Dames Making Games (DMG) is a
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
-based non-profit organization that provides resources for female interested in the gaming development industry.
Providing resources and hosting workshops, Dames Making Games aims to create a comfortable platform for women, non-binary, femme and queer people in the creation of video games.
History
Dames Making Games' origins can be traced to a 2011 program held by
TIFF Nexus called “The Difference Engine Initiative,” also held in collaboration with the
Hand Eye Society The Hand Eye Society is a not-for-profit coalition of projects and people in support of Toronto's video game communities.
The Hand Eye Society Organizes socials, unconferences, presentations, showcases and established connections with the inte ...
, to help educate young women in game creation.
The co-founder Cecily Craver, inspired by her experience in the program thought of creating a platform to diversify the demographic of people in the game developing industry.
Sparking the name Dames Making Games, Craver recruited Jennie Faber to help host meetings. Soon after Alex Leitch was recruited to help with the creation of DMG. Since being founded in 2012, the group has held workshops,
game jam
A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game from scratch. Depending on the format, participants might work independently, or in teams. The event duration usually ranges from 24 to 72 hours. Participants are generally program ...
s, socials and other events aiming to educate and support gender-diverse gamers, citing the male-dominated culture of gaming as a barrier faced by many would-be gamers.
DMG's goals also include diversifying the depiction of
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
in games to better reflect the breadth of human experience.
In 2015 and 2016, the group collaborated in organizin
Indigicade a video-game development initiative aimed at
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
girls and women.
Support from the organization is volunteer based and are accepting donations.
Challenges
In their early years, DMG had a small group of supporters ranging around 30 to 40 member by 2013.
As Dames Making Games grew, various criticism in the organization's purpose and benefits. Primarily men within gaming would mention that there is not need for female involvement in gaming.
Additionally, mentioning that the organization does not have a strong goal in mind for their community. DMG retaliates by stating helping and providing resources for other women in gaming is also considered a goal. Striving for togetherness and support, DMG looks to change the direction of gaming.
Programs/Events
Damage Camp
Lasting about a month long, Dames Making Games host Damage Camp, an event consisting of workshops and discussion panels, with guest speakers talking about a variety of topics related to females in gaming.
Topics include, creating an inclusive environment for video game developers, gaining financial stability in the industry, and the incorporation of different minority groups within the gaming community.
This event is made available to the general public and no membership is needed to register.
New Game Makers
In part of DMG's Fall speaker series, New Game Makers is a workshop that introduces those who are new to game developing and supply them with tools to get started.
Craver first person to introduce the first event and regularly kept in mind progressive methods of developing games. This workshop touches on how to manage free and cross-performing software.
See also
*
Women in computing in Canada
Many in Canada share concerns about the current and future roles of women in computing, especially as these occupations increase in importance. As in many nations where computing and information technology are large industries, women in Canada have ...
*
Black Girls Code
Black Girls CODE (BGC) is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on providing technology education for African-American girls. Kimberly Bryant, an electrical engineer who had worked in biotech for over 20 years, founded Black Girls Code in ...
*
Native Girls Code Native Girls Code (NGC) is a Seattle-based program that focuses on providing computer coding skills with grounding in traditional Indigenous knowledge for Native Americans in the United States, Native American girls aged 12–18 through workshops, c ...
*
Women Who Code
Women Who Code (WWCode) is an international non-profit organization that provides services for women pursuing technology careers and a job board for companies seeking coding professionals. The company aims to provide an avenue into the technolo ...
*
Pixelles
Pixelles, located in Montreal, is a non-profit grassroots organization devoted to increasing gender diversity in video game design as a response to issues of sexism in video gaming.
History
The debut of the Pixelles in Montreal coincided with th ...
References
External links
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Twitter
Organizations based in Toronto
Women's organizations based in Canada
Women in computing
Women and video games
Video game organizations
Women in Ontario
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