Rebel Girls Level Up: 25 Tales of Gaming and the Metaverse
4 Hi Rebels FOREWORD When I was a kid I loved computer games I'd build elaborate theme parks in Roller Coaster Tycoon and create families in The Sims that I kept going for generations My best friend and I would play the third Harry Potter game together with one of us using the keyboard to control where Harry or Hermione walked and the other using the mouse to control their wand Even though I'd sit at the computer in my family's basement until my eyes itched and it was dark outside I didn't really think of myself as a gamer My brother though he was a gamer He played sports games and action adventures on PlayStation To me that seemed like the right way to be a gamer playing on a console and playing as a boy When I started working on this book I did a lot of research on gaming and tech and I realized how much of the gaming world is geared toward boys and away from girls And when you look at the teams behind a lot of games you start to see one reason there are not many women in this industry I can't tell you how many times I looked up a popular video game and scrolled through the developers directors writers artists and producers only to see male name after male name listed Why were there so few women in this world Why was it possible for entire games to be made without the involvement of a single woman And what did that mean for the games themselves What did it mean for all of the girls and women out there playing them According to some surveys women make up 48 percent of gamers in the United States and 40 to 45 percent of gamers in Asia Yet only 24 percent of people working in gaming are women At the highest levels a whopping 84 percent of positions are held by men And when you look at the games themselves the numbers get even more discouraging only 5 percent of video games feature female main characters
5 It's easy to get frustrated about this I know I did But reading about the amazing accomplishments of the women who work in this industry gave me hope for the future of gaming Rebel Girls Level Up features the stories of 25 inspiring women who are involved in gaming and tech at every level You'll meet some of the high powered women behind your favorite games like Helen Chiang studio head at Minecraft and Aya Kyogoku director of several Animal Crossing games You'll read about community builders like Jay Ann Lopez who work to make gaming a more inclusive place You'll feel like you're watching streamers and professional gamers like Pokimane and Sasha Hostyn who redefined what it means to be a gamer girl And you'll get to know some of the newest faces in the industry like Jennifer Towne cSapphire and Anne Shoemaker who are creating incredible gaming experiences on Roblox I hope these stories inspire you to explore the wide world of gaming and get you excited about all the incredible innovations the future has in store Know that however you like to game you're a gamer just like the Rebel Girls in this book -Eliza Kirby Editor Rebel Girls
9 AMBER ALLEN CEO Once upon a time a gamer girl in east Texas played all the video games she could get her hands on She played Mortal Kombat at home She played arcade games at Pizza Hut She played Super Mario Bros. Halo and The Legend of Zelda Her name was Amber and games were her way of being with people She would play with her friends and with her brother Together they could be creative As Amber got older her curiosity kept her moving exploring new ways to create She was fascinated by technology and all the cool developments it brought to gaming When she was a grown up she learne about an exciting online space called the metaverse In the metaverse people could explore interesting places learn new skills and meet up with their friends all without ever leaving home Amber wanted to be right at the front of this fascinating world Later Amber started her own metaverse company Double A Labs Double A helps create digital worlds where people can work together One of Amber's clients wanted to educate people about space travel safety So Double A Labs helped them build a gaming experience that makes people feel like they're on a space shuttle Using what she learned as a gamer Amber helps create technologies that teach people new things She knows that if you're having fun you'll learn more Amber still loves video games She even has a whole gaming room in her house She loves to play with people who come over It's like being back in Texas playing games with her brother and her friends They're having fun being creative and most important connecting with one another BORN APRIL 22 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOLL CREATED USING AI ILLUSTRATION EVERY DAY THAT CHILDHOOD AMBER HIGH FIVES ADULT AMBER I WIN -AMBER ALLEN
