Career in Games #1: Being a woman in the game industry
At our Mobidictum Career in Games event, we discussed many issues related to the industry. We talked to Büşra Bektaş from Trifles Games about "being a woman in the game industry."
Büşra Bektaş talks about the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman in the game industry.
As Mobidictum, we held our first Career in Games event! In our event, we hosted precious names and discussed many issues related to the industry. We hosted Büşra Bektaş from Trifles Games with the subject of "being a woman in the game industry" at the event.
Büşra Bektaş was born in Bursa in 1995. After graduating from Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of Economics, in 2017, she gained experience in communication-oriented fields in different industries. In 2020, she met Trifles Games, and she started to take an active role in the game industry. She is currently working as Business Development Manager at Trifles Games.
Trifles Games is an Istanbul-based game studio that has been in the game industry and has been producing hyper-casual mobile games since 2014. The company produces projects that will satisfy the needs of the users while at the same time enjoying them.
The studio consists of 6 different departments and a team of approximately 20 people. This sub-department is as follows:
Game Artist
Level Designer
While the studio was built on six different teams, expertise and work efficiency were prioritized. This department model was designed to ensure that "everyone does what they do best" and aimed to produce quality output.
There are nearly 200 games of Trifles Games on the App Store. All of the games are in the hyper-casual category. At this point, it is possible to say that the company is quite productive.
How does the game industry welcome women?
The rapidly growing game industry offers new job and career opportunities every day. For this reason, more and more people want to join the industry and have a career. At this point, Büşra Bektaş explains the place of women in the game industry and the situation in the industry as follows:
"Finding quality personnel in the industry is a common problem for all studios. Providing female employment is relatively more difficult. I think it is a very good feeling to be a woman in the game industry and it makes one feel very powerful because the game industry is an industry that truly values women. There is now a system in the industry where the patriarchal system has been overcome."
Games entered our lives a long time ago. Digitization has given a new meaning to our understanding of games. At first, especially PC games were perceived as "men's entertainment" and mainly played by men. At the same time, the number of female players in the industry increased with the development of mobile devices. Later, this understanding also entered the kitchen of the industry, creating a more productive environment for female employees compared to their counterparts. Büşra Bektaş expresses the following on the subject:
"Games make up a large part of the entertainment industry today. With computers, tablets, and phones in our lives, digital games started to appeal to many audiences. In earlier times, it was thought that women had less place in the industry because the tools used for playing games were seen as more suitable for men and imposed as such. There were internet cafes when technology was not so accessible. At that time, there were predominantly male players in environments where such games could be played. It seemed strange for a woman to play in a place like this. Fortunately, that has now been overcome."
After this narrative, Bektaş states that the situation today is much better than before. She is supporting female actors and female industry employees. At this point, it is worth mentioning that there are plenty of talented women in the game industry. Büşra Bektaş expresses that she is happy to be in the game industry on her own behalf.
Bektaş shares some data on the subject as follows:
"According to a study by Google Play in the USA, 49% of mobile app users are women. Moreover, women are now taking roles not only as actors but also in the field of game production."
Today, female game characters are still in the background, or women's physical features are used as marketing materials for men. Stating that they are struggling with these issues, Büşra Bektaş says that there are female main characters in some of the games produced by Trifles Games and that women are given importance.
Our speaker says that despite the existing mistakes, the attitude of the gaming industry towards women is getting more and more positive. Indeed, the game industry is promising a future where all genders can work on equal terms in the digital world by going beyond the boundaries of the physical world.
Contribution of women to the game industry
There is a potential employment gap in the game industry. Studios continue their search to employ talented people. Despite all this search, there are still many gaps. Bektaş shares the following information on this subject:
"Although the game industry continues to have problems in terms of personnel, the number of female personnel is relatively less. When we open our applications, the number of female applicants is quite low. I get excited when I see such an application. I want more and sometimes I prioritize them."
The doors of the game industry are always open to new employment. At this point, women who want to take part in the industry should not hesitate to apply. As Büşra Bektaş said, there are many companies in the industry that give priority to women. Even in companies that do not prioritize women, there are positions where women can be more successful than men. Every individual who thinks that they have the necessary skills for the job will find a place for themselves in the game industry.
On the other hand, the fact that few women in the industry also has an advantage for women. Büşra Bektaş explains this advantage as follows:
"The fact that the number of female employees in the industry is low is an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Because women really create value in the industry and add a different perspective. We all know that the male point of view and the female point of view are not the same. I'm not saying this as parsing. There are different areas where the two characters are strong, and we think the combination of strengths here will result in stronger ideas and better games."
Saying that some of the team leaders in Trifles Games are also women, Bektaş underlines that they gain new perspectives with a woman's leadership.
Considering what Bektaş says, we can count Trifles Games among the companies that offer a productive working environment for women. So, what does the company pay attention to when it comes to recruitment? Our speaker gives the following information about the company's recruitment process:
"First of all, we have an application process. Next, we evaluate the applications. In this process, experience is important in some areas, but we generally take a chance by examining potential promising CVs regardless of experience. Secondly, we organize an introductory meeting with these people. We expect them to explain themselves at this meeting. Even if they came from another field, they must first believe in themselves. If the candidates have a passion for the game industry, they can overcome all kinds of obstacles after the necessary training is given."
Trifles Games, which follows a moderate path in its recruitment processes, is meticulous and self-sacrificing in evaluating talented and potential people. The company, which prioritizes the employment of women, particularly, continues to maintain its hyper-casual success thanks to the strength and diversity of its team.
Bektaş ends her presentation as follows:
"We are establishing infrastructures where candidates can develop themselves, and we are happy to have started this process. Because there is a serious potential gap in the industry, this will not close on its own. We can bring new talents to the industry only as long as we can nurture something."
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Süleyman Cengiz
I'm a lifetime gamer and writer. I write news, articles, and reports about the game industry, especially NFT and Blockchain.
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