gamers but the number of women in the industry is much smaller, so awards like this are really important, especially to girls and young women who are yet to begin their careers. If nine year old Natalie knew she’d be nominated for a games industry award, she would be ecstatic but she also probably wouldn’t believe you!
“I’m really pleased be able to represent both the company and the Tees Valley digital sector in the awards.”
The awards ceremony will be held on Friday June 28 at Facebook’s head office in London.
