To celebrate Women's History Month, Google Play reached out to numerous senior-level directors and designers to discuss how they started – and found success – as women in the mobile games industry. Among those interviewed was Camilla Avellar, game designer at Supercell, who believes that the key to creating world-class games is a team that brings "different ideas and experiences" to the table.
Avellar is currently the game designer for Hay Day – a wildly popular mobile game with more than 100 million installs on Google Play alone. Before joining the team, Avellar was an avid Hay Day player. Landing the game designer role at Supercell was an incredible moment for the designer, and she revealed as much during her recent interview.
"I started playing Hay Day way before I joined Supercell, and it felt like a warm hug," Avellar explained. "It felt like games I played and loved growing up, and I dreamed of one day working on something like that. Now I get to contribute to improving the game and a genre that’s really special to me."
During the discussion with Google, she also brought up one of the keys to crafting a brilliant game – diversity. As a woman in the games industry, Avellar mentioned that she often brings a different perspective to the team.
"Entertainment helps shape a person’s unique perspective, and a lot of the stuff I enjoyed growing up was targeted towards girls. This has allowed me to draw on different references and thought processes than many people who work in games. I believe that having people from different backgrounds, genders, and mindsets – all with different ideas and experiences – can enrich a team and expand its horizon."
That sentiment is echoed by Lauren Luke, senior director of business development of Kabam, and Nao Udagawa, managing director of Bandai Namco. Udagawa said Bandai Namco holds "gender equality in high respect," and that it's important to "champion an environment where employees can utilize their talent, without worrying about how their work style is impacting their career path." As for Luke, she believes it's key to enter the industry with "an open mind and a commitment to growth."
"By approaching these situations with the mindset that I will learn and develop, and be the better for it, I'm reminded of why I love games. Games place us into unknown and unfamiliar environments, and we keep trying until we get it right. There’s no doubt that sometimes my career seems like an extraordinary game."