Pixelles, located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, is a non-profit grassroots organization devoted to increasing gender diversity in the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

industry as a response to issues of sexism.

History

The debut of the Pixelles in Montreal coincided with the Twitter awareness

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

campaign called #1reasonwhy, where women in the game industry provided personal experiences about sexism in the industry. The idea for Pixelles was inspired by Toronto's Difference Engine Initiative, a game-making incubator organized in 2011 by the

Hand Eye Society The Hand Eye Society is a Non-profit organization, not-for-profit coalition of projects and people in support of Toronto's video game communities. The Hand Eye Society Organizes socials, unconferences, presentations, Display case, showcases and es ...

, a video game arts organization
Feminists in Games
an organization of feminist digital researchers, approached game-hobbyist Rebecca Cohen Palacios and game designer Tanya Short to bring a similar project to Montreal. The first incubator had received over sixty applications. In 2015, Pixelles officially became a non-profit organization.

Activities

Through annual incubators, game jams, and monthly workshops, Pixelles helps women realize their own potential at making whatever game they can dream of. As an art form, games benefit from having more diverse voices contributing to its growth. Incubator, Follow Along, & Showcase
A set of classes that span once day a for six weeks provides advice on tools and applications, input from mentors, and support from the rest of the group. The incubator is open to anyone who identifies as female and can attend the workshops in Montreal, no former development experience required. Participants are selected through an application process. In 2013, ten women were chosen from over sixty applicants. At the end of each incubator, Pixelles hosts a showcase to celebrate the new game makers. The 2013 showcase clocked over 150 attendees from friends to indies to people from AAA industry coming out to support and celebrate

women and video games The relationship between women and video games has received extensive academic and media attention. Since the 1990s, female gamers have commonly been regarded as a minority. However, industry surveys have shown that over time, the gender ratio h ...

. The showcase is archived on the official website where you can play games from th
2013
an
2014 showcases
Men could not sign up, but are able to participate either as mentors or as play-testers. They are also able to sign up for the follow-along program, where material and exercises covered in the program were posted online. Follow-Alongs do not have access to the meetings or the workspace, but they can still follow the deadlines and make a game. In 2013, out of over thirty follow along sign ups, four successfully made a game during the allotted time. Workshops
Monthly workshops encourage them to learn new game development skills such as programming languages, 3d modelling, game design, etc. Volunteer led

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

s are about 2 hours long with a maximum of 20 participants. They are usually hosted on the 2nd last Thursday or Tuesday evening of the month. Previous workshops covered topics such as working with

Twine Twine is a strong Thread (yarn), thread, light String (structure), string or cord composed of string in which two or more thinner strands are twisted, and then twisted together (Plying, plied). The strands are plied in the opposite direction to ...

; an introduction to game design, 3D sculpting with ZBrush, 3ds max animation, programming with C#; and making a

dating sim Dating sims, also known as dating simulation games, are a video game subgenre of simulation games with romantic elements. While resembling the visual novel genre in presentation, true dating sims utilize an additional statistical and time manage ...

. Mentoring
Through the 1:1 mentorship program and socials, Pixelles helps women network to gain role models and career advice. One of the most successful events was a speed mentoring night where twenty professionals and twenty aspirants conducted round-robin interviews. The

mentorship Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

program connects aspiring and junior women in game development to experienced professionals. Mentors, who come from a network of experts from every discipline, are male and female. Mentors provide feedback on your portfolio, code, and/or CV while also discussing how to improve your chances in an increasingly competitive industry. Social Events * Picnic Socials *

Game Jam A game jam is an event where participants try to make a video game from scratch. Depending on the format, participants might work independently, or in teams. The event duration usually ranges from 24 to 72 hours. Participants are generally program ...

s Pixelles Petites
A future initiative of Pixelles which will be a coding camp for young girls.

Recognition

The organization's contributions have been recognized by CNet, has used IndieGoGo for fundraising initiatives, has been sponsored by the

International Game Developers Association The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorp ...

Foundation, and has been sponsored by Unity, and Square Enix and Edios to send the Pixelles Ensemble, a group of 25 women and genderqueer game developers from 8 countries, to

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...

References

External links

Official Website
* {{Twitter , PixellesMtl , Pixelles Women's organizations based in Canada Women and video games Organizations based in Montreal Women in computing Video game organizations 2011 establishments in Quebec

History

Activities

Recognition

See also

References

External links