Rebel Girls Level Up: 25 Tales of Gaming and the Metaverse
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
8 AMIRA VIRGIL CREATOR AND COMMUNITY BUILDER Amira grinned as she sorted through all the different outfits in The sims There were bright blue dresses business clothes and even fantasy costumes But when she went to pick her character's skin tone she paused cursor hovering over the few options The game had no dark skin colors that matched her own Maybe it'll be better in the next game in the series Amira thought But the same thing happened each time she booted up the newest version of The Sims She could customize everything from ear size to eye color but the skin tones still didn't look like hers mira couldn't believe it She could create a more realistic alien avatar than a character of herself By the time The Sims 4 came out Amira was making mods of her own These downloaded content packs allowed other players to install more options for skin tones and hairstyles into their own Sims games Players around the world loved how realistic Amira's mods made their avatars look Amira had also become a streamer someone who broadcasts videos of themselves playing games On her channel she spoke out about the lack of skin color options Amira was glad her mods were successful but she felt like they shouldn't be needed at all Why couldn't the game developers just make games that represented the way people looked in the real world The creators of The Sims heard her and to her surprise they agreed The company announced they would release diverse content to The Sims 4. Every time Amira logs in she can see how her actions have changed the world and countless digital worlds too BORN OCTOBER 4 1994 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THESE COMPANIES DO RIGHT BY THE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES THAT THEY TRY TO INCLUDE BY ACTUALLY INCLUDING THEM -AMIRA VIRGIL ILLUSTRATION BY SHIRLEY HOTTIER
