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International Women's Day
We're back again this year celebrating International Women's Day 2025 by putting a virtual microphone to our team who identify as women or non-binary.
It's no secret that STEM, especially the video game industry, has notoriously been under represented by non-male staff. You might think, 'But Junkfish, didn't you do a blog last year?' Yes, we did, but we believe it's important to amplify the underrepresented voices of our industry whenever we can.
Name: Sara
Pronouns: She / Her
Title: Senior UI / UX Designer
Department: Art
Experience: Almost 6 years at Junkfish!
Company Experience
In the year since our last blog, did any of the changes you hoped for happen?
This is quite a tough question. I think given the current global political state, I haven't seen many impactful changes. On the other hand, if we look at Junkfish as a microcosm, I think the changes here are visible and tangible, and there is always a strong emphasis and diligence in making sure everyone can work and feel that they are safe, no matter their gender, orientation and background.
How has your experience working at Junkfish changed in the last year?
The last year has been quite intense! We've had many projects running simultaneously so it was a little bit hectic. I think, as a company, we are still maturing and learning how to best work together. I also think that everyone is greatly talented, easy to talk to and passionate about their job so I am sure that we will find ways to improve and do more awesome things together!
What’s one project or moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?
I am proud of the change in role I had within Junkfish. I am lucky to be in an open-minded company who invests in their employees. I shifted from 3D Environment Artist to UI / UX Designer and I learnt more about how to present games and how players interface themselves with them. I have a lot of fun doing so! I find that my work is more purposeful and fulfilling than before!
Industry and Representation
Since we last spoke, how has your experience in the industry been?*
In honesty, I have detached myself from the industry, in the way that I value a lot more my personal time and non industry-related hobbies. I mainly interact with my colleagues and friends game devs, but I think I am happy in this niche I found for myself. I am surrounded by inspiring and lovely people, which is all I need really! I think that finding a safe space is just as important as connecting with new people at the start of a career.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to women aspiring to join the industry?
I've always heard, when I was studying at university, to keep up with the trends and to keep learning - software, techniques, tools and so on. I can still find truth to this advice, but I'd like to add: find a pipeline or way that makes you efficent. If you can organise your research and structure your working process well, then you can achieve success faster!
How do you think the industry has improved in terms of diversity and inclusion, and where is there still work to do?
I think the industry is getting much better at acknowledging that these are real issues, but not so much at addressing them. There is still plenty of work to do in increasing diversity in workforce, improving representation in games, ending harassment at work... These things are still happening and there is a lot of work to do to change them. We are at a historical moment where equality is becoming more difficult and people in the goverment are looking at estranging minorities and diversity. These are tough times, but I think that individuals can do their best in their daily lives and support the people around them. This is probably where change can occur, in small doses, but progressively!
Casual Questions
What’s a game that had a big impact on you, either as a player or a developer?
I'm a big fan of Souls-like, particularly I love Dark Souls III! As a player, I have learnt that practicing is hard but rewarding. This can be applied to life, in the sense that persevering towards one goal will lead you closer and closer to it, until you eventually reach it! Don't give up!
If you could design any game without restrictions, what would it be about?
I would love to make a game with deep and emotional narrative, that questions what reality is and explores morality, either leaving the player with inspiration to face any challenge they might have in life or with a somber note of how complex and not always fair life can be, and to make the best out of what we have. I would make this game co-op because I love playing together!
Do you have a favourite gaming memory or experience you’d like to share?
I've been playing Dark Souls III with my friend and colleague Elly since we met at university. I think this is why that game is so dear to me, I have so many memories of nights spent figuring out how to defeat certain bosses, where to go next, marvelling at the cinematics and exulting after hard wins. We still play together, Elden Ring and soon Night Reign! I love that video games can create strong and lasting friendships!
Name: Eylül
Pronouns: She / Her
Title: UI / Generalist Programmer
Department: Code
Experience: 7 Years with 4 at Junkfish
Core Industry and Company Experience
What inspired you to work in the games industry?
I grew up with gaming basically, I started to watch my aunt play Tomb Raider II and then as soon as I get the controller into my small hands, I never put them down since. I always created stories in my head and interested in telling mine, so here I am, working in the industry.
What has been like to work at Junkfish?
I found myself here when I was at my rock bottom; unemployed for almost a year, facing rejection after rejection. I even thought about changing careers; maybe this wasn’t for me at all. Then, I saw this opportunity, and they saw potential in me. Since day one, I have felt so blessed to be a part of the industry. I really love my team and the culture here, and I hope to continue doing cool things.
What’s one project or moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?
When it was time to release our game Monstrum II, I felt immense joy. My friends, family, and our players were so excited to see the game, and watching people play on Twitch or at the EGX booths made all the effort worth it. Your work getting acknowledged, sharing the energy you poured into making it... It's priceless.
Industry and Representation
How has your experience in the industry changed over time?
I went from a starry-eyed, full-of-dreams person to a more battle-hardened one. Seeing the state of the industry decline with massive layoffs and fellow game devs struggling, sprinkled with a bit of fear for the future. Despite all these changes, I also see improvements, in technology and in the community. People are more tight-knit and helpful. I can say for sure that, whatever my title may be, I want to stay in the industry.
What are some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the games industry?
Bigotry, prejudice, constantly fighting for and proving your worth, it’s exhausting. But it’s all worth it as more women and allies join the cause and when you see the faces of those who doubted you.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to women aspiring to join the industry?
Hold onto your spite. Whatever your skill level, never stop drawing, writing, coding, and communicating. Go to local events and game jams, talk with people, and forge friendships. Check out the social media of the devs behind your favorite games, talk to them. Look for scholarships and initiatives for women and minorities in game development. Networking is a huge deal, even though it’s hard work, maybe even harder than solving math problems, but it’s all worth it. Be vocal. Be loud as hell!
Are there any female-led games or studios that have inspired you?
Yes! There's a studio called UNSEEN, led by Ikumi Nakamura. I was so inspired by her, seeing her work on my favorite IPs (Okami, Bayonetta, etc.), founding her own studio, collaborating with high-profile names, and even having a baby amidst all this craziness. It is incredibly hard work, but seeing that it’s possible made me believe in the future.
How do you think the industry has improved in terms of diversity and inclusion, and where is there still work to do?
I feel so thankful for the initiatives that helped me get to the place I am today. I got scholarships for conferences all over the world—Unite, Unity Hackweek, GDC etc. These moments shaped me and broadened my horizons. The industry has come a long way to get here, but the work is not finished. We need to be persistent and work hard on these terms. There will always be bright minds who loves games with no means to get educated and work in this industry, and we need to be more determined to find and uplift them with local communities, schools etc. especially in these trying times.
Casual questions
What’s a game that had a big impact on you, either as a player or a developer?
*Without a doubt, it's Devil May Cry. That game made me pursue this career path and start working on my art, story writing, world building and programming skills. When I saw DMC 4 on the cover of a magazine, watch the cutscenes religiously played the demo over and over again (could get the game months later) I realized it changed my life for good. Also got a chance to talk with Hideaki Itsuno and got a signed copy of DMC 5!
If you could design any game without restrictions, what would it be about?
*An action RPG with magical girls going on an adventure, either in an isekai or urban setting, but definitely a girl squad defending the love and beauty of this world. (Wink wink, Sailor Moon, anyone?)
Do you have a favourite gaming memory or experience you’d like to share?
*My favourite recent memory was spending hot summer nights playing the Elden Ring DLC with friends. I would set up my laptop on the balcony, connect to Discord, and game all night until I saw the sunrise.
Name: Sarah
Pronouns: She / Her
Title: Jr. Audio Designer
Department: Audio
Experience: 2 Years with 1 at Junkfish
Core Industry and Company Experience
What inspired you to work in the games industry?
When I left my teaching career behind I wanted to do something creative and work with likeminded people. The games industry called out to me like nothing else did.
What has been like to work at Junkfish?
Honestly it has been a breath of fresh air. I love working at Junkfish and being part of a team who are passionate about making games. I feel valued and that’s important. There are lots of strong women working at Junkfish who I get to look up to every day, and that’s awesome.
What’s one project or moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?
I’m fairly new to the industry but I’m proud of my contributions to our projects so far:
I feel proud to be co-leading our Mental Health and Accessibility ERG, where I organise internal events that shine a light on mental health and accessibility.
I’ve taken part in three audio panels and am lucky to have been an audio juror for the BAFTA Games Awards. Being part of the BAFTA judging process was pretty special!
Industry and Representation
What are some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the games industry (if any)?
I think being interviewed predominantly by men and seeing mostly men in senior positions can be frustrating. It makes you question your identity as being a barrier to success. This shouldn’t be something that holds people back but I think ultimately we gravitate to places where we feel a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, the games industry still has work to do to fix the gender gap.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to women aspiring to join the industry?
Don’t let anything hold you back!
Are there any female-led games or studios that have inspired you?
I’m privileged to have met many inspiring women who work in the games industry. Studios such as Sound Cuts, and Silver Script Games, are great examples.
How do you think the industry has improved in terms of diversity and inclusion, and where is there still work to do?
I think there is more awareness but awareness doesn’t equate with action. There are some great initiatives out there such as Limit Break, which mentor underrepresented people coming into the industry. However, the games industry still has a lot of work to do in terms of diversity and inclusion.
Casual questions
What’s a game that had a big impact on you, either as a player or a developer?
It’s hard to pick just one game to talk about! But I think Stardew Valley has a special place in my heart. It has been a source of comfort and escapism for me when I needed it.
If you could design any game without restrictions, what would it be about?
I’d love to design my own metroidvania with a strong sci-fi theme! It would have a ginormous map for lots of exploring, secrets and easter eggs. And of course it would need some gnarly audio to go with it.
Do you have a favourite gaming memory or experience you’d like to share?
When I was looking for an in-house role I was playing Celeste at the time. Every time I got knocked back I kept going; eventually reaching the top of the mountain. It echoed my real life experience before landing my role here at Junkfish!
Name: Eva
Pronouns: She / Her
Title: Game Designer
Department: Design
Experience: 4 Years, almost 3 at Junkfish
Company Experience
In the year since our last blog, did any of the changes you hoped for happen?
Firstly, I'm happy to say that at JF, we've continued to champion diversity both in our hiring process and how we analyse, review, and improve the content of our games.
I'm not sure that I can say the same for the industry at large, however. With intolerance and revanchism on the rise across the globe, I fear that we won't see an improvement anytime soon either. Those opposed to equity only grow more empowered as discrimination becomes more publicly acceptable.
How has your experience working at Junkfish changed in the last year?
We've made further improvements to communication between different levels of hierarchy as well as between different departments. We continue to foster soft and leadership skills and refine our pipeline from prototyping to production.
What’s one project or moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?
Building a solid prototype for a very complex game with a core team of two people.
Industry and Representation
Since we last spoke, how has your experience in the industry been?*
Nothing's really changed in that regard – my personal experience is still a positive one. I've been afforded opportunity for learning, growth, and exploration, and both my peers and my managers treat me with openness and respect.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to women aspiring to join the industry?
Oh, that's difficult. Everyone has such different backgrounds, personalities, predispositions... I feel very unsure giving generalised advice! If I had to, though, I'd say 'go for it' – whatever 'it' happens to be for you at the time (proposal, raise, role, etc.).
There's a much higher chance of attaining your goal if you actively ask for it, as opposed to keeping quiet. That said, I absolutely understand that this requires a certain degree of security, safety, and trust in your working environment, and unfortunately not all of us have that.
Are there any female-led games or studios that have inspired you?
For digital games, Anna Anthropy (I've yet to read her and Clark's design book but it's on my (very long) list, I swear!). For board/tabletop games, Brenda Romero, and Meguey Baker (of Powered by the Apocalypse fame).
An extra shoutout to Adrienne Shaw and Mia Consalvo (and many others!) who are doing awesome work in game studies and research.
How do you think the industry has improved in terms of diversity and inclusion, and where is there still work to do?
Where there's genuine interest and dedication to equity from the top down, matters have surely improved – that is to say, in individual studios where both developers and managers are interested in fomenting a positive cultural change.
As an industry, I don't think we've gotten much better, and the cynical part of me doesn't believe we soon will. As long as we labour under the structures of capitalism, these issues will persist, because the system is unsuited to and uninterested in human wellbeing.
Casual Questions
What’s a game that had a big impact on you, either as a player or a developer?
So many, it'd be really hard to pick just one! Knights of the Old Republic II definitely made a big impression on my young mind, back in the day (its many bugs and cut content notwithstanding) – mainly for its interesting lens on an established setting, and the non-standard arc of the protagonist.
The systemic and level design of the Dishonored series and Prey (2017) are also a huge inspiration. On the non-digital side, the Blades in the Dark SRD is also among my favourites for its fiction-first focus and elegant obstacle resolution system.
If you could design any game without restrictions, what would it be about?
The Revolution, and how we might imagine a world beyond the cruel limits of of our current one.
Do you have a favourite gaming memory or experience you’d like to share?
Shenanigans with my in-person tabletop group. We've been playing this campaign for... wow, six years now, so there's plenty of those!
The wildest one is probably that one time where the group were bored, poked around an ancient library, broke any number of powerful magical seals, and proceeded to release the chained-holy-book-that-is-also-a-pantheon-gestalt. It is currently razing the world (only a little bit tho), but we've recently established something of a truce with it. Good times!
Name: Jade
Pronouns: She / Her
Title: Audio Designer
Department: Audio
Experience: 4 Years with 2 months at Junkfish!
Core Industry and Company Experience
What inspired you to work in the games industry?
I was inspired to work in the gaming industry as I have always played games when I was younger, and used to game with my dad a lot. When I realised I could work in games, being my favourite media platform, I was excited to be able to bring the joy and immersion i feel when playing games to others.
What has been like to work at Junkfish?
I have been at Junkfish for two months now, and so far it has been a great experience! I have been able to express my thoughts and opinions openly within my team. Along with working with hardworking talented individuals. I have been able to be really creative with my work so far, and i get to be able to explore the creative ideas i have with ownership of my work!
I also really respect how Junkfish has a Women's ERG group, along with other diversity groups. This is a safe space to able to bring up certain topics or just have a coffee catch up!
Finally, the menstrual leave policy. I have never worked in a company implementing something like this before, and being understanding to bodies with a uterus and how it can effect us is such a positive experience!
What’s one project or moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?
There are many different smaller moments in game development that I have been really proud of; as for the first time i completed a 2 minute audio piece to industry standard, or being able to give advice and help other colleagues with audio.
I'm not entirely sure how to determine pride in game development, as I try to take pride in the work I do in games as much as possible. When you are constantly making iterations its good to be proud of how you are changing and improving. However, when I saw my name on a games credits for the first time I felt a huge feeling of affirmation.
Industry and Representation
How has your experience in the industry changed over time?
I have seen the games industry change a bit in my time from starting my journey both audio and the gaming industry. Audio itself has been quite a male dominated industry, and slowly seeing more women getting into audio, and more specifically audio for games has been great to see!
I think unacceptable behaviour in the industry is being called out on more, and it seems that sexual harassment and other discrimination issues are less than they used to be, however there is still quite a long way to go with this.
I have also seen more women getting into game development in general. There are more talks at schools, colleges and university about how the gaming industry is a viable career for anyone who is interested in it, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, is a positive step!
One big issue is all the layoffs, its disheartening and upsetting to see, and I think could put off younger or less finally secure individuals off joining the gaming industry.
What are some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the games industry (if any)?
I personally have been quite lucky in my experience in the gaming industry. I have had kind mentors and mangers, and people have always been open to talking with me and not talking down to me. Generally the audio and game dev teams I've worked in have been lovely.
I have unfortunately witnessed women and female bodied individuals going through difficulties in the work place, either from harassment, being spoken over or being discriminated for needing to take time off due to menstrual related reasons. Also being a women seeing this happening but not having any power to stop it was upsetting to say the least!
What’s one piece of advice you would give to women aspiring to join the industry?
To not let the fact you may be in the minority in terms of the gaming industry stop you! Its becoming more and more diverse, and having different voices being able to speak and give their opinions will only help the gaming industry strive!
Are there any female-led games or studios that have inspired you?
I remember playing Life Is Strange 1 when it came out and before then I had never felt so represented in a game before. Having the two main characters being young adult females starting her journey in college with the drama and chaos which goes along with this, was really refreshing for me at the time.
Before then, aside from games not featuring people, I was mostly surrounded by AAA games that were male orientated or the main characters were male. I still follow their games to this day, and I really respect the diversity they have in represented in their games.
How do you think the industry has improved in terms of diversity and inclusion, and where is there still work to do?
I feel like games have become more mainstream in general, along with games becoming more diverse and accessible to different audiences over the years. This has opened the door to more people to be able to work in the games industry that may have not been before. I have also seen, over my time in the games industry, more women in leadership positions, though I would still like to see more of this as it can be lacking.
Upper management in larger studios can be an issue, and certainly be a 'boys club' where your voice is only heard or you can only get a promotion due to who your friends with and not your work. I would like to see more people being represented for their work rather than who they are friends with, or who they go drinking with. Id also like to see more game devs being known for not their title, gender, ethnicity. I'd like to be seen as an audio designer or game developer, not a women in games specifically, as my work speaks for what I like to do.
Casual questions
What’s a game that had a big impact on you, either as a player or a developer?
The first game I did an audio re-design to was The Walking Dead telltale game, and its definitely had the biggest impact on me! This was one of the first story driven games I played, and I completely fell in love with narrative based games after this. I loved the emotion that was in the games and loved the characters and playing there stories.
Doing the sound re-design of this game, when I was in an audio studio for the first time destroying watermelons and making zombie noises with my friends, is when I realised I could do this for my career! It was a great moment one I will never forget.
If you could design any game without restrictions, what would it be about?
I think I would make a game similar to animal crossing, where you could go to any different island which you could design and style to different themes (think a metropolitan city, a volcanic island, a frozen mountain, a spooky horror island!), with really in-depth friendship mechanics and a super expanded dialogue and personality system!
I'd love to make friends with villagers over time, some starting out grumpy (or rude) to the player, and warming up to you, lots of expanded dialogue, fun features and more mini games related to the island you pick!
Do you have a favourite gaming memory or experience you’d like to share?
One of my favourite memories is playing final fantasy 10 for the first time with my partner. I had never played a final fantasy game before, and playing it with them was such a fun experience, and gave me a new addiction which was the final fantasy series!
As always, a special thank you to all of our staff who took time out of their day to take part in this interview!
Did you know that out of 7 leads at Junkfish 4 identify as women, and 1 female Senior Manager out of a possible 5? While there are areas of improvement, we are moving in the right direction.
Seeing more women at Leads and higher levels within the industry can help close the gender pay gap and provide a more rounded discussion when it comes to our games, after all, the more professional and life knowledge from our collective different experiences can give a lot more nuance than working in a silo.
As always, a special thank you to all of our staff who took time out of their day to take part in this interview!