A new non-profit organization has been founded in the UK called Girls’ Game Lab. It’s designed to host workshops and classes exclusively for girls ages 8-12 to teach the basics of coding, game design, and production.
Girls’ Game Lab was founded by veteran game designer Caoimhe Roddy (Producer, Chucklefish) along with producers Rachael Gregg-Smythe (Producer, PlayStation and Regional Coordinator, Women in Games), and Lucy Smith (Designer and co-founder, Women Making Games).
“When we were kids, we didn’t even know it was possible that making games could be our actual jobs,” said Roddy. “There were no workshops, or any guidance whatsoever at school for this sort of career, especially for young girls. With Girls’ Game Lab, we want to show this next generation of girls that they can be the next prominent game designer, and build a career out of something they’re truly passionate about.”
The first planned workshop event will take place on August 3 at Playground Games’ studio in St Albans House. The four hour workshop will include building levels, animating and programming characters using Stencyl, and showcasing local developers’ games. Girls’ Games Lab has partnered with several game studios across the UK, including No More Robots and Playground Games.
Girls’ Game Lab is based in the UK. For a US-based girls-centric workshop, check out Girls Make Games, which has actively been running workshops around the United States for the last five years.
