Kickstarter employee and game designer Luke Crane sent out a tweet on November 26 asking, “Why are there so few lady game creators — Replies to his tweet have transformed into the stream #1reasonwhy, where game makers, game press and gamers at large are sharing their views on sexism in the industry. The thread is raising questions about the male-dominated culture still prevalent in games and how it translates to marginalization of women as game creators, game consumers, even in-game characters.
Indie programmer Tracy Hurley, one of the first responders to Crane’s tweet, wrote as her #1reasonwhy, “Because I’m told designing games to my PoV is ‘niche’ or being politically correct, while male oriented design is ‘normal’.”
Comments are still going strong at the time of this writing, and while they’re mostly supportive the stream isn’t without its debates. And where there’s an online debate, there will be trolls.
Polygon’s Justin McElroy may have put it best, targeting trolls and clueless men alike, “Dudes: Let #1reasonwhy wash over you and accept that maybe a lifetime as a dude hasn’t made you an expert on what life is like for women.”
Source: #1reasonwhy
