Geek Woman: I know many young women would love a long term job at an MMO, how were you able to accomplish the dream?

Melissa Bianco: I was introduced to video games back in the 80s by a friend of mine in elementary school who had an Atari.  The first game (other than Pong) that I ever played was Space Invaders.  As I graduated high school and moved out, I was able to pick up a PC and began playing PC adventure games like Phantasmagoria, Silent Hill, and Noctropolis (one of my all-time faves).  From there, it was simply a matter of getting in on MMO betas – which I did.  Everything from Meridian59 to The Realm, EverQuest and Anarchy Online.  I was hooked!

Melissa Bianco: By the time the City of Heroes opportunity came around, I’d been a gamer for several years (not just PC, but I was an avid SNES console player, too).  My husband was the one who found out about City of Heroes hiring back in late 2001.  He heard they were in development and just happened to be in San Jose.  So, in the great philosophy which I have long adopted, “Go Big or Go Home” – I sent them an email and inquired about whether or not they needed administrative help.  I had absolutely NO practical experience other than playing games, so I didn’t want to push my luck.  But what I DID have experience in, office management, they happened to of had a need for.   (By the way, this is pretty important for people wanting to get into the industry to keep in mind; not everyone gets hired on as a designer or artist.  Sometimes, you have to fit a need before you get a shot at the brass ring.)

So I checked out their website and sent an email offering my services, and discovered they were in the middle of a move (from Kings Row to the new studio), but that they’d get back to me once they were settled in.  And then I didn’t hear anything back for a couple of months.  I was disappointed, but – hey, what was I thinking?  A job in the game industry?  Pipe dream!  So in early 2002, I was about to head off to a job interview within the Neurosurgery Department at Stanford University when I got a call to come in.  I was hired that day.  (Yes, I blew off Stanford.)

Geek Woman: What’s your educational background?

Melissa Bianco: I graduated high school in North Vancouver, British Columbia (Go, Argyle!) in 1987 and then frittered away my first semester at Capilano College (now University).  I knew that I wanted to be involved in a creative industry and, at the time, I was really hoping for it to be the film industry.  I never wanted to be IN FRONT of the camera, but I did want to be involved creatively.  So I applied for the Media Resources program at Capilano and was denied.  (Sad face.)  I took a Film History class, bought a motorcycle, worked in retail and reapplied for the next program.  I was accepted and graduated in 1991.

Around that time, I was also taking Screenwriting classes and Sign Language classes.  When I moved to California in 1999, I attended Ohlone College where I began working towards an AA in Sign Language, but because I wasn’t a Resident, the tuition fees were killing me and I had to drop out and “get a real job.”  Luckily for me, that “real job” became City of Heroes.  Since 1999, I’ve worked full-time and taken classes in my spare time.  I love learning new things.  It never gets old.

Geek Woman: What did you do at CoH before you became lead designer?

Melissa Bianco: Ha ha!  Everything.  When I first started, as I said, I was the Office Manager, so the majority of my day was filing, payroll, paying bills, and making sure the administrative side ran smoothly.  The “day of transition” came when I was asked if I had time to help out with placing some navigational beacons in-game so that the MOBs could navigate the terrain.  I’d never done anything like that before, never used an editor, but I wanted to help out so I said, “Sure!”

That was my first “design task.”  It was ridiculous how uncoordinated I was with a 3D editor.  Z-axis?  X-Axis?  Depth?  It was like a Lucy Skit. But, time and experience have a way of teaching you and so I picked it up, and then I was needed for something else, which I gladly agreed to.  And then another thing.  And another.  Finally, they transitioned me into an “Associate Designer.”   That day was amazing.  I was so excited!

I never actually “built” anything at first, I just placed it.  My niche was working in the World with the editor.  Eventually, I was promoted to Designer, then Staff Designer, then Senior Designer, and then Lead.  My first love has always been World, and so that is where I am most comfortable.  That happened over a several year period.  So I can say that I copied, filed, worked in the editor, wrote dialogue, wrote missions, built and placed spawns, designed trials (Eden and Sewers), populated zones (a ton of ‘em), built mission maps, began to lead teams, and placed plenty of Easter Eggs.  J

Geek Woman: City of Heroes has been a successful MMO for many years now, what is your secret?

Melissa Bianco: You know, I’ve often thought about that myself.  I’ve looked at our situation and other games and I’ve seen them fade away where we’ve just kept on going.  I’m going to guess that it’s a combination of being the first in the genre (so that gave us plenty of time to iterate and add content), being the right genre at the right time (look how popular comics and movies like Spider Man are!), and having a game that was attractive to the casual player.

Until City of Heroes, we were still running back to our corpses, camping spawns, losing skills and stats every time we died, and being forced to endure a really long “educational” curve before being able to go out and play.  Many games at the time required a major commitment, but people could pop into our game for 30 minutes to an hour and accomplish something.  Not only that, we were a city of heroes, uniquely created – every one, in a time where customization was on par with picking your dress color.  We gave players the ability to be utterly unique, tell their own stories, and play the way that they wanted to play.  And – come on – flying is cool, isn’t it?

In addition, we launched solidly.  I remember every launch day of every major MMO that I played from the mid-90s to City of Heroes and you hear horror stories about delays, crashes, and phrases like, “Soon.”  That was par for the course back then, things just had to get sorted out once you went live.  When City of Heroes launched, it may not have been seamless, but I remember it being pretty freaking close.  So much so that it was big news.

Finally, I think we tapped into a market that no one else had seriously reached.  The casual female.  All those wives and girlfriends who were really NOT into running around the forest as wood elf ranger, could definitely get behind a hot looking woman in spandex blasting bad guys with lightning bolts for a few minutes.  I heard tons of stories of wives who weren’t interested in playing City of Heroes, who just happened to look over their husband’s shoulder and go, “Huh…maybe I should check that out.”  And then they started playing, too.

Geek Woman: Can you tell us how you developed and implemented zones and missions in the game?

Melissa Bianco: At first, I didn’t have much control over content.  I was an Implementer, not an Architect.  Our styles have changed over the years as people have come and gone, and it’s always interesting to see the difference between where we were and where we are.  I am in a unique position to actually remember these things.  When we first started, we were very “mad lib” with our mission and world population approach so that we could produce a lot of content.  We had to.  We had a ton of zones built and very little time to get them populated.

Over time, lessons had been learned and we couldn’t just slap a zone together and toss in some missions and hopefully they’d somehow come together.  We began asking key questions:  why did this zone exist, who’s telling the story, how is the world supporting that story, and what are we doing differently in our missions to tell it?  Striga Isle was a turning point for us.  Ever since, our entire methodology became about cohesion and lore.  This is a big deal.  You have to outline it all, we have a kick-off to make sure that the story being told fits the lore (after several years live, we have a lot of lore to be faithful to), and that all departments can accommodate the vision.  It’s a much more streamlined and efficient process, but there is no loss of creativity, and when it comes together, man – that’s magic.

Geek Woman: It must have been fun to be the person who is plotting events and easter eggs?

Melissa Bianco: It is!!  I mean, I’m not the only one who’s done that, but I’ve been pretty sneaky over the years.  Easter Eggs are the reason I will walk every pixel of every contained area in a map, just to see IF there’s something fun there.  Or hidden.  Actually, I blame Zelda for that because I was always looking for those cracks in the wall for some great reward.  This is a very simple and fun way for me to get people exploring and, hopefully, smiling.  My easter eggs are, by definition, never very serious, but hopefully they are fun.  Joe Morrissey, one of our senior designers, and I had a great time with the Easter Eggs in the Midnighter Club.  I thought I was being so tough on the clues, but people blew through them like I gave them an Answer Sheet.

And plotting just comes naturally to me.  You should hear my maniacal laugh, it’s really quite something.

Geek Woman: The most recent expansion pack, Going Rogue did very well while other franchises are going belly up, did you have a hand in that?

Melissa Bianco: I did!  I stepped into the Lead role to help get Going Rogue out the door.  At the time, Matt “Positron” Miller was heads down working on the Incarnate System and they needed someone to drive the Design team to meet our goals and put out quality world and mission content for the expansion launch.  Not only that, we were also introducing the Going Rogue system, a new universe, 20 levels of content, new power sets, and the list goes on.  It was a big expansion with a lot of moving parts and we needed to make some big decisions to hit dates, not kill ourselves (more than we did), and put out a product that was solid.  Not just visually, (I will sing the praises of the Art team forever, because ever since we launched GR, the quality on every new asset that goes into the game is heads and shoulders above anything we’ve ever done), but technically and creatively.

Until Going Rogue and Praetoria, the majority of my influence was focused on implementation or zone mechanics.  This project had me in on the very beginning, sitting in conference rooms with Joe Morrissey and coming up with how we were going to present this alternate Praetorian universe.  Man.  Talk about jumping in the deep end on your first try!  But we did it.  It was quite an experience being involved in every piece of every discussion from what are we going to call it, what will the “feel” and “tone” be, to what do you think of this mailbox?  I mean, it was epic in terms of considerations, schedule, and all the little icky picky stuff.  I learned more in one concentrated year of leadership than I did over the several years before.  It was like a crash course in game development and, as Lead Designer, I felt the weight of the success (or failure) of this product rest heavily on my shoulders.  So that was a lot of pressure.  It was pressure to keep the team focused, motivated, and positive, make smart decisions, and make sure that I was communicating with the rest of the departments.  It all worked out in the end and Going Rogue has been great.

Geek Woman: CoH is all the way up to Issue 20, what impact will the new update have on the franchise?

Melissa Bianco: It’ll be epic.  This is the Incarnate System! Positron’s creative brainchild!  He’s been working on this for a while now so all those level 50s have something new to experience and work towards.  And not just something to do, but the Incarnate Trials are tough!  They require planning and execution and coordination.  They’re tied into the Well of Furies, where Statesman and Lord Recluse received their Powers.  This is big, not just from a lore and story perspective, but from an achievement perspective as well.

Geek Woman: How important a role does player feedback play into the success of the franchise and studio as a whole?

It’s critical.  You may put together a game that you absolutely love.  You think it’s the cat’s meow, visually, technically, and from a content perspective, but if no one likes it, you have no players.  We’ve listened to our players over the years and we have taken into account their feedback.  Not all the time, obviously, because they don’t have the insight into the direction, limitations of system, or risk vs. reward perspective that we do, but if it’s a good suggestion that we can implement, of course we’re going to take it into consideration.  That’s what beta is for.  That’s what forums are for.

We’ve gotten extremely valuable feedback from our players on some of our big ticket item systems such as super sidekicking, a lot of the content for Issue 19, the mentor project, merging the markets (loudly!), our trials, costume suggestions, powers suggestions, the Going Rogue system, and other really key features.

Geek Woman: Do you have a character in the game that you like to play as?

Melissa Bianco: I have many.  But, besides War Witch, my favorite character is a tall lanky black-clad attitudinal woman whose acerbic wit and wicked outfit  is matched only by her desire to help others.  She’s fun.  J  (And no, I’m not revealing her name.)

1. Where do you go to school?
I go to Carleton University in Ottawa and attend the Sprott School of Business.

2. How did you get into the internship at GlitchSoft?
The company founder, Wes Tam, required somebody who was familiar with the different social media sites. I contacted Wes after he had posted some information about the internship position on Facebook. Basically, I was able to secure a job through social media, and through this I learned so much more about the hot topic.

3. Did you get a grade or credit for that?
I did receive a co-op credit for my work as well as some invaluable experience.
At first I was unsure about co-op but after talking to several graduates from my program, those who had participated in co-op highly recommended it, and those who didn’t told me they wish they had. It’s true that you will end up graduating later, but you gain relevant work experience that you can apply to your courses. Plus, by the time you graduate, you will have work experience under your belt. Co-op also offers a realistic view of what your career would be like in various positions in after you graduate and it opens your eyes to new opportunities. For my first co-op term, working as a marketing intern at GlitchSoft, I came in thinking this job had no relevancy to Accounting (my concentration), but I never regretted it because GlitchSoft taught me both hard and soft skills, and provided me with a very valuable experience that I would have missed if not for the program.

4. What major do you have?
I’m currently a third year student, doing a four year program in Commerce, with a concentration in Accounting.

5. Is the video game industry going to be your career in the future?
Before working on Bar Star, I would have never considered a career in the video game industry. I mean, how could I have? I literally knew nothing about games. However, after my term at GlitchSoft, my perspective on games, and their industry has changed. I’ve always had a misconception about how video games were predominately played by males, and thus games must be developed only by males. However, interacting with people though the social media sites (yes, this was part of my job), I realized this isn’t true. Many females enjoy video games as much as males do; they may not be the same type of games, but nevertheless, there is definitely a market for female gamers. Therefore, I believe there is opportunity for females developers, as they can project their own spin on games aimed towards the female market. I mean, who would better understand female interests than females? Working for a video game industry has really opened my eyes to different careers paths that I otherwise would have never even considered. I’ve always been a pretty creative person, and working in this industry, I’d be able to flaunt that. Given the chance to work for another video game company, I would definitely consider doing so, especially if it means making a Glee or Twilight game; yes, I am both a Gleek and Twi-hard fan!

6. Did you learn a lot while working there?
While working at GlitchSoft, I was introduced to various other advertising techniques including viral marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but the main focus was marketing through social networking sites. The way social media marketing works is truly clever and effective. It’s effective because of the growing popularity and number of people who use Twitter, Facebook, etc; and it’s clever because of the way it works- when somebody tweets another person, they aren’t just having a conversation with another individual because when somebody replies or retweets a tweet, that user is being exposed to both their own, and the other person’s followers.

Before GlitchSoft, I was not very knowledgeable about the gaming industry. Therefore, in order to effectively do my job, I had to perform research so that the company would have a better understanding behind the type of games that attract the 18 to 24 year old, female demographic. Through this, I was able to research and learn more about other successful time management games including Diner Dash, Sally’s Spa, Restaurant City, Supermarket Mania etc.

Further, since Bar Star runs on the Apple platform, I was also exposed to the Apple Store, and how that worked. It’s interesting how competitively priced the App market has become. People complain about how expensive a $2.99 game is because there are games on the App store that go for free. However, they will pay $60 for a game sold at Best Buy, but really, when it comes down to it, you’re buying software.  What I also found interesting about the App Store was that the success of Apps varied from country to country. I considered why this was, and my conclusion was due to culture differences.

7. Was the real life experience making a game different than you thought it would be?
Before working on Bar Star, I never would have considered how much work goes into making a video game. The attention to detail (and time) that is put into it is pretty intensive. However, with that being said, seeing the end product is well worth it. It makes me really happy to see that I was part of making a successful game that people enjoy playing. I mean, who wouldn’t love Bar Star? It’s entertaining, educational (you get to learn how to mix drinks), with cute graphics, and an adorable storyline. I get a satisfied feeling seeing that my ideas and contributions to the game were used. It really was a great opportunity and an amazing learning experience that few people get to experience.

8. How much fun was it working on Bar Star?
Working on Bar Star was a lot of fun; I loved being able to interact with potential users through social media sites. I also enjoyed going on the (fashion, video game, celebrity gossip, etc.) forums, and contributing my opinion on the hot topics.  Writing is something that I really enjoy doing, and working at GlitchSoft, I was able to write a wide variety of articles; this included anything from authoring press releases and marketing descriptions to spoofing Flo from Diner Dash, TMZ style: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/barstargame/4746790434/).  Working at GlitchSoft was very different compared to my last job (I worked at the same shoe store for five years). It was different in that working on Bar Star, I was able to use my creativity to the fullest. Furthermore, there wasn’t much routine involved as I could be doing something completely different on a day to day basis; this meant that I would never be bored. I was also exposed to tons of learning opportunities that I would never get to take advantage of in most jobs (i.e. I mean, come on, part of my job was to learn all about video games!). I think, though, my favourite part of the job was that I was able to relate and interact with people my age.

9. Did you provide them with things that they used in the script?
One of my favourite tasks I had while working on Bar Star was being able to help write the dialogue. I was able to add in my twist to the script by adding references from my favourite television shows, including Jersey Shore and Glee; along with the most recent Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen gossip via my favourite websites, TMZ and idontlikeyouinthatway.com. By adding these references to the script, we were creating interest and relatedness between the game and the targeted demographic. Along with contributing to the script, I was also able to help with naming the characters in the game. Again, pop culture references were used because I was able to name the characters based on what they looked like. I remember reading user reviews, and it always delighted me to see when people were able to acknowledge the references; it’s just these little things that made me with a feel like I had done a good job.

10. What is your next project going to be?
GlitchSoft has changed my view on the video game industry. I now find myself playing more games than I used to, and it has also made me develop a new appreciation for them.  The time and effort that developers put into just one game is overwhelming, but if you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, it’s well worth it; especially at the end, when you see how much people love playing your game. Even though I wasn’t part of programming the game, it was still really satisfying to know that I had contributed in other ways in the making of Bar Star. However, being the only female on the team, it makes me wonder why more girls don’t join the video game industry, especially since there is a market for female gamers out there.

In terms of my next project, I would definitely consider contributing to the video game industry again. However, since I’m in school for Accounting, I would probably concentrate on landing a job in the Finance department of some major game development company.

Geek Woman : Video games have been in the news lately, and it is never flattering. Considering that your games such as Nancy Drew won twenty  consecutive Parent’s Choice awards, do you become frustrated by the bad press when you have done so much good?

Megan Gaiser : We’ve won 23 to be exact.  We are so passionate about our mission that nothing would deter us from pioneering the market for girls. We are very proud of the positive influence our Nancy Drew games have made on our millions of customers. Everyone loves a mystery and we love being the best mystery makers in the gaming world!

Geek Woman : The industry has always been male dominated, but lately it seems to be going in an even worse direction, not only the violence but the sexism in marketing seems out of control, as pointed out by Fox News this week, how do the mistakes made by others effect what you do?

Megan Gaiser : After fourteen years in the industry, I’m finding that in fact there are many more inspiring games and many more women in the gaming industry and as customers. That is the good news. Some outlets, reporters only look for the negative trends. At Her Interactive, we take mystery games seriously. We pioneered the category and continue to lead it worldwide. We will continue on this path of inspiration through our great games to girls and women. Not only are the Nancy Drew video games fun, but playing them also let’s girls experience what it feels like to be confident, and empowered – pretty amazing tools to help today’s growing females.

Geek Woman : A franchise like Nancy Drew has influenced great women such as Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, do you think that they forget that there are games for girls, and casual games when they make sweeping generalizations about the evils of video games?

Megan Gaiser : Absolutely!  According to the Entertainment Software Association, 40% of all game players are women and is the fastest growing gaming demo.  In fact, more women over the age of 34 are playing video games than boys 17 and under.

Geek Woman : What can we all do to change the negative perceptions that women have about video games?

Megan Gaiser : I think that change has already come. Girls and women are playing video games more than ever.  Having a positive role model in the gaming world, like Nancy Drew helps to extinguish any negativity woman and girls have for video games. We’re seeing thousands of moms and daughters playing together, bridging the generations. Nancy Drew is timeless – all the characteristics she embodies are much needed in the world today.

Geek Woman : Is there something that you can suggest to help get girls more interested in science and computers?

Megan Gaiser : Do it! It is a hugely growing field and there is tons of room for amazing girls and women! Having more female perspectives will help evolve and shape our content moving forward, just like in other mediums. Find mentors both male and female to help guide you along the way.

Geek Woman : What do you have coming out that is new for Nancy Drew?

Megan Gaiser : Her Interactive is merging books and games into a completely new interactive choose your own adventure experience for the 21st century – Nancy Drew Mobile Mysteries for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone   The first in the series – Nancy Drew Mobile Mysteries: Shadow Ranch – was released in February. Part book and part game, the new Mobile Mysteries series of apps will take mystery fans on an interactive adventure with every turn of the page.

Geek Woman : Her Interactive is one of the most successful female run game companies, how can girls become CEO’s someday?

Megan Gaiser : I think by possessing many of the same attributes as Nancy Drew – determination, confidence, intelligence and optimism – will take girls where ever they desire, be it a female detective or video game company CEO.

Geek Woman:  Whose idea was J!NX? Did you start with the company?

Samantha Regan:  J!NX was started in 1999 by our founders and benevolent overlords, Sean “Jinx” Gailey and Tim Norris.  J!NX began as a t-shirt company, offering irreverent t-shirts inspired by video games and geek culture.  I joined J!NX in 2009 when the company decided to expand into custom cut and sew clothing. With my background in fashion and costume design and my love of gaming and geekery, it was a perfect fit.

Geek Woman: The clothes on J!NX are so cool looking, did you design them all?

Samantha Regan: I design our cut and sew apparel; such as jackets, polos, hoodies, and pants. Each design is custom built from the ground up, with geeky touches like oversized Jedi-inspired hoods and headphone grommets for your phone. We keep the custom apparel subtle to complement our t-shirts, which are designed by a team of talented graphic artists and illustrators here at J!NX.

Geek Woman: It seemed like J!NX got lots of name recognition back a few years ago from putting your shirts on Kevin Rose when he was on G4, how did that come about?

Samantha Regan: We�fve been fortunate to partner with some awesome people in the gaming and geek community.  Everyone from Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht of Diggnation to Felicia Day and the cast of the Guild to IGN�fs Jessica Chobot has been seen in J!NX gear.  Each one of them is as passionate about gaming and the geek lifestyle as we are, so much so that we offer special t-shirt collections in our Friends of J!NX section where you can find official designs for The Guild, The Totally Rad Show, design collaborations with Wil Wheaton and more.

Geek Woman: When you were a costume designer, what films or theater did you work on?

Samantha Regan: After graduating from college, I was torn between fashion and costume design. While living in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to work with some of the theatre companies and schools there, like the University of the Arts, creating costumes for their dance program. One of my favorite experiences was co-designing a production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Drexel University.  I had long been a fan of Rocky Horror, so it was a blast to be able to create new costumes inspired by the original.

Geek Woman: Many girls are interested in clothing and costume design, what education did you have to do, to get to where you are?

Samantha Regan: I actually started out as a fine artist, attending Maryland Institute College of Art. I majored in Fiber Art, which is kind of the fine art equivalent of clothing design. There, I was able to study pattern making and garment design; but also figure drawing, sculpture, welding, and even basket weaving!  I loved it, because it really allowed me to be creative, taking what I learned from different mediums and incorporating it into my clothing designs. It�fs probably not the traditional path that people think of for fashion designers, but it was the right one for me.

Geek Woman: A huge component in your clothing designs is gaming culture, what are you playing right now?

Samantha Regan: Lately, I�fve been playing Dead Space 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and re-playing Dragon Age: Origins in prep for Dragon Age 2 coming out next month.

Geek Woman: When you play games how important is it to you to have a playable female avatar?

Samantha Regan: If there�fs a playable female avatar, I�fll almost always choose her, because it just adds an extra layer of relate-ability to the character. I especially love how customizable some games are making their avatars.  Bioware does a great job of this with Mass Effect and Dragon Age. But it�fs not something that makes or breaks a game for me. So long as a game�fs got good gameplay and an interesting storyline, I�fll play it.

Geek Woman: Have you ever felt any inequality as a woman gamer?

Samantha Regan: Mostly in that people are sometimes surprised to find out I�fm a gamer. Growing up I�fd get that �gReally? But you�fre a girl!�h reaction to telling people I�fm into video games.  But I think that�fs becoming less and less now as gaming becomes more a part of everyday life.  Everyone I know plays video games of one kind or another, whether they�fre guys or girls, kids or adults.

Geek Woman: The Murloc Hoodie is so much fun, it also offers anonymity, is that something that you think we will see more of?

Samantha Regan: The Murloc Hoodie was a lot of fun to design, and with such a bright playful look, it just made sense to have it zip all the way up to complete the murloc transformation.  It�fs a little more costume-like than most of our other designs, but I think you�fll see more fun designs like this from us in the future.

Geek Woman: Hoodie culture seems to be expanding more as the cameras that are on all of us keep increasing in number, Is that something that you have thought about for the future at Jinx?

Samantha Regan: Well, the hoodie has a different connotation in certain areas around the world.  In the UK, for instance, I know hoodies and �ghoodie culture�h have been the object of some controversy, a symbol of �gyouth up to no good�h.  But in the US, where
J!NX is headquartered, and many other countries it doesn�ft have that same stigma.
For me, a hoodie is the outerwear equivalent of a t-shirt; comfortable, easy, and goes with everything.  For that reason, hoodies have been a staple of the geek wardrobe for a long time, and I don�ft see that changing anytime soon.

Geek Woman: What do you have in the works right now?

Samantha Regan: Right now we are getting ready to launch our Spring 2011 J!NX collection of apparel and tees.  It should go live on the www.jinx.com in early March, and as always we�fre super excited to share the new designs. We�fve also got designs in the works for Fall 2011 and some really exciting licensed pieces in development.

Geek Woman:  You have an impressive catalog of games under your belt. I loved Brutal Legend. I think I gave it Game of the Year that year. What does a lead animator do?

Tasha Harris: Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!  As lead animator on that game, I managed a team of about ten animators, as well as doing some character animation, modeling and rigging myself.  It’s the lead’s job to make sure all the animation has a consistent look to it, and make sure all the animation tasks are taken care of and nothing falls through the cracks.

Geek Woman:  You have been an artist all your life, and you mentioned that you got into animation in a high school summer program. Where was that? Do you know how they funded that project? Do you know if an opportunity like that is still going on?

Tasha Harris:  Yes!  The program is called California State Summer School for the Arts (http://www.csssa.org/), partially funded by the state of California, and it’s still going on.  It’s a fantastic program, not just for animation, but for many different types of art.

Geek Woman: Lots of girls and women would love to have your job. What education did you have that lead you to be where you are?

Tasha Harris: Well, it probably started with those three summers in CSSSA in high school.  Then I went on to study traditional 2d animation at California Institute of the Arts.

Geek Woman: Have you ever had to hand draw animations? When you have to draw the same things over and over does it get boring?

Tasha Harris: Yes, I studied hand drawn animation in college.  I really didn’t learn the computer stuff until later, when I went to Pixar.  It does take a very particular type of personality to enjoy doing hand drawn animation- I think you need a lot of patience.

Geek Woman: Did you always intend to be involved with video games for your career?

Tasha Harris: I always knew I wanted to do something art-related, but I didn’t know exactly what.  When I was a kid, I wanted to draw comics- comic strips or comic books.  But I always loved video games and computers.  So computer animation definitely seemed like a good fit since it was sort of a combination of a lot of different things I love.

Geek Woman: What did you work on over at Pixar?

Tasha Harris: I did character animation on “A Bug’s Life”, “Toy Story 2”, “Monsters Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “Cars” and the short film “For the Birds”.

Geek Woman: Were you at Pixar during Finding Nemo by any chance? Do you have any insight why there hasn’t been a Finding Nemo 2 yet?

Tasha Harris: Yep, that’s actually my favorite Pixar movie.  I don’t know why there hasn’t been a sequel yet,  maybe the director (Andrew Stanton) has another idea he’s been working on.

Geek Woman: When you came to Double Fine, was it a standard open position that held interviews?

Tasha Harris: I knew Tim Schafer already through some mutual friends, so that helped in getting my foot in the door, but I still had to interview for a job just like everyone else.

Geek Woman: How much of a role do you think luck has played in your success?

Tasha Harris: I think I came into the industry at a really good time. When I was first coming out of college, 3d animation was just starting to get big.  Toy Story 1 had just come out, and a lot of animators were pretty hesitant to switch to using computers, because they didn’t want to give up drawing.  But I had always been into computers, so I was up for learning. I do feel really lucky to have gotten into 3d animation when I did because I think there’s a lot more competition for jobs now.

Geek Woman: Costume Quest was amazing, so original. As project lead, were you doing the character designs and artwork?

Tasha Harris: Thanks so much!  I helped out with a bunch of different things on Costume Quest, including design, writing, animation, character art and UI art. I also spent a lot of time doing management and organizational-type stuff.  I like doing a variety of different things day-to-day.

Geek Woman: I see similarity between the art style between Costume Quest and Brutal Legend, was that all you?

Tasha Harris: Definitely not all me!  All the Costume Quest team members also worked on Brutal Legend, including concept artists, so it makes sense that there would be some similarities.

Geek Woman: How hard is it to get a team of artist, all who have a innate ‘hand’ to create worlds that look homogenous?

Tasha Harris: At the beginning of Costume Quest, it was a little difficult because we had an idea of what we wanted it to look like, and some awesome reference material and concept art, but for me coming from an art background, it was really hard to express to the environment artists how to transfer the look of the concept art into the game. We ended up breaking off a small piece of the environment to create a separate “Look Dev” area, where the artists could experiment with different looks without worrying about the entire game.

Geek Woman: Costume Quest is an E rated game with no blood. Is that a niche where you are going to stay?

Tasha Harris: It really depends on the game, but that definitely was a goal with Costume Quest- we wanted to make a game that was very accessible to all types of players.  I’m interested in games and movies that have that kind of crossover appeal.  I think Nintendo tends to do that really well with their games.

Geek Woman:  And Costume Quest 2? Is there going to be one? If so is there a release date?

Tasha Harris: I’d like to do another one- we have a lot more ideas of cool stuff we could do with that world and those characters.  Hopefully a publisher will give us money to make it! J

Geek Woman: We are all looking forward to whatever you are doing, what is next?

Tasha Harris: Right now I’m just helping out with animation on some of the other projects we’re working on at Double Fine. Unfortunately I can’t tell you what they are yet, but they’re all really cool, and all different!  Other than that I’m still doing my online comic for Double Fine’s website, and I’ll be going with the other DF comics folks to some conventions this spring. Those are always really fun

Geek Woman :

Kristen Perry: Absolutely! One of the hallmarks of character customization in Guild Wars has always been mixing and matching armors and GW2 is no exception. The armors are organized now a bit differently in light, medium and heavy weights. I think one of the most exciting facets of this new structure is that any one profession won’t have to be limited to their role, they can choose to wear anything from their weight category. This offers a lot more flexibility for customization than was available in the original Guild Wars. In Prophecies, a profession had a set amount of armors to choose from which was later expanded with more campaigns, but this locked in what was available for the player to wear. GW2 allows anything from the entire weight class, and this means not only a greater design variety, but greater armor numbers right up front.

Geek Woman : From what I have seen so far the outfits look a little more rustic than in the Original Guild Wars, is there going to be a trend to get grittier and less glam in GW2?

Kristen Perry: When we started designing in weight classes and less specific professions (though they still will be appropriately represented) we noticed that pieces had to play nice together more broadly. No longer is any one detail trend locked into a profession. Oddly, this has given us a freedom to design with magic and fantasy in mind, but also with functionality. With our various professions needing their identities and the general populace of the world needing looks from everything from social level to regional culture, we designed a little of everything. As a by-product of this, the world is indeed potentially grittier. This isn’t just out of intentionally trying to give it edge or wear and tear (though we have that, too), but to give it personality. A blacksmith from the human race will look different than the blacksmith from the charr or norn. It will be appropriate to the race’s ideals and design sensibilities. It will have age or maintenance to it. It may be heirloom, it may be brand spankin’ new. So yes, out of function and variety, some outfits certainly got grittier. This doesn’t mean that everything will be, there’s just more to offer. Glam will still exist with gusto.

But really, sometimes you just want a sturdy pair of sensible boots, eh?

Geek Woman : I especially appreciate details in the female avatars such as the accessories like jewelry and shoes. For example in some games the feet and shoes disappear entirely into the environment. What challenges are there in making the footwear on the female characters remain visible in the various textures in the environment?

Kristen Perry : Well, really, we try to tell them not to wear high heels in sod, but the ladies like their fashion, so whatcha gonna do. Aside from that, I’d say that’s now up to the players and how they dye the footwear. With our increased poly count and a bit more pixel real estate, we have more leeway to put in details. A favorite feature of mine for boots is to build out the rim of the sole, as sometimes the silhouette will really make that nuance sing, which is icing on the tailoring cake.

We’ll have incredibly ornate designs just like we’ll have simple and comfortable. I suppose the biggest challenge is in whittling down the ideas into a sane production schedule. Then again, when considering shoe collections, perhaps sanity is optional…

But if you don’t want the boots to blend into the sand, don’t dye them saffron!

Geek Woman : The Elementalists in Guild Wars were stunningly beautiful and won our Annual Best Female Avatar, two or three times at womengamers.com What can you show us, or tell us about the Elementalist so far? GW Elementalist vs GW2? Will they have any special accessories such as tiaras or jewelry that we can look forward to?

Kristen Perry: Ladies, everyone can be beautiful! It’s been a long-standing tradition to design jewelry into outfits, and rest assured, some Eles will have bling of various forms as will others. This can be anything from the special design of fancy buttons to brooches to hair barrettes and other accessories on your outfit as they always were. As separate pieces? We don’t know yet, we’ll see. But there’s a wide variety of decoration for every armor weight class. Perhaps light armor bling may be more ornate overall, but that won’t stop medium armor wearers from having sleek, stylish, mayhaps more functional items and the heavy armor folk sporting their wares. Breastplates count as adornment, right?

Geek Woman : What will the novice Elementalist outfit look like, and is it going to be the purple and white that seems to be the standard?

Kristen Perry: There’s more to consider than profession in GW2 as we have multiple races to consider. Given that we’re trying to have quite a visual variety even in the starting areas, there are colors to consider that help give a cultural flavor to your chosen race story. So a red, a green, a purple for example, in one race might not be the same as another in the beginning. When it comes to professions, they will have general palettes as well, but it’s important to note that overall there’s a lot more to visually balance than just what the humans gave us before. We’re still sorting through our paint chips and styles.

Geek Woman : Characters in an MMO put on a lot of mileage in a game in many different situations, such as the lighting, weather and conditions. Is it difficult to prepare the artwork and design for characters that are so multi dimensional? and even emotional?

Kristen Perry : Oh, though we have to make sure our designs work with the environment, that really isn’t a direct constraint aside from general guidelines. Sure, if there is a specific regional armor required (like the Vabbian was in Nightfall, for example) that will reflect those dimensions as needed. Largely we need to create more neutrally-balanced designs. This means things like managing the noise levels in our patterns, pattern frequency or toning down the specularity to feel realistic in most situations.

When we create a design we will try to view it in a variety of environments to see that overall it plays nice. In addition to that, it’s my job to make sure the dye system represents as much as possible a vast array of desirable colors that help show off the outfits in their best light. Some slight intentional tonal variations might occur from the artists’ work on any one specific armor, but overall it’ll stay in a specified range as far as our texture creation is concerned.

But for the game, there is definite preparation. For example, both in real life and game life, there is no true white. Even the whites of the eyes or the white of the monitor screen you’re looking at isn’t really true white, it’s just representative of white. True white is stuff like looking into the blinding sun or an atom blast, and that just isn’t practical when you’re trying to take down a river drake. But in game terms, the shirt I might texture will really technically dye to be a very light gray. This is because when it gets into all the lighting effects (as in, any lighting effect), usually whites will blow out and become annoying to look at. So just like the game itself has a palette in overall art direction, so too within that palette are other visual language considerations that create a range. The trick is to get the texture to dye light enough to feel like a bright white without blowing out in the game environment.

One of the more interesting tidbits about the dye system is that we made a conscious effort to apply dyes appropriately for their materials. Since cloth is more easily and naturally dyed in a variety of colors, it has the potential to be the most saturated. Leathers will dye a similar color that will feel like the cloth’s color counterpart, but it will come with a natural hue that you would expect with a natural material. Metals will be naturally even more desaturated. —However, breathe, you dye enthusiasts out there! Just because there’s a tendency doesn’t mean it’s absolute. Copper metal, for example, can be quite bright and saturated, as can other natural tones in metal and leather. Cloth can be desaturated as well. What I’m saying is there will be choices and we’re making sure there’s plenty to sort from to make your character awesomely customized.

What all that means for our creation of the armors is that we have a pretty set neutral position to create textures that will be flexible in many environments while set up for many dye options. It’s both difficult and not difficult when you know the rules. On one hand, you definitely know what doesn’t work and will break the system. On the other hand, you get to play MacGyver and try to invent something new and inspiring within limited creation range. I enjoy the challenge.

Geek Woman : One of the fun asides in Guild Wars is the spontaneous dance parties, does dance wear figure into the designs of GW2 at all? There have been some very memorable GW dancers in the past.

Kristen Perry : We pull from many different categories of style and it’s certainly within reason that somewhere someone pulled from dance. Heck, in Nightfall when I designed the Elementalists, most outfits came from ballroom dancers mixed with tropical sun dresses and some ancient Egyptian royalty’. And seriously, considering that some of the reference searches were anything from much more revealing to downright translucent, my designs were conservative in comparison. ;P

For GW2, depending on the race, I tried to pull from just as much variety for outfits. I love taking at least two directions and seeing how to meld them together. For example, the norn blacksmith has an outfit inspired with the strength of the Celts with a nod to the strap proportions of old style German folkwear with the tailoring and detailing of Clydesdale saddles and tack.

To sum up, don’t worry, there’s a lot of flavor! Folks will find designs to choose from for just about any function, dance included.

Tracy A. Seamster Game Designer, The Agency Sony Online Entertainment Seattle

1. Geek Woman : As a Game Designer/Writer on The Agency™ team are you in charge of creating the missions or quests in the game?

Tracy : While I sit in on meetings regarding various missions for The Agency, I am currently working on our Operatives. As an agent, you collect non-player characters who work for you. You build your own agency in this game, and Operatives are the “living loot” you put it together with. They’ll work for you whether you are logged in or not—analyzing intel, building gadgets, running stakeouts and other kinds of spy things. I give them stories to live out, future potential assignments, as well as back stories that may offer insight into who they are and where they’ve come from. We have over four hundred Operatives and they need to be as diverse as possible so that they can have interesting interactions while remaining true to their ParaGON or UNITE ties.

2. Geek Woman : What was most important to you while creating female characters?

Tracy : It is important that female characters in our game are strong, resilient and interesting. If a female character gets into a bad situation, it’s because of something active that she’s done (or hasn’t), not that she’s gotten herself tied to the railroad tracks again and needs to be rescued. I want our female characters to have active roles. If I am looking over a document and the only female listed is a secretary, I will suggest ways we can add more women to the scenario.

Sherry Floyd Producer, The Agency Sony Online Entertainment Seattle

1. Geek Woman : It says in your bio that you help oversee internal content production and maintain visual quality. What involvement do you have with the looks of the game?

Sherry : I work closely with the art director, Corey Dangel, to help provide internal feedback and aesthetic reviews on everything from characters and clothing to internal and external environments for The Agency. I also oversee outsourced art production, providing initial critique and direction before assets go to the art leads and art director for final approval and integration. I understand the “style” of the agency so I am able to help people understand the right amount of personality to bring into the world (be it through characters or environments). I’ve even been known to crack open photoshop and illustrator from time to time to help make in-game assets. I try to use every bit of my experience when working with my teams, internal and external, whether it’s using my graphic design chops to establish style guides for some of our in-game corporations or training new artists on The Agency style. Every bit helps.

2. Geek Woman : What are the challenges of game production?

Sherry : There are many challenges to game production- communication, time management and maintaining consistency, to name a few. We all work very closely together sharing concepts and critiquing each other and I think the high level of excitement we have for our product keeps us fresh and engaged. I am very fortunate to be part of the strong, creative and committed team building this game.

Taina Rodriguez Publicist, The Agency Sony Online Entertainment Seattle

1. Geek Woman : Writers can be – let’s say unique individuals, as a Publicist for the SOE-Seattle studio do you find it difficult to work directly with journalists, editors and producers on a daily basis?

Taina : Working with “unique individuals” on a daily basis is part of what makes my job fun, exciting and worth doing! Whether it is fielding an interview, producing an on–air segment or pitching a feature story, I enjoy working with people who are not only passionate about video game subject matter, but also extremely versed in the business and culture of the industry and therefore want to communicate that to their readers or viewers. I feel that the diversity of reporters, editors and producers I work with helps me convey a larger picture of the game I am working on as each correspondent cares about different angles of the story, ask different questions and speaks to a different audience.

2. Geek Woman : What do you think is the biggest challenge in communication between the publishers and the game industry press?

Taina : I feel lucky to work with such creative groups- developers on one side and journalists on the other, and find that it pushes my creativity to help both groups achieve their goals. Everyday brings a new challenge in my position, as it is a delicate balance of information management, practical planning and on-your-feet critical thinking.

PMS

Clan Name:
Pandora’s Mighty Soldiers (PMS Clan).
Female Only or are Males Allowed:
Female for PMS Clan (have brother group H2O Clan).
What ages are permitted in:
All Ages.
Location:
Global
How many members:
500+ Females
Games Played:
Xbox: Halo, Gears of War, Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon, Call of Duty, Project Gotham Racing, Shadow Run, Fight Night, Dead or Alive, Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution

PS3:
Socom, Resistance: Fall of Man

PC:
CounterStrike 1.6 & Source, Battlefield 2, Quake 3 & 4, World of Warcraft, Second Life, WarCraft 3, World in Conflict, Shadow Run,

Pro or Amateur:
Pro and Amatur community
Sponsored or Indie:
Sponsored by Verizon Fios and Patriot Memory. Partners: Microsoft, PlayLinc, ECA

Do you have to be a model to join:
God no! RAWR.

How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live?
Play in rooms together with friends as much as possible. Avoid games with ransoms unless we control room and can remove offensive players.

What is your clans policy on trash talk?
Playful game smack talk ok; no vulgar or offensive or discriminate trash talk allowed.

Do you do anything special for girls under 18?
We have a teen division, however they are integrated with our adult members for monitoring and protection.

Amber Dalton
PMS Clan Leader

http://www.pmsclan.com

http://www.myspace.com/athenatwinpms

__________________________

Frag Dolls

Clan Name: Frag Dolls

Female Only or Males Allowed: Females Only

What ages are permitted in: Over 18

Location: Based in San Francisco, but our members hail from all over the US.

How many members: We’ve been 7 members for 3 years and only just
recently increased to 9.

Games Played: our primary game right now is Rainbow Six Vegas on 360, but we have also competed on GRAW and Halo 2, among others.

Pro or Amateur: We are currently on the pro circuit for Rainbow and
being Frag Doll is a part-time job.

Sponsored or Indie: Sponsored (and founded) by Ubisoft; we are also
currently sponsored by Comcast, Dell, and Seagate.

1)Do you have to be a model to join?

None of our members were models before they joined the Frag
Dolls, so no, you do not have to be a model to join. We only accept
hardcore gamers who can also write confidently and who aren’t
camera-shy.

2)How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live?

We handle online harassment by sticking together in groups. The
whole ‘strength in numbers’ philosophy definitely helps females in a
hostile online environment.

3)What is your clans policy on trash talk?

We don’t have a specific policy about trash talk, but rather we
do try to maintain a basic level of professionalism. Some of our girls
will talk some trash, but we try to keep it playful and never specifically insulting or offensive. The right kind of trash talk can make gaming more fun.

4)Do you do anything special for girls under 18?

So far we don’t have any specific program for girls under 18, but we have been thinking about it recently, especially since Ubisoft is
working on a line of DS games for girls. All of us love other games
that tend to be classified as “games for girls”, like Cooking Mama,
Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs. Putting together some sort of gaming community for girls under the age of 18 would give us an excuse to play all the fun “girl games” while also showing the younger demographic that gaming isn’t just for boys.

Rhoulette
Frag Doll Team Captain
Community Manager | Ubisoft Entertainment
__________________

EliteGirlGamers

Clan Name: EliteGirlGamers and we have been active from 2004-present.
Female Only or are Males Allowed: It’s an all Girls Clan (so No guy’s allowed what’s so ever)
What ages are permitted in: Female’s of any Age are Welcomed,
Location: I (the leader am located in Illinois) but clan consist of Girls across the U.S.
How many members: We have currently over 90 members (But since start over thousands of members)
Games Played: We mainly play Bungie’s halo and Halo 2 (also Rainbow Six, and Rainbow six Las Vegas, and Gears)
Pro or Amateur: Both We are Pro and Amatuer (they are Pro Girl Gamers in the clan and many Ametures )
Sponsored or Indie: We are currently looking for Sponsors.
Do you have to be a model to join?: I really don’t get the question do you have to be a model?
Geek Woman : I meant a photo or runway model. Supermodel, NO but as a Role Model to women gamers and young girl gamers Then YES!
How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live? : Online Harassment is common on Xbox live especially for Women gamers (happens to me almost every time) but what we do is if one of our clan member/ or friend has been harassed I write down the GamerTag Tell people to leave feedBack on that Particular Person, and call Xbox Live and Report that person. also we try to talk to the individual and tell him what’s going to happen, what he has done, and ask for an apology. We are very strict with Harassment on Xbox live and in the Clan, we always address that Topic to our members and the procedures that we take. What is your clans policy on trash talk? : No trash Talking what’s so ever from any one in the Clan, No member is to trash talk to one another or to someone else! We have a ZERO Tolerance for any Trash talkers or any Harassment in the Clan or Outside the Clan! If we have any complains for any one about an Individual they are asked about it, we try to find out the Truth and IF that individual does indeed do anything disrespectful they are automatically kicked from the clan and forbidden to join back ever or any related clans to EliteGirlGamers.
Do you do anything special for girls under 18? : Girls under 18 are tracked down and watched out for (meaning no bad word’s used around them, No allowing any guy’s older then they are to play with unless parents permit it and Ect.) plain and simple We just look out for them and keep them from bad environments.

_________________________

ACK Ladies & ACK BombShells

Clan Name: ACK Ladies & ACK BombShells
Female Only or Males Allowed: Female Onlys, the main ACK are for males.
What ages are permitted in: In the ACK Ladies the females must be at least 13 years of age, for the BombShells at least 17 years of age for our main traveling team so there are no issues with going to events.
Location:Throughout the US.
How many members:About 40 members in the ACK Ladies, just 4 in the BombShells which are the Alpha Team, and 1 coach for them.
Games Played:Halo, Gears, Rainbow Six
Pro or Amateur: Amateur for now
Sponsored or Indie: Half and Half. JC Media helps out with sponsoring, some other expenses I pay for personally. I like to take care of my girls, they are loyal to the clan so I pay them back in the best way I can.

1)Do you have to be a model to join: haha, of course not. We are female gamers not models trying to pose as gamers.

2)How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live? I tend to just ignore them because honestly the guys online arent worth my time if they speak to females that way. Ignoring actually irritates them more, or sometimes I just play around with them. For example if they call me fat, I play along by saying “yeah Im so fat, all I eat are twinkies all day”. It really gets them going lol

3)What is your clans policy on trash talk? Really dont allow trash talking to be done towards other clans, or towards each other. We have a “family atmosphere” and accept everyone to treat each other with respect. There is no reason to stoop down to another teams level if they want to trashtalk. Of course there is always friendly trashtalk amongst clan members, but that is all fun and games

4)Do you do anything special for girls under 18? I dont give anyone the special treatment, I treat all my ladies the same. As long as I have the respect and loyalty to the clan, they will be rewarded. Everyone should be treated equally no matter what.

TKS Girls Ownly

Clan Name: My clan name is TKS Girls Ownly
Female Only or are Males Allowed: Girls Ownly
What ages are permitted in: You have to be atleast 13 to join
Location: My location is Savannah, GA, two other members are also.
How many members: We have 17 members
Pro or Amateur: We’re ammies.
TKS has a sponserd pro team, if a girl is good enuf she could join it. (TKS is mostly boys, but my clan is for the girls of TKS.)
Sponsored or Indie: Indie
1.) Do you have to be a model to join: Model??? to join??? All i ask is that you’re a girl.

2.) How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live? : Most online harrasment, I usualy just tell the person to grow up. If they continue, I report them and have everyone else report them.

3.) What is your clans policy on trash talk? : Our pol. on trash talk? Not allowed with in the clan, we dont condone trash talking in TKS.
Trash talking I get a lot of that I have a deep voice and guys always say i sound like a guy, I just tell them “Well I’m not, and thank you for being rude.” They usuly leave me alone, girls are the worst when they say I sound like a guy and dont want to join my clan I get mad, I dont talk s*** but they usual start s***. I just report them when the get nasty.

4.) Do you do anything special for girls under 18? : TKS does special things for (male) members, (but since) girls are new to them, so no nothing special for minors or girls period.

___________________

Female Legends

Clan Name: Female Legends
Female Only or Males Allowed: Males allowed, but we recently expanded a guy divison.(Diabolic Logic)
What ages are permitted in: We welcome all ages.
Location: California
How many members: 105 total
Games Played: Halo2, Gears Of War, MK Armageddon.
Pro or Amateur: Amateur/Semi pro
Sponsored or Indie: Sponsored

1)Do you have to be a model to join: No, we welcome any and all girls.

2)How do you handle online harassment in Xbox Live? Most of our older girls don’t fret the online harassment our guy members usually back us up and ‘protect’ us so to speak, but when our younger girls are exposed to harassment or inappropriate behavior we might contact someone of the right authority to handle the situation. Or we would just get that girl out of the situation if this has taken place. Most guys don’t know the girls age when they start to run their mouth so when we explain that to them they end up apologizing cause they didn’t know. Online harassment can happen to anyone but our group of girls are pretty good at backing eachother up and helping eachother. It makes us more of a family than just another gaming clan.

3)What is your clans policy on trash talk? It gets very frustrating hearing the stereo-types all the time that girl gamers suck or are fat and should stay in the kitchen, but when you don’t stoop that persons level and maintain your composure no matter what the situation it winds up to be an embarrassment to themselves. When you sit there and scream back at people it’s not only immature but not necessary and we’d rather maintain our image as well respected ladies.

4)Do you do anything special for girls under 18? While most of those girls can’t make it to MLG games we have lan parties and gaming activities that are hosted by our leaders in their area.

Geek Woman interviews the creator of Alex, a character in a PG rated motion picture and video franchise by Luminetik Animation Studio. Alex and Ruby are two characters that are much like actresses who have had a print modeling career prior to being new superhero’s and role models in their own game/movie. This is not the only way that game developer Akiko Ashley who is a Partner and Executive Producer at Luminetik Animation Studios, is breaking new ground and bursting stereo types. She also wrote the story for the upcoming computer animated franchise known as Dis_Konnected. She is the executive producer/creator/writer of Luminetik’s Animation Studio’s new short film called “Kuriocity”. “Kuriocity” is an introduction to the story of the future motion picture and video game franchise. Dis_Konnected will be a motion picture, and video game combination project. Akiko is a programer, an artist and a designer. Geek Woman has the rare opportunity to speak to her for WG.Geek Woman : What is your position at Luminetik Animation Studio?

I am the Co-CEO and Executive Producer. I wrote and created our film franchise “Dis_Konnected”.

Geek Woman : Is the short film called “Kuriocity” an introduction to the motion picture and video game franchise, which is called Dis_Konnected?

Yes, the short “Kuriocity” is an introduction to the characters and the motion picture and video game franchise. We wanted to slowly introduce the elements as this is one of the first teen CG films and targets a very different audience then the PIXAR, Dreamworks, and Blue Sky Films.

Geek Woman : Is there a website specifically for the Dis_Konnected project?

At this moment, we have a web site in production that will show up on the web once the short is done. We wanted to have the short finished so the fans would be able to understand a bit about the film from viewing the short and to be a little familiar with Alex and her story before the site was up. Currently, Alex is building friends on My Space and doing very well. www.myspace.com/alexthesuperhero. I want the storyline to be a very high priority in the development of this film and game so the audience knows what is going on and can relate to the characters.

Geek Woman : Have you worked on other games or movies?

Yes, and many are covered by NDA but I can tell you I worked on some games for Nintendo in Kyoto Japan when I was much younger and have worked in the film industry as a VFX producer on movies like “Two Weeks Notce” and commercials for Arm and Hammer.

Geek Woman : How difficult has it been to break into such a male dominated industry?

I would say Japan is much worse then the states as women are not seen for their technology skills. This may have changed in recent years but was very difficult in the 80′s.

On a different note, I have been doing high level math in my head for years and understood physics since I was a child so I had a very good mind for coding software. When I was young though I had to hide what I could do or risk being beat up for being nerdy. I have been beat up a few times for being a girl nerd.

Geek Woman : This is I am sure a terrible memory for you. It is an experience that we both share. I can not help but ask if it was the girls or the boys who were so intimidated that they had such a violent reaction?

At first the reaction was both girls and boys who actually picked physical fights with me. My mom was unhappy about this as she is traditional Japanese and did not like her little girl fighitng like a boy. As time went by girls punished me harder for it. I found this strange because no matter what happened I thought we shared a certain sisterhood being girls.They just could not relate to me breaking traditional roles. I was not allowed to hang out with popular girls who shunned me. I spent many a days alone and learned to be comfortable with this. The boys weren’t much easier but sadly they began to accept who I was and stopped alienating me. I found myself with more male friends then girlfriends. I vowed when I got older to rectify this situation and keep an open mind when it came to supporting ideas by women especially when it has risk invovled and is outside the normal paradigm.

I think that the doors are opening for women now and that they should defintely consider a career in film or games as technology is making it easier and easier.

In fact, when AMD first came out with the Opteron, I made the decision to go with AMD before many of my male counterparts in the industry. I helped create and design our first pipeline and if you ask any of the men I work with, they are big fans of my choice. AMD is one of the partners that enabled me to do what I am doing.

Geek Woman : What educational background do you have? Are there any suggestions to geeky girls that you would have for those who would like to have a career like yours?

I spent 4 years in college with a degree in “Clinical Psychology” that did not help me much for jobs, so I went back to school to decide what I wanted…I did two years in medical school, one year in law school and a year in a fine arts school in Paris. I also found a creative writing to be a good place to expand my writing skills and took a creative writing class every year in college and highschool.

Geek Woman : In the trailer that I saw, I was most impressed with Alex doing some sword play. To me it looked like it had to have been created with motion capture from a living human. How was that sequence created?

Yes, this is motion capture. We were very picky about motion capture systems giving a natural character look to the walk for Alex as we wanted her to have a signature motion. Motion Analysis delivered this in her walk and sword animations. It is very fluid looking. I really like what Motion Analysis does and this made me a fan of it.

Geek Woman : Will you be doing mostly one kind of animation or a combination of technologies?

We plan to use mostly keyframe animation as this can give us a kind of freedom to stylize the animation a bit…we won’t be using the pose to pose style of animation as this does not blend with motion capture very well so we had to find something that flowed with the motion capture and would blend without looking out of place, and we call this technique “fluid motion animation”. We do plan to use motion capture as some of the action pieces would benefit from this workflow as the physics for this are tough on keyframing the motion and could actually take longer.

Geek Woman : I enjoy that the 40 year old female character Ruby looks slim and healthy. What prompted you to design not just one heroine but several female characters, young and middle aged, for your game?

I wanted there to be a range of female characters in the film and game. There is still a female villian yet to be introduced who may bring to mind characters like Darth Vader….We have yet to introduce her yet as she is something we want the fans to find out about in the film. She is designed to make a statement. When you see her, you will either love or hate her or both.

I felt that there aren’t enough women in games and just having one girl as the superhero was not enough. I felt that in real life women have different roles in the world and wanted to illustrate the relationships between Ruby and Alex and the relationships they have with the villian. Oddly enough each girl will think very differently and this is illustrated in the script.

Ruby and Alex are slim because very much like their male counterparts, you would need a certain physique to be a superhero and would be burning more calories then real people do. It makes perfect sense when you consider the amount of action they are involved in…On a humorous note: Have you ever seen many characters eat in a game beside Pacman? LOL. I am kidding of course.

Geek Woman : Are you concerned that having female lead characters will effect sales to men?

I think it really depends. I believe there are a lot of men who have played Lara Croft and had no problem. I wanted to take this to a new level and show men that women have certain strengths that are pretty cool and make it part of the game play to give men a chance to feel this and say whoa this is pretty awesome. Women do have some cool secrets they don’t always reveal.

We also wanted Alex to be a girl that guys would love to date as well as admire. We felt that a lot of female superheroes do not feel like women, they look like women but act more like men and are missing the nuances that make them women. Some female characters are so unrelateable it is hard to warm up to them.

Note: I do not use the word superheroine as I feel this word discriminates and does not make it clear that this is a female superhero. As male and women doctors share titles like teacher, professor, doctor and lawyer, why shouldn’t they share the title superhero. On a marketing stance, superheroine just doesn’t pop like the word superhero.

Geek Woman : How are you going to distribute this film? Will it be produced by Hollywood or is it going to be an independent project?

We are right now in production of a short film called “Kuriocity” that will introduce the “Dis_Konnected” world so we can introduce the film, video game, and character elements. We will follow this with a website and forum for people to talk about the film and help give us feedback and what they feel about the storyline, characters and look. We have had an amazing amount of feedback from a My Space page for Alex and have had an amazing response to the stills from the short. We get the sense people are just as excited as we are.

Once we launch the short and it has independent distibution via mobile devices and internet, we will follow with a motion picture and video game which will take a couple of years to produce. We are holding off on any distribution deals for the film and game until the short is complete.

Good news…we plan to make the short episodic so we can keep doing small films to keep the storyline going while the motion picture and game are in production.

I had the toughest time when I was developing this story about Alex to convince Hollywood and the gaming industry that women were really playing games and that they actually needed games that related to them. And of course it was interpreted as women like only girlie or sissy games. I defintely had a lot of work ahead of me to convince them otherwise. I created Alex because I was disappointed with the way men wrote female superheroes and the way men created the women in games. It is the story that makes her very different then her counterparts. What is at the surface conceals a much different type of character. I also wanted to create a girl that kicks butt but kept her vulnerability and feminine qualities. It is the type of movie and game that both boys and girls can play and guys won’t feel that it is too feminine and may help him understand a little about how a woman thinks as this would be rewarded in this game. Only way for a man to know what it is like to be a woman is to put him in her spot. (How many times have we played male characters, I want to give men a female character they don’t mind being and help bring them closer to the women in their lives.)

My next task is merging film and game into one solid storyline so that the film and game are seamless so you do not feel like you are taken out of that world. Intergration of the storyline to make it a full experience.

Geek Woman : What game characters influenced you to design Alex?

I would say I was more influenced by Disney and comic books. You may see a merging of these ideas in her look. She has some traditional key character features that follow common design rules, Disney uses these rules in their characters.. My favorite comic book influences were “Shi” by Bill Tucci, “Spiderman” and “X-Men” from Stan Lee…”Batman”, “Superman” and so many others.

Geek Woman : Are you playing any games currently?

I am limited in my time to play games but have been checking out World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy’s new game and have played Halo a lot.

Geek Woman : Which movies have influenced you the most?

I have to say I am a big fan of Sam Raimi and love what he did with the “Spiderman” franchise. I also loved the X-men franchise. My favorite girl lead is “Underworld” and think Kate Beckingsale was so perfect as the character. I love how James Cameron writes women. He is one of the exceptions I find for men who can write women. There are people who did not understand his brilliance of how he wrote Jack and Rose in Titanic but every teenage girl understood completely. I am also a big fan of the show “Smallville”.

I love all kinds of film and also watch classic Hitchcock, Selznick, and Kurosawa films. I use a lot of traditional film techniques for our cameras. I love old films as they illustrate these techniques clearly. I love what David Fincher does with a camera.

I watch independent film because it helps me to take risks in storytelling that big studio sometimes cannot identify with.

I own almost every animated film on DVD from Disney Classics, PIXAR films, Dreamworks films and Japanese anime and manga.

Geek Woman : I understand that you perform music as well, will any of your music be in this project?

I was a music industry executive and worked with many bands. I am always looking for music on the cutting edge and sometimes I can be a year or so ahead of the industry. Some teenagers find it funny that I find bands before they do. We agree on songs and bands and what is is coming. It is so much fun to hang out with teenagers, they really do take risks most of us don’t.

Geek Woman : Would you be disappointed that when I saw Alex at first glance, I thought she was Lara Croft?

I do not mind at all. When we first designed Alex, there was a huge difference between the characters. When you work with CG characters there is going to be some resemblence. Do you ever notice how a lot of anime girl characters all look very similar due to the style of anime?

Geek Woman : Yes I have. When I saw the head-shot of Alex her features did resemble Lara at first. I wondered if it was because she is CG. But as I looked again, I noticed the subtleties, her jaw-line is shorter and her eyebrows are more arched and feminine. Yes, she does look much younger than Lara.

I think that a lot of CG girls look a like for the same reason. There is a much newer design version of Alex that takes a step into making her more unique. We want to distinguish her in her own right.

Storywise, Alex is a teenager and much younger and softer then Lara and has a certain vulnerbiltiy that comes through in the storyline. Alex also has a much different body build and in other photos looks entirely different. As she evolves and you see her in the film, you realize she is her own person.

Geek Woman : In your Myspace the characters each have their own profile and they seem to interact with each other. This is a new method of delivering the story, how is that working?

I think it works well. I put Alex on the web about 5 months ago and she has been talking to everyone and learning a lot from everyone that graces her with their friendship. Storytelling can be very difficult in a vaccuum and unlike other filmmakers I wanted to make the storytelling process interactive so the audience feels like they are part of it. I am hoping to make the entire process like this within reason.

Geek Woman : Where do you see the future of gaming going?

I think that the future of gaming and entertainment are merging. You are starting to see some of this on the game console as they are now both game player and DVD player. As this expands and resolution gets better, I think film and video game storylines are going to be shaing assets interactively as this union grows. The future of film and gaming I believe will be merging more closely. I created “Dis_Konnected” seeing this future unfolding. The storyline is weaved between the film and game and vice versa. One of the images I will send you with this article illustrates this. You will see Ruby in a shield which is a common video game element. The way the world is built and the journey of the character reminds you of destinations in games to get to a certain level. All of this blended into a single pipeline as our target for gaming is the next generation platform.

Geek Woman : Do you think that targeting a demographic of young people that have grown up downloading music and videos for free, as well as pirating games is going to be difficult to market to?

I don’t think pirating hurts the industry as much as it hurts the channels of distribution. I know that many kids and people who pirate content have a tendency to buy it as well. It gives them a sense of having a filter to detect bad movies, games and music. I think that piracy is bad when you create content that can’t sell itself. You really have to give them a reason to own it. I think that there is enough of Alex and “Dis_Konnected” to make you want to buy and collect it and have something that is original. I notice that sales statistics are still showing growth and the teen market place has been estimated to be a 170 billion dollar spending market so we aren’t looking to corner the market but just get a small piece. Apple seems to be doing very well with the iPod and MTV keeps expanding their cable channels so I think the growth in this market is going to continue.

Geek Woman : When will this be released?

The short “Kuriocity” will be out this winter to introduce the world of Alex and stay tuned for news at www.Luminetik.com or at Alex’s My Space page at www.myspace.com/alexthesuperhero.
We will make announcements about the film and games here. Our estimated production cycle for film and game is about 2 years. The good news is the short will be out and we plan to make it episodic to keep the story alive.