July-August 2015 www.womanthismonth.com WTM: How does it feel to be a woman in the gaming environment? NB: I feel very comfortable in this area. We all work together and what matters is your skill not your gender. KY: I feel very proud! I can show that women can do anything! BA: Happy! I am simply happy to be working with three other guys and show them that I can work as hard as them. SS: Representing all women in gaming is a huge responsibility, but that is not my main role. I am happy with just representing myself. I don’t think I am a representation of any general group whether it is gender, nationality or other. I am me. Just me. WTM: Do you think there are opportunities for gamers in Bahrain? BA: There are opportunities but not a lot of them in my opinion. We developers need to create more games and participate in more jams and other events to showcase ourselves. NB: Yes, especially in the mobile games field. A lot of solo game developers have created their own games and published them without the support of a company or anything else. WTM: What is the importance of the GCC Game Jam in Bahrain? SS: It sets Bahrain as the hub for games and game developers in the region. I think next year the event will be even bigger. The game we created has great potential and we are planning to continue working on it. This would not have happened without this Jam. KY: The event supports the huge potential and talented people of the region. Winning third place in this year's Game Jam, without having proper training or taking courses in game making, shows that I can do anything. Last year when my friends and I joined the Bahrain Game Jam, we were clueless, but from there we learned a lot and made sure to be prepared for this year's event. WTM: What are your future expectations? BA: I want to see more Bahraini programmers, animators, writers and musicians attending game development events and realising how helpful their valuable skills can be in game making. NB: That the Gulf will have an expressive representation in game development. I think many small game companies will rise. I know this because I am considering right now to create my own small company when I have the needed skills and knowledge. WTM: Any advice to girls trying to get into this area? BA: If any girl wishes to be a game developer, she should never hesitate to join Bahrain Game Developers community (a group of professional video game developers based in Bahrain focused on learning and networking, find them on Facebook). Nobody has to be a genius to start making games! And we should all remember that it is fine to make mistakes, that is how we learn. KY: My advice is to do what you love to do. Be confident, don’t allow limitations to discourage your creativity and, most importantly, believe in constant and never-ending improvement. Enjoy the opportunity to learn something new and have fun! g This page and opposite: game development by Kristel and Saba.
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