Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Betsy Abendroth, Director of PR at Devsisters USA, INC. Betsy tells us how the Cookie Run game series has been created to reach a diverse audience and how PR evolved throughout the years. Read more about Betsy in this interview:

Hi Betsy! How did you decide to move into games after 16 years of working in the film industry?

I have been interested in the gaming industry for over a decade. My passion for film is never ending, but I have always been excited about how players connect with games and form passionate communities around them. I am also an avid mobile gamer and paid close attention to the marketing and PR side of the industry. I noticed many similarities between film and video games, which made me realize I could leverage my experience in this new field.

Previously, I worked at Pixar Animation Studios during Covid and was laid off in January 2021. I was given a generous runway to think about my next move, which was a perfect time to revisit my interest in the gaming industry. Also, it was paramount that I work for a company that aligned with my core values at this point in my career.

When I applied for the job at Devsisters, USA, there wasn’t a lot of information about the company (we run like a start-up within a larger company) online. Still, after my first call with HR, I knew that there was something special about this opportunity. I had never worked in a “start-up” environment before, but I knew that there would be tremendous room for growth which was exciting.

Since I started, I have been able to utilize my experience in the film industry in thoughtful and impactful campaigns and have been able to collaborate across all departments. Though we are a small team, we can move mountains when we all work together, and at the end of the day, that’s a pretty good place to be.

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Cristina Neamtu, Head of Studio at AMC RO. A studio that provides digital art creation, content solutions and technical tools for the games industry. She speaks about the importance of culture, strategy and servant leadership.

Hi Cristina! How would you describe the game culture in Romania?

Hi! In my opinion, Romania is the top emerging Europe location for game development after Poland, and the industry’s turnover has been steadily growing. In recent years, Romania has become a real hub for game companies, and the business successes enjoyed by the sector leaders (Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Gameloft) have led to several smaller studios raising growth capital. So I think at the moment, it is relatively easy to raise capital for new companies, even those only working on their first title. There is a robust network in Romania doing its best to make things happen, and there are a couple of active associations putting together the gamedev ecosystem’s efforts to promote the industry, such as the Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA) and Women in Games Romania.

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Franzisca Tonelli, Assistant Producer & Unity VR Developer at BigRock Institute of Magic Technologies. BigRock is teaching new artists techniques for creating 3D animations, digital illustrations, visual effects, as well as music for film, TV, and video games. Franzisca speaks about the power of spreadsheets and teamwork. Read more about her in this interview:

Hi Franzisca! What do you love most about VR game productions?

Production has been with me for as long as I can remember. Tracking tasks and making sure everything is on the streamline makes me feel as if I am one with the force. But the thing I love most about VR game productions, besides the projects themselves, is working with others – bringing in a bunch of people, getting organised, and getting aligned around a common goal, it’s the recipe for amazing things in my opinion. And also the fact that I feel like a paladin bringing order into chaos with my spreadsheets!

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Marina Hahn, Founder & Managing Director at Black Cave Entertainment. She shares insights on switching industries and starting up an independent games studio. Read more about Marina in this interview:

Hi Marina! Why did you decide to move into a different industry, then return to gaming by founding your own studio?

After my first job in the games industry, I didn’t find the right studio in Germany where I could work on projects that excited me. So I temporarily switched to architectural visualization, where I could work on realistic highpoly scans of people as a project manager. Nevertheless, I always wanted to return to the games industry and with my colleagues at that time and now, I found the right people to realize my dream of having my own company to develop the games that I, or rather all of us, would like to play ourselves. Therefore, our game “inAntrum” has a stylized 3D graphic style with focus on action-adventure and RPG mechanics.

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Gemma Johnson-Brown, Ambassador Director at Women in Games & COO at Dovetail Games. She speaks about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the games industry. Read more about Gemma in this interview:

Hi Gemma! What are your main responsibilities as a Women in Games Board Member?

My role is very varied and a volunteer position – as a co-director I assist with forming the strategic direction of the organisation and supporting our CEO Marie-Claire with Women in Games being a global non-profit global organisation. I lead the individual ambassador initiative, a network of people from around the world who are ambassadors of Women in Games. They speak to our mission in their areas, running events, in schools and workplaces, supporting the community and generally being positive influences and having an impact on the games industry. When I joined the board in 2016, we had around 60 ambassadors, today we are over 780. At the start of 2022, our ambassador coordinator, Mafalda Duarte, joined, and she now manages the day-to-day of the initiative.

I have found that in smaller organisations you tend to have many different responsibilities and tasks that are wide ranging, it can be very hands-on from moderating at the events to meeting with partners and sponsors. This is great for learning quickly and for those that have a can-do mindset. While the organisational structure is small in size (we have a small team of consultants, freelancers, and volunteers), we have big ambitions for the future.