My Favourite Game (Ada Lovelace Day 2010)

Last year for Ada lovelace day, I wrote about Marissa Meyer, Google's Vice President, Search Products and User Experience. This year I thought I'd fine another woman high up in a company I love - Apple. But I was to be disappointed, there are no female executives at Apple. There is one on the Board of Directors - Andrea Jung, but her role seems more Business than Tech (so sorry Andrea, you don't count for Ada Lovelace). So what are my other loves ? Let's talk games...

For me, the best kind of games are simulations. Sim City in it's various versions has consumed months of my life. I have worried about whether my citizens would have enough water, and whether they'd mind if I sacrificed their beloved roads in favour of a decent education for their children. In fact, despite not having played it for years I would still classify it as "my favourite game" because it was so influential on me.

I was delighted to discover that the producer behind the latest versions of Sim City, and the Sims and SPORE (a entire life modeller) is a woman. So this year for Ada Lovelace Day I have chosen Lucy Bradshaw, Executive Producer at Electronic Arts.


Here's her summary biog (2008) from 50 Top Women in Technology

"When people say “Get a life” these days, they may be talking about a virtual version—most notably the video games that enable you to simulate your own societies and your own virtual persons to populate them. Charged with developing a sequel to the most popular digital dollhouse for adults, Bradshaw knocked the pixelated ball out of the park: The Sims 2, on which she was executive producer, was one of the top-selling PC games of 2005 and 2006. She has also watched over the releases of SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4. The series continues to be among the industry’s most lucrative franchises, with the Sim titles alone accounting for more than $1 billion in sales. Bradshaw worked for Activision and LucasArts before joining Maxis after it was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. These days she’s teamed up with Sims creator Will Wright on Spore, an epic game modeled on the evolution of life. —BAP"

An interview with EA Maxis’ Lucy Bradshaw on the making of Spore

In honour of Lucy, and Ada Lovelace, I downloaded SPORE for my iPhone last night and spent a while helping my little blog evolve in the primordial ooze.

Well done Lucy, not only for the great games that you help produce, but for being a glamourous women high up in your male-dominated profession.