Media Molecule director: It takes women working on games to change the industry

In an interview with BBC Radio 4 (via Develop), Media Molecule studio director Siobhan Reddy has said that women in game development need to be more visible to attract more girls to consider a career in the industry.

Reddy believes that games can change if female developers work on them. "I think it takes women working on games for games to change. And I know that there are all sorts of discussions about where it is now and where it has been, but I'm interested in where it is going, particularly the type of things we're making at Media Molecule, and lots of other studios are making games which are for both genders and all ages," she said.

Reddy suggested that current educational initiatives that teach programming, as well as game jams, can help shape the next generation of female game developers. She sees the industry facing a "million dollar question" about why there are fewer female designers and programmers, and suggested that statistics revealed that girls had been put off from working in technology and gaming fields by their peers and teachers by the time they reached year eight in school.

"I think [it] is incredibly sad because it is a massively exciting industry and it's still very, very, very young. We're still at the tip of the iceberg phase," she said.

Reddy also said she thought the current lack of female creative directors and studio heads was a shame, but suggested the best way to solve the problem was to simply start creating content.

"I'd say to people who are interested in getting into the industry, just start making games or find the various things that are going on within your community or within your country, because there are a lot of things going on," she said.

Media Molecule is best known for its PlayStation-exclusive franchise, Little Big Planet. The studio is currently working on the Vita game Tearaway, a title inspired by papercraft. The game will launch on October 22 and 23 for North American and European markets respectively.