In celebration of Women’s History Month, Crystal Dynamics announced today that they’ve released the 2018 book Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play for free download.

Authored by Meagan Marie – Crystal Dynamics’ Director of Community & Social Media – the book was published by Prima Games shortly before the industry-mainstay closed its doors. Crystal Dynamics purchased the rights to the book to release it online as a free resource for industry hopefuls, and to inspire and encourage young women to set their sights on working in video games.

“It’s with great pleasure that we are releasing the book ‘Women in Gaming’, written by Crystal Dynamics’ employee Meagan Marie, to the public. We look forward to seeing how it inspires even more women to thrive at making great games throughout the industry. This is more than just a book to us, it’s a personal mission of our company. At Crystal Dynamics we are privileged to have women leaders and directors across the studio from creative development to technical, operational, and financial department roles. 

Many of the women on our team are doing incredible things like leading the production of our games, building our game heroes and enemy characters from the ground up, shaping the vision for our world art, directing our narratives, expanding our brands, planning our studio’s future roadmap and so much more. We are constantly inspired by their contributions and believe that they are essential to making Crystal Dynamics the place for all who love dedicating themselves to making great games with great people.”  

    – Scot Amos & Ron Rosenberg (Co-Heads of Studio, Crystal Dynamics) 

“Meagan Marie’s ‘Woman in Gaming’ is a smart, deep dive into inclusivity and equality. The topic is not only relevant to me but also to Crystal Dynamics, where these tenets are championed and promoted. These are inspiring stories that every woman in gaming or aspiring to be in games should read.”

    – Dionne Hubbard (Director of Human Resources, Crystal Dynamics)

Crystal Dynamics is also donating 200 physical copies to Girls Make Games to aid their efforts in supporting the next generation of game developers. 

Click this link to begin a PDF download (16MB) of Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play. We are working on additional downloads for your favorite E-readers.

WOMEN IN GAMING: 100 PROFESSIONALS OF PLAY 

Featuring intriguing interviews from 100 influential women in gaming, learn how women have played — and will continue to play — important roles in the burgeoning video game industry.

Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play is a celebration of women’s accomplishments in the video game industry, ranging from high-level executives to programmers to pro-gamers. This insightful and celebratory book highlights women who helped establish the industry, women who disrupt it, women who fight to diversify it, and young women who will someday lead it. Featuring household names and unsung heroes, each individual profiled plays an important role in the gaming industry.

A select few of the remarkable women featured in this book include:

• Ashly Burch: Emmy-winning writer and voice actress.
• Carol Shaw: Early industry programmer, designer, and Industry Icon award recipient.
• Tracy Fullerton: Designer & director of USC Game Innovation Lab.
• Emily Greer: Cofounder & CEO of Kongregate.
• Perrin Kaplan: Former vice president of marketing for Nintendo of America.
• Jane Ng: Senior game artist at Valve.
• Patricia Vance: Longtime ESRB president & founder of the International Age Rating Coalition.
• Karisma Williams: Xbox & Oculus VR Senior UI/UX Designer.
• Lorraine McLees: Art Lead at Bungie.
• Rebecca Heineman: Programmer and founding member of Interplay Productions.

KEY FEATURES

100 Professionals of Play: Interviews and Special Features with 100 diverse and prominent women highlighting their impact on the gaming industry in the fields of design, programming, animation, marketing, voiceover, and many more.

“A Day in the Life of” Features: An inside look at a typical day in the gaming industry across several vocations, including a streamer, a voice actor, and many more.

Pro Tips: Practical and anecdotal advice from industry professionals for young adults working toward a career in the video game industry.

Essays: Short essays covering various topics affecting women in gaming related careers, including “Difficult Women: The Importance of Female Characters Who Go Beyond Being Strong,” “NPC: On Being Unseen in the Game Dev Community,” and “Motherhood and Gaming: How Motherhood Can Help — Not Hurt — a Career.”