The Cambridge women ‘crushing’ stereotypes in video game development

When Laurie, 32, was a teenager, women playing video games was not widely accepted.

It was that fact that drove her to teaching games development.

“I am encouraging my students to think about things like accessibility and making sure they are as inclusive in their design as they can be,” she says.

“I hope those things will then carry forward into their future roles – always trying to look out for people that can’t access things as easily as they’ve been able to.”

Speaking about when she first started seven years ago, she acknowledges “it was a bit daunting being the only female lecturer”.

But she credits the supportive team around her for helping her find her way.

Now her students develop games for the Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation.

For her, seeing more females in her classes is a really positive thing.

“You know, not being scared of going into tech industries like games, like coding, like computer science, and slowly I hope to see those numbers continue to grow over time.

“In the past, women didn’t have as much input. That’s how it felt.

“But that scope is starting to change.”