I'm at the Women in Games conference in Dundee today and while I'll leave the summaries to one more able, I do want to make a quick comment on what's emerged from today's fantastic sessions. Women don't play games because they perceive "gamer" as (and I'll quote an excellent presentation by Mette Fairgrieve from the ITU in Copenhagen) "male, a young man or boy, antisocial, guzzling coke and pizza and lacking basic hygiene." Women (and men who don't play games) don't play games because they don't see gaming as an asset to their self-image.
That's what they say. And gosh, don't we spend a lot of time defending that.
In the meantime, here are a few links to the women who've been instrumental in the development of computer games (according to Ernest Adams' keynote):
Dani Berry (Formerly Dan Bunton) Donna Bailey (Centipede) Carla Meninsky (Warlords) Roberta Williams (King's Quest) Carol Shaw (River Raid) Brenda Brathwaite (Wizardry) Anne Westfall (Archon)
