Heather Kelley: Game Designer at moboid
Author of this post: Beth A. Dillon | About Blog Authors »
About a month ago, Notes on Game Dev started up a conversation mostly added to by members of the International Game Developers Association Women in Game Development group. The initial discussion inspired a series of interviews with women in the game industry.
First up is moboid game designer Heather Kelley for her involvement in everything from AAA next-gen console games, interactive smart toys, handheld games, to web communities for girls. Most recently, she was the Kraus Visiting Assistant Professor of Art, and Adjunct Faculty at the Entertainment Technology Center, both at Carnegie Mellon University. And by the way, on the side, she co-chairs for the IGDA Women group, whew!
Q: Hey Heather! You’re one of those amazing designer/artist/educator/community facilitator women who does it all and then some. Can you tell us a bit about how you got where you are?
A: Well, it’s impossible to do it all at the same time, but I usually have a few projects going on simultaneously, most of the time. I do these things for fun, so I don’t have many passive but time-consuming pastimes like watching TV or just hanging out at the pub. I’ve also learned (the hard way) that I have to hone in on the things that really give me pleasure, and not say “yes” to every cool project or great idea that comes along. Then I just try to finish what I start! Sometimes that means self-imposed crunch.
Q: How do you balance all of those roles?
A: I’m not sure that I do, actually! When I’ve got too many responsibilities, something is bound to get ignored. (Right now, it’s my web site. If any designer/coder out there wants to help me out with that, they can get in touch.) I think the way I get a little bit of everything done is by doing manageable-sized projects and rotating my efforts throughout the year. Also, I collaborate! I work with my friends. It’s more fun, and it keeps me motivated to go on when otherwise I might just drop out.
Q: I really hear you on the web site–same goes for me, I’ve completely neglected it lately. Speaking of collaboration and working with friends though, you’re also a woman who makes games for girls! What’s your driving motivation behind creating for this audience?
A: It’s predictable enough–I want more girls to play games! But I think it’s important for designers (both male and female) to meet and listen to girls during the design process. They change so much from age to age and from cultural moment to moment. Meaning, you can’t assume that 8-year-old girls in 2008 have the same interests and attitudes as that same age would have had even five years ago, especially when it comes to technology.
Q: Jumping back to a past project then, in 2006, you won the MIGS Game Design Challenge on sex in games with Lapis. Can you tell us about Lapis? What was the inspiration and direction of the game? How is the project related to development for the Nintendo DS?
A: The real-world inspiration behind Lapis was learning that a lot of adult women have never had an orgasm. And honestly I think that’s unacceptable (not that it’s their fault), so I wanted to create something that might help change that, by creatively teaching women to figure out what might feel good. Kind of far-fetched I know, but why not try? I knew that the audience for this game would not be interested in something that was pornographic or extremely overt. So I did what game designers do-abstracted a real-world human behavior into an escapist fantasty scenario. Thus the cute creatures like the blue bunny.
I actually did not have access at that time to any DS technology. The game prototype runs on PC only and simulates the stylus input using the mouse. Not ideal, but it worked as a proof of concept. At the moment I’m looking into homebrew DS development to bring a version to DS. If I do, it will be open source, since I don’t imagine any publishers would touch that with a 10-foot pole.
Q: Ha! Yeah, probably not publishers that generally work with DS games. Are you working on any new exciting experimental projects we should keep an eye out for?
A: Yes! I’m working on a gallery-based art game using a unique input device that will launch at Oboro Centre in September here in Montreal, and also on the next Gamma! And I have a few new projects in early development, but nothing I could reasonably talk about yet.
Q: You’ve jumped from AAA titles to experimental work, from industry to academia, and back again. How do you feel about female presence in the game industry? Do we have equal opportunities? How does the academic community differ from the industry community in regards to gender?
A: I’ve seen the female presence in game development increase in size, power, diversity, and community organization. A lot more young women have entered the field since I began. On the other hand, the academic world (at least in the programs I’ve been associated with) seems to have an overall greater percentage of women, in greater positions of power (relatively speaking). There is such a strong tradition of women as educators, and I hope we can bring balance like that to games!
Q: That’s a nice outlook! What do you enjoy most out of your career (well and life in general)?
A: I love learning new things, and a lot of my career has been setting up my life to make that possible. That’s one reason why I’ve hopped back and forth between different roles and contexts. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable because I literally do not know what I am supposed to be doing, but I try to keep my ego to a minimum and just ask for help. It’s worth it. I also love to travel and experience different cultures, so I try to make that happen both within my career and otherwise. And I love working in teams to make something happen that I could never have accomplished on my own.
