Bossa_Studios

I'm afraid we didn't get all of the assets, only some, but I'd love to see it there too one day :)

Heya!

Chantel

I actually had no clue what I wanted to do for the majority of my life until I was at uni. I took a games design and documentation course as part of my uni studies because I love games (obviously) and realised yeah this is what I wanna do, I mean games are kinda in our blood anyways.

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tish

When I was in school I knew I wanted to do make computer programs (mainly because of I found our IT classes of using programs boring by comparison) . I didn't really think about going into games until I went to uni for Computer Science and realised it wasn't what I wanted to do.

I found games to be a good way of learning the principles of computing but in a fun/creative environment. I changed course to Computing with Games Development and the rest is history

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Bethanie

I only realized I wanted to be in games after I graduated university. My degree had nothing to do with games. So I was lucky enough to know people who were willing to teach me what I needed to know to get in and move forward.

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Tania

I used to play counter-strike professionally and somehow I was already working with games for a while without noticing. It was only a matter of time to link that to other interests related to the human brain. So, working with games nowadays is a mix of passions for me.

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Kexin

I want to be a game developer since junior school, I told my parents that playing game is useful because I'll be a game developer and making game, playing games is just getting the right experience.

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Kat

I actually studied particle physics at uni and went into marketing. Never really considered games till last year, although I'm a huge nerd & love playing loads of games!

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klaudia

I saw the Final Fantasy 8 Trailer when I was about 12 and I new I wanted to work on games, but I didn't think it was possible, so I studied economics in college. When I moved to England I did a digital animation course in the hope that I will be an artist on games, and I'm very happy that I get to work for Bossa now.

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Roberta

I did not know I wanted it. Having spent so many years making and marketing Tech products within a pretty large TV broadcaster in Brazil made me realise how badly I wanted to impact an industry (games) that's been always setting the trends of how people connect with each other and enjoy entertainment.

Chantel: When I first started working in the industry back in 2010 I would agree with that statement. I worked in a big QA department and less than 5% of the employees were women. But now I believe things have come on leaps and bounds and now the distribution is far more even, especially at Bossa.

Bethanie: I have seen it go both ways personally. It really can depend on the leadership and personality of the studio as a whole.

Kexin : I'm a female coder, the first few years I am always the only female coder in the company, but these years I think it's more balanced, last year we had 3 women coder in our team. I don't feel like we aren't welcome though I feel like it's just there weren't that many women likes to do coding.

Tish: I had a bit of a negative experience when looking for a university course in Computer Science, where the lecturer essentially told me that I'd drop out and switch to psychology because I was a woman (he was a bit of a dinosaur tho, so I took it with a pinch of salt - unlike my mother, who was with me at the time of him saying that)But when I switched to Games and entered work environments, I've only seen positivity. I'm very fresh to the scene tho, so I could be part of the lucky ones.

Chel: This is my first industry job, so I don't have a good overall view of this problem, but I haven't felt unwelcome in the studio at all. I'm very active in the London indie game community and have also found that to be very welcoming!

Klaudia: I haven't had any negative experiences in the industry.Julia: In my experience it's thankfully an outdated stereotype for the industry itself, but it varies from company to company as most things do. I've worked in a few industries and compared other places the video games companies I have been in/know personally are excellent at accepting anyone of any gender, race, nationality, sexuality... most things really. It helps when everyone shares the same childhood passions and experiences no matter where you came from. The development community is pretty amazing, especially in London.

Kat: I've found some people being really positive but some negatives. Bossa is really great but having seen other parts of the gaming industry I've seen the unwelcome parts too!

Lana:

Games are a part of media and as such come with beliefs and experiences from those who make them. It is not a secret the majority of developers are male and as such make games that reflect their own experiences and beliefs.

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Sometimes those things, and yes they can and ARE exaggerated, come across as misogynistic and sexist. Very often stereotyped too. This is also why we have tropes in media (books, film and music included) like damsel in distress etc.

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This does drive criticism but we need that so we can do better. So we can be conscious of how we're representing our characters whom we're playing as and eventually relate to. We use games as escapism and fun so we want to feel good and comfortable.

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Criticism is both subjective and objective depending on who or which group gives it. And as individuals we can agree and disagree with it. I agree with some and disagree with some of Anita's criticism. But that doesn't mean it's not valid and we should see how it affects the player base so we can do better. At the end of the day if we keep making same games over and over again it get's boring doesn't it? We are looking to make games that deal with different issues and approach tropes in a new way!

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None of this means the games that were criticised will cease to exist, by no means! It just means there will be more different games coming along side it.

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To answer your question, I think any criticism is good. We need to grow and learn. We also need to talk amongst ourselves and get as many different experiences, thoughts and beliefs on the dev teams that can accurately represent the characters we know and love and play as.

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On a side note, I have met her in person and she is super lovely and friendly!

klaudia :Playing games, and aerial silks (Note from Kat, Klaudia is so badass at aerial silks she's amazing!)

Chantel : D&D, design my own games and cosplay

Tish: Knitting and cooking - I'm looking at ice skating lessons for my 'new year, new me' thing of 2019 :joy:

Tania :Play with Kiki (doggo), read, games and beer

Fay :Playing video games, working on my 3d art stuff and a bit of yoga.

Kexin :Playing games, listening music, watching anime, watching TV series

Bethanie : Write humorous poetry and sip coffee pretentiously at coffee shops

Lana: Games, bouldering, general gym, musicals

Roberta: I make videos on Beta Lucca YT channel (http://YouTube.com/BetaLucca) to share the most valuable lessons I've been learning during these last 8 years building Bossa (+ other businesses) B)