Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka
Interview
Interview by
GeekWoman
|
Here's an
interview with Suzanne Freyjadis-Chuberka, who is the
Conference Director for the Women's Game
Conference. Suzanne is a super busy lady and we are
grateful that she could take a moment to virtually sit
down with Geek Woman for this interview.
I know that so many
of us are salivating and envious because we might not
get the chance to go to the Women's Game Conference. I
thought that I would get us all the next best thing.
Geek Woman: What
is your title with the Women's Game Conference ?
Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Conference
Director Geek Woman: What
does your job entail?
Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: I am responsible for
creating the content for the conference. Creating
the panels as well as organizing the
speakers. Geek Woman: Is there a
message, or a mission that you feel strongly about with
this conference that you want all the women gamers out
there to know?
Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Yes. Game playing
is for everyone. There is a system in place that
may make the women who play games feel excluded or not
wanted, but these women should know that there are
a large number of women who play and many of
the men are happy to have women
play. My
mission is to change the way the video game
industry perceives itself. There is no reason for this
to be simply toys for boys. There is adequate room
for growth in the industry in all areas, not just game
design, but also in ads and magazines. This is one
reason that the Internet is an important source for
information for women. When women are turned off by
the ads or the magazines, they can find a place on
the Internet where they feel
comfortable. Geek Woman: What
was your motivation for creating this
event? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: I did not create this event.
I am simply continuing an event that was created by a
group of forward thinking and hard working women in
the games industry. Geek
Woman: Do you know how long it has been
running? Are these women still involved at the
conference, and can you tell us who they
are?Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: This is the conferences
second year, and it has changed
leadership. Geek
Woman: There seems to be a conflagration of
game related networking in Austin TX?Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Austin was chosen because of
the strong network of game industry professionals in
this area. Geek Woman: Do
you think that having a women's game conference in a Red
State will have an effect on the moral values that will
be reflected in gaming going forward?Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: This conference
is about progress. The people speaking at this
conference are all interested in women making progress
in the games industry as players and as employees.
Also, one of the reasons that so many game
companies are in Austin is due to the fact that Austin
is a wonderfully creative and progressive
environment when talent can be
nurtured. Geek Woman: How
long have you been running this
event? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: This is the
first time I have run this
event. Geek Woman: Is
the staff mostly women? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: There are 3 women and 2
men. Geek Woman: Are
you a gamer yourself? Do you belong to any clans or
Guilds? Do you play mostly with women or
men?Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: I am a game player.
I belong to the Arcane Brotherhood in WOW and I
play other RPG titles. Geek
Woman: So I guess the "Brotherhood" isn't
all guys then? LOL Have you ever had any of the horror
stories happen to you while playing online games with or
against men? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: I have not as an adult
experienced any prejudice. However, when I was a kid I
was excluded from the boys when I wanted to learn
more about programming in BASIC. I have found that the
men I chose to spend my time with are all supportive of
women as gamers. I also think that this is a really
important point. There are definitely a lot of male
gamers who are hostile to women as players. Just
because I have not experienced this, does not
mean that I am not aware of its existence. I just chose
to stay away from arenas that I perceive as hostile.
This is one of the reasons I play WOW and is also at the
core of my research. Geek
Woman: What are your favorite
games? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Right now I am still
all about WOW. Geek Woman: How
many people do you think will
attend? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Approximately
200 Geek Woman: Does
this conference compare to E3 in any
way? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: The focus of this
conference is to get the industry to understand
that women are both valuable in the work force as well
as consumers. Geek
Woman: Is this conference being taken
seriously by the industry? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Yes. There are
many powerful women in the industry who will be
participating in this conference.Geek
Woman: Can you estimate the numbers of
women vs men that signed up last year?
Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: Probably 80%
female. Geek Woman: Why
do you think that women and gaming is such a popular
topic in 2005? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: I think that the
industry is finally starting to recognize the
importance of women as a potential source of revenue. In
order for the game industry to grow their business they
will need to reach out to women who would play if
they were aware of the products available to
them. Geek Woman: What
are the hopes or goals for this years'
event? Suzanne
Freyjadis-Chuberka: The goals for this
years conference are to highlight the importance of
women as consumers of games with a focus on marketing,
draw attention to the contributions women bring to the
game industry workforce, and to create an
environment conducive to
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