IGDC 2024: Panellists highlight positive shift in portrayal of women in video games

Panellists see positive shift in portrayal of women in video games

The second day of the 16th edition of India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) at HICC had a panel discussing women’s perspectives on challenges and opportunities within the video game industry.

Panellists opined that the hypersexualisation of female characters in video games had been a subject of considerable controversy in recent years.

“However, a positive shift is evident, with a growing number of games moving away from such objectification and towards more nuanced and authentic portrayal of women. For example, the new Grand Theft Auto (GTA) has an option to play as a female character,” observed Nainy Sahani from Tales.

“We had some great interactions with amazing women leaders from the gaming ecosystem,” said Shylaja Rao, who is general partner of Ventana Ventures.

“We spoke on how we can work on eliminating entry barriers for women and how to handle gender bias. Better mentorship for women is an important aspect and we are looking forward to more initiatives through IGDC towards the same,” Ms. Rao said.

Taruna Arora, from Keyword Studios India, said one of the key points was that most of the struggle for women was noticed in smaller studios.

“In such places, women complained about not getting paid during maternity leave. And another woman shared that she had to leave the organisation due to such policies. Organisations need to focus on support, healthcare, counselling etc,” Ms. Arora noted.