GDC 13: Women in Gaming Awards honours developers

The Women in Gaming session at GDC 2013 has honoured four prominent women developers with awards for their services to the industry.

The Rising Star accolade went to Schell Games designer Heidi McDonald, who pipped fellow promising developers Anna Tito from Kixeye, Adorkable Games’ Ashley Zeldin and ShufflePix game creator Shinji Kim to the prize.

The Innovator Award meanwhile went to Perfect Plum game designer Heather Kelley for demonstrating “breakthrough innovation in her work”.

The Ambassador Award, which recognises a woman who has helped advance the game industry and make it a better sector for developers to be part of, went to game designer and author Jane McGonigal.

The Lifetime Achievement award went to Brenda Romero, who was recognised for making significant contributions to the game industry throughout her entire career.

Romero’s award came a day after an impassioned GDC session in which Romero, among a panel of other women developers and industry professionals, was greeted with a standing ovation for a discussion about bringing women into gaming and the challenges they face.

The awards show was preceded by a women in gaming panel featuring Felicia Day, Anna Kipniss, Robin Hunicke, Kiki Wolfkill, Jane McGonigal and Colleen Macklin tackling gender stereotypes in the industry. You can read all about the session here.

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