Gamer Girl - Christina Curlee

A while back I saw a note on one of the gamer girl Tumblr blogs I follow about her being super excited because she was selected as one of the 2016 IGDAF Women in Gaming Ambassadors. Her name? Christina Curlee, and she's so super awesome, y'all! She's smart, funny, loves animals and art, and she makes games!

And she was nice enough to answer a bunch of my questions. We've been chatting off and on over the last few months, and she let me take notes to share with you all about her experiences as a young woman in gaming and what it means to be an IGDA Ambassador.

SRPS: First of all, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What's your background? What inspires you? What are some of your goals in life?

CC: Sure, I've been creative all my life but actually begin my schooling in Biology as I initially wanted to be a veterinarian. After a while of not feeling quite right in that environment though, I was in a bit of a floating period not knowing what I really wanted to do with my life. I always knew I loved art, as well as creating things but for some reason I never really thought about pursuing art and video games. It wasn't until I decided to really buckle down and focus did I eventually pursue a bachelors in fine arts and arrive at working mostly with digital art and transmedia. It began with photography, where I would build little scenes and takes photos of them and that progressed into installation artwork and combined with my love of all things computers, I just ended up doing Artgames, level design and 3d modeling with that same eye for building, design and interaction with audiences that I had been building upon. I still really love working with animals though and so I juggle double careers with animals and with becoming more proficient at refining my vision with Digital arts and games.

I'm inspired by the future always. I am working towards how I imagine the world could be and that's a big part of why I love working with technology and environments. I love being a part of a group of people that seeks nothing more but to make others happy and enjoy their life. Ultimately, I'd like to run my own studio and produce games and interactive environments for meaningful play. I would love to be a professor and advocate for more connection between fine arts and games and technology.

SRPS: You work with animals? In what capacity? How does that influence, if at all, your games and art?

CC: I have worked with animals since I was a kid and always enjoyed their company. I have been a veterinary assistant, kennel tech and dog groomer for many years. In my art, I actually enjoy painting and drawing and mostly do animal related work or use animals as representations of concepts. In my games too I really like having animal protagonists and giving animal-like traits to characters. I also will use animal-made structures in my ideas for game levels and architecture.

SRPS: Talk to me about your gaming loves. When did you start playing games? What are some of the key moments in your gaming history?

CC: I've been playing games since I was very young, like 6 years old with a Nintendo and I've been playing ever since. I think the games that really had an impact on me were Echo the Dolphin, Final Fantasy 7, Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and the Fallout series. I feel like these games changed me as a person (haha). I'm really taken in by intricate environments, secrets, and multi-level game play and have been since I was very young.

SRPS: Do you have a preferred gaming platform? Tabletop, console, PC, mobile, etc.?

CC: PC and Playstation.

SRPS: What are aspects about gaming and gaming culture that you love?

CC: I really like that we're people that just want to be happy and make others happy (talking about game developers). We're not trying to get rich, we just love crafting things that make people say "Wow!" and that they enjoy. Everyone I've met in gaming has been so sweet and open, and ready to help. The culture is really close knit and it feels like a big family. Gamer culture in general -- it's so cool how we have our own language and bond over games no matter how different our backgrounds are. It teaches teamwork and togetherness, and creates this shared culture around the entire world. It's really amazing the way games unite.

SRPS: How awesome was it to be selected to be part of the IGDA WIG Ambassador?! What has your experience been like so far?

CC: The IGDA is so giving and caring, and they really care about the visibility of women and minorities in game development. The leaders in it are the most helpful people you will ever meet. When I won the scholarship, I was ecstatic and GDC in San Francisco was amazing. I learned so much from the panels, got to meet lots of excited game developers, went to great parties and of course played a lot of games. Everyone I met was so kind and I always felt 'safe' in the environment despite the bad press the industry gets. With the women in games scholarship, I was able to meet women mentors already in the industry and received private talks and advice for breaking in as well as taking other paths like education. Another cool thing is that since the game industry is relatively small I was able to meet some of my idols and found out that they were so humble and helpful. I can't say enough good things about IGDA and the developers at GDC. Oh and also there were many many women there, so there is def progress being made. A new age in gaming is coming!

SRPS: What kinds of things are involved with being a WIG Ambassador? Are there specific tasks or responsibilities?

CC: The ambassadors are mainly there to be representations of the excellence of women in gaming and proof to others as well as inspiration that women can achieve in the gaming industry. We come from all different skill levels and backgrounds to show a diversity of experience.

SRPS: It sounds like you've found the right spot for yourself doing something creative and exciting in the gaming world. What would 6 year old you playing on her Nintendo think about that?

CC: I probably wouldn't even know how far along we would be now. Before game development was reserved for elite programmers and now people with more of an art focus like me are actually in demand as the platforms and people demand more creativity and fantastic places and game play. With the expansion of gaming into an art form and in virtual reality and Augmented, its really grown exponentially in my lifetime.

SRPS: Are you working on anything specific right now you care to share with us? Any big plans for the future?

CC: My semester earlier this year was so intense, having made 4 games that I've really been resting in the summer and mostly reading about gaming, and "studying" (playing games, which is actually really important), soon though I will be studying programming to expand my scope within that. I really enjoy what I know so far with programming, it gives you a lot of creative power when you can do it yourself.

SRPS: Have you received any specific advice from a mentor in gaming that totally fired you up about your future in gaming?

CC: I've had many mentors, that have been encouraging and never doubtful of my ability which encourages me to work harder and not disappoint them or myself. The thing that fires me up the most though is to watch people play my games knowing that I made something that people react to and get into, I made a little world for them and I get to see the impact of doing so. A lot of people are so surprised about the potential for art games, and I'm excited to push fine arts and gaming even more. Art and tech is the future.

SRPS: What advice do you have for young people, and especially young women, looking for a career in the games industry?

CC: Start making games and getting active in game development communities as soon as possible. It will make all the difference when you graduate college and begin looking for work. Learn the big engines really well and get involved in modding for existing games, and learn programming even if you're in artist. It will only help you more in the long run and make you more flexible on a team. Also there are a lot of people rooting for you so pay attention to them and ignore negative people.

SRPS: Where else can people find you online?

CC: My main site is www.christinazero.com and it links to everything else. On Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and other places I'm Phazero.

If you like the work I do here at Self-Rescuing Princess Society,
please consider donating to my Patreon.

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Gamer Girl - Damsel

Not too long ago, I saw a tweet from the excellent Giselle Rosman, whom I was lucky enough to meet while visiting Australia a couple of years ago, raving about a new game looking for votes for on Steam Greenlight. That in itself is not all that unusual, since it's pretty much her mission to promote awesome Aussie game developers. And, to be honest, I almost always check out the games she recommends because there have been so many really great games coming out of Australia lately (see Ninja Pizza Girl) so it's a pretty good gamble. And, again, she was right. Damsel look like an awesome game.

In this arcade platformer, play as agent Damsel as she races across the world keeping humanity safe from the forces of evil. Complete dozens of missions, rescue hostages, gather intel, and eliminate the vampire hordes with an ever expanding arsenal of upgradable weapons and equipment.

OK, so it's got a kickass female protagonist fighting vampire hordes with awesome weapons and saving the world from evil? Yes, please!

Over the last couple of weeks, I managed to strike up a great conversation with Megan Summers, the producer of Damsel. She shared with me a bit about herself as a female game developer and her work.

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Kickstart This! Playing Nature's Year

The ever amazing Meguey Baker has done it again. She's come up with another wonderful game, Playing Nature's Year. I'm sooooo excited for this game. I have long been fascinated by the stories we tell about our environment, and about the importance of each season and the subtle changes that occur throughout them.

I can't say that the 'traditional' (read: Euro-centric) stories resonated with me growing up -- I didn't understand why snowflakes were the symbol of winter when it rarely snowed in Louisiana. Now that I've lived in several different places where the seasons are so very different, I have a better appreciation for the local stories. Here in California, we are entering the "rainy season" where the colors are vastly different from elsewhere. The deciduous trees are losing their leaves and turning brown, but the grasses are coming back to life. It's a time of grays and greens and browns, where summer is gold and blue and dark green.

I also have a deep appreciation of story-telling and gaming, and especially story-telling games! So, when I learned that Meg's new game combines storytelling and nature, I jumped at the chance to support it.



Meg was kind enough to answer a few of my questions, to help me share this fantastic project with you all. I hope that even if you don't decide to back Playing Nature's Year, you'll check out her many other games and find something that piques your interest!

SRPS: First of all, can you tell me a little bit about yourself -- your work, your passion, your goals.

MB: My basic mission in life, the thing that underlies pretty much everything I do, is to listen to under-heard voices and amplify them. For a dozen years, I facilitated a group for new mothers dealing with postpartum stress/anxiety/depression. I teach sex ed anywhere I can, especially to teenagers, and advocate for them as they discover their orientation and identity. I designed games for social change and the re-knitting of friendship networks among teenage girls in Ethiopia. I am a textile conservation specialist at two different local museums, where I help to uncover and preserve the stories of the past as told by the objects left behind and people that made them, with a specific focus on women, children, people of color, the currently poor, and other non-dominant voices. This extends to my parenting and how Vincent and I raise our three sons. I tell them my goal is for them to be "C to the 5th" - curious, compassionate, creative, connected and contributing members of their communities. I really do believe that every person has a story worth telling and a story worth hearing.

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Kickstart This!

I'm just now starting to get into RPGing after never having tried it before in my 40-something years of playing games. Whoa! Is it fun! Anyway, while I'm enjoying my goblin-massacring dwarf healer-fighter hybrid, I've been curious about getting out of the fantasy worlds and looking for things based in the real world.

That's where War Birds comes in. It sounds like a perfect next level RPG for the women's history nerd in me!

Designed by an international team of women writers, War Birds presents fun-to-play, easy-to-run games that let you explore exciting stories you might not have heard before: Striking factory workers torn apart by hatred, or women aviators struggling to find sisterhood and freedom in the skies.These games are designed to give you everything you need to know to run or play them - with no research required.

I was fortunate to be able to chat with the brilliant game designer behind War Birds, Moyra Turkington of Unruly Designs. Seriously, go back this series ASAP!

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Kickstart This!

So you say you need more dragons in your life? Maybe a good RPG where you get to play a dragon? Or it is just me? I mean, OK, I'll admit that I just finished reading The Dragonriders of Pern for the first time last week or so. (I know. I know. Please don't judge.) And now I'm missing my dragon friends.



So when I saw a post about Epyllion on Google+ earlier this week, I got super excited! You mean I can play a dragon? Heck yeah, I'm sooooo in!

Epyllion is a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) where you play dragons in a dragon-centric world. You are the sons and daughters of the Dragonlords, mighty rulers who need your help to investigate rumors, solve problems, and discover the truth of a growing evil in the land. Along with your fellow dragons, you and your clutchmates will protect Dragonia from the Darkness and discover the true value of friendship. While you play, you’ll explore what dragons do, building on what each of you adds to the story, and exploring the meaning of friendship for yourselves.

Um... yeah. Consider me sold. Forget riding dragons or training dragons, I'm all about BEING a dragon! Of course, my dragon's going to be a princess. But the kind of princess dragon that flies around burning stuff down, chasing off bad folks, and generally just being a kickass dragon fighter!

To put the icing on this amazing dragon cake, here's a great quote from Marissa Kelly, the designer on Contessa. (It's a great interview. Go read the whole thing!)

The concept was born somewhere from my love of dragons and epic fantasy stories, like Lord of the Rings. I always wanted to know more about the dragons in those tales and where they came from.

The process of creating Epyllion was hard and took a lot of effort, but at GenCon 2014 we made our deadline and released the ashcan version of the game: Epyllion: Drake Edition. This was the bare minimum of text and rules needed to play the game. Since then, I have been working with my team to take in feedback, change the rules, and playtest the game to get it just right.

Marissa Kelly, aka Mother of Epyllion

So, seriously, go check out the awesome game Epyllion! I promise you won't be disappointed!

+ + +

Edited to add this fantastic quote Jonathan Perrine left on my G+ post:

I have not had the pleasure of running this game for a young crowd, but I've heard tons of good things from those who have. 

I have run it for grownups, and it draws you right back into this fantastic Saturday morning cartoon - LOTR headspace where what matters most are your friends and the things you believe in, no matter the odds. 

Creating fun, lively encounters is easy for new and experienced GMs, whether it is wise dragon statues or strange hybrid animals making trouble for the Clutch's friends. You just bounce ideas off of your players and cool things come out of your heads and you play in that world, just like that. 

The fact that the entire game revolves around a group of friends is almost more important than the fact those friends happen to be baby dragons trying to save their society of older, cynical dragons from the darkness. - And that last part is pretty important, too.

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Kickstart This!

Quick... how many women in science can you name? (Hint: I sincerely hope it's more than Marie Curie, or I haven't been doing my job.)

When Anouk Charles and Benoit Fries went looking for STEM inspiration for their daughter, they realized their lack of knowledge about female scientists. When they asked their friends for help and learned how sadly common this situation was they took matter into their own hands. With the help of an illustrator friend, they developed their Women in Science Card Game, featuring leading women in science throughout history.

The fundamental idea is to familiarize players with women who have left their mark on science and often did not receive the recognition they were due. This isn’t just a question of fairness and gender equality, it’s also a matter of offering role models with whom young girls can identify.

It’s hardly surprising that few girls display an interest in physics or mathematics when they never hear about women who made extraordinary discoveries in these spheres.

20% of the profits generated by the game will be donated to local organizations promoting women in science.

They game play is easy enough for even younger players to be able to pick up the game and start playing right away -- match four cards of the same color to form sets or "labs" with the first player to make three labs the winner -- but interesting enough to hold the attention of older players. Each card features a clever illustration and a short description of what makes that scientist special.

I just love this idea! As a kid, I would have loved just reading the cards, using them as a kind of pocket encyclopedia. In fact, I could see parents or teachers using these cards to introduce new scientists to young people, and prompting them to seek out more info on each woman.



I wish I could order several sets to give them away as birthday and holiday gifts throughout the year. I'll have to settle for one set, and have to invite my favorite little future-scientists over to play cards.

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Kickstart This!

Chainmail Bikini is another Kickstarter project that doesn't actually need your help but still deserves your attention.

Chainmail Bikini is an anthology of comics by and about female gamers! 40 cartoonists have contributed 200+ pages of all new stories about the games they're passionate about—from video games to table-top role-playing to collectible card games. Help us pay for the printing costs and reward the artists by pre-ordering the book!

Potential $100 reward: character image by Kori Michele Handwerker

I absolutely love this project! In one fell swoop, you can support two causes near and dear to the hearts of all of us: women in gaming and women in comics!

The comics in Chainmail Bikini explore the real-life impact of entering a fantasy world, how games can connect us with each other and teach us about ourselves. Alliances are forged, dice get rolled, and dragons get slain! We believe that gaming should be open to all, regardless of gender. Chainmail Bikini shows that while women are not always the target market for gaming, they are a vital and thoroughly engaged part of it, and are eager to express their personal take as players, makers, and critics of games.

Potential $100 reward: character image by Molly Ostertag

Gaming is such an integral part of my life. I cannot imagine going any serious length of time without playing some kind of game, whether it be just a quick puzzle game on my phone, leveling up my Redguard Nightblade in ESO, or checking in with my Descent crew.

I also love that their stretch goals aren't for more amazing stuff, but instead will go toward paying the artist over and above the original fees. How cool is that?

So do yourself a favor and consider supporting this project. You'll be helping promote a positive view of women in gaming, and you'll be supporting these great artists! Plus, you'll get an awesome new book! What could be better than that?

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