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SOE G.I.R.L scholarship competition now accepting applications
Would $10,000 and a 10-week internship at SOE help you on your way to becoming a video game designer? If so, the sixth annual G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition may be just your ticket. This scholarship program, designed to encourage students toward career paths in the video gaming industry "with the ultimate goal of developing video games that are more interesting for women to play," is currently accepting applications. Interested applicants must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program related to video games, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and not graduate before spring 2014. Entrants must also be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the U.S. If you meet all of the criteria, you must apply online before 2:59 a.m. EST on March 30, 2013; however, earlier is better as only the first 3,000 e-applications will be accepted. That date is also the cutoff for submitting all required artwork (of either PlanetSide 2 or EverQuest II), captions, and the 500-word essay. See the official rules for complete details on entering the contest.
SOE names 2012 G.I.R.L. scholarship winner
Sony Online Entertainment's fifth annual G.I.R.L. scholarship officially has a winner. Quinne Larsen of Northridge, California, is the 2012 champ. The Gamers in Real Life initiative was created to encourage women to pursue careers in game design and development. Larsen was awarded a $10,000 scholarship to put toward college tuition, and she has also accepted a 10-week internship at SOE headquarters in San Diego. Competitors were asked to submit concept art based on SOE titles as well as an essay on women in the gaming industry. More info on the scholarship is available at SOE's official website. [Source: SOE press release]
SOE's fifth annual G.I.R.L. competition beckons to future game designers
Ladies and gentlemen, start your essay-writing engines! Sony Online Entertainment is sounding the call for this year's G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition and is now accepting applicants looking to win a $10,000 scholarship and a 10-week internship at SOE. The program, which is in its fifth year, is designed to promote and inspire female involvement in video game development by helping a talented student through undergraduate studies. Applicants have to currently be enrolled in a gaming-related program, have a 3.0 or higher GPA, be a resident of the US, and be 18 years old or older. If you meet all those standards and have a hankering to apply, you'll need to submit two pieces of original concept art "inspired by" PlanetSide 2 or EverQuest II, captions to go with the art, and a 500-word essay about women in the gaming industry. Applications are due by March 29th. SOE Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing Laura Naviaux hopes that this will be the biggest year ever for the scholarship: "Over the last few years, we have been nothing short of impressed with the hundreds of amazing submissions from talented students nationwide. Now in our fifth year, we can't wait to see the creativity that comes out of the G.I.R.L. program."
SOE awards 2011 G.I.R.L scholarship
Last February we told you about the opportunities to be had via Sony Online Entertainment's Gamers in Real Life scholarship program. The catch was that you had to be a girl -- no surprise given the title acronym -- and on track to graduating from a game-related undergrad program after the spring of 2012. Today SOE has announced the 2011 winner, and Alicia Crawford of La Quinta, California, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship and a 10-week paid internship at SOE headquarters in sunny San Diego. The G.I.R.L. program is in its fourth year and shows no signs of slowing down. "Supporting the education and careers of young artists drives our ever-evolving industry forward by adding fresh perspectives and new innovative ideas that help shape the future of games as we know them," said SOE VP Laura Naviaux via press release.
Sony Online Entertainment opens annual G.I.R.L. scholarship program
For the third year in a row, applications are being accepted for Sony Online Entertainment's G.I.R.L. Scholarship Program, a program created to help educate and recruit more women into the field of video game production and design. The G.I.R.L. scholarship awards the recipient $10,000 toward tuition at the school where she is currently enrolled, as well as an optional 10-week internship at a Sony Online Entertainment studio. Laura Naviaux of SOE says "Our goal is to continue to encourage and reward women who share our commitment and passion for developing cutting edge online games for all demographic groups." Any student who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate program related to video games may apply by the deadline of February 15th, and SOE will choose a winner on or around May 20th. Information on how to apply can be found here, and more information on the G.I.R.L. program can be found here. Best of luck to all who apply!
SOE announces scholarship winner
SOE's Gamers In Real Life (G.I.R.L.) program has found its first scholarship winner. Julia Brasil of San Francisco wins $10,000 scholarship, and a ten week internship at the SOE studio of her choice. The competition, announced last April, was designed to encourage women to enter the games industry. SOE has an interview with Ms. Brasil on the GIRL website, and they must have found it at least a little ironic that her current favorite MMO is not any SOE game, but Age of Conan. Brasil credited online games with teaching her English and helping with her puzzle-solving ability and abstract thinking. Big congrats to Brasil, and we're definitely hoping she goes on to make great games.[Via Gamesindustry.biz]
Women of the Agency
MTV Multiplayer's Tracey John sat down with the female members of SOE's The Agency team to talk about not only their upcoming MMO (which looks hot), but what it's like to work in what John calls a "male-dominated field." While it's true that much of the videogame market is still dominated by men, there has been quite a bit of inroads made in terms of female developers in the MMO genre-- DDO's Senior Producer Kate Paiz jumps to mind, but from NCSoft to Bioware to Linden Labs, there is now quite a bit of female representation on MMO and RPG development teams.Most of the talk centers around "G.I.R.L.," short for "gamers in real life," which is a program set up by Sony to "educate and recruit women in the videogame industry." They do say that they don't feel they've faced many challenges because of their gender, and considering that the gaming audience has changed quite a bit in the past few years, that's not really a surprise. But they have had to make a few woman-specific calls as developers, like making sure a female outfit in The Agency didn't show off a characters' bra line.Interesting read, if only to see how far women have come into the field of videogame development, and yet how much farther there is to go.
SOE announces G.I.R.L. scholarship program
We had the chance to hit up Sony Online Entertainment's soiree at GDC and were privy to their announcement about a scholarship program designed to educate and recruit women into the video game industry: the Gamers In Real Life (G.I.R.L. -- see what they did thar?) scholarship program offers a $10,000 tuition scholarship towards an education at any Art Institutes school where currently enrolled, plus a paid internship at one of SOE's studios in Austin, Denver, San Diego or Seattle. Applications will be accepted beginning April 1, 2008 and ending May 31, 2008, with winners announced on or about June 30, 2008. Entries will be judged by a panel of industry professionals at SOE. The event featured a Q&A session with some of SOE's female production and executive staff including Torrie Dorrell (SVP Global Sales and Marketing), Courtney Simmons (Director of Corporate Communications and PR), Sherry Floyd (Producer, SOE Seattle), Laura Naviaux (Director, Global Brand Marketing), Taina Rodriguez (Publicist), Tracey Seamster (Game Designer), and Heather Sowards (Media Producer). Hit up the gallery for pics of the event and some gratuitous screens from The Agency.%Gallery-16484%
