#PlayAs1: Sarah Dahl, The Sims
EA Staff
2013-03-03
Women in the gaming industry have varying experiences in the workplace, and as the #1ReasonWhy Twitter hashtag demonstrated, many were unfortunately less than empowering. Here at EA we want to help change this story by writing a new one. Leading into the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2013 that will take place in San Francisco from March 25-29, the EA Diversity & Inclusion team will be sharing stories from women working in the industry.
This week, Sarah Dahl from The Sims 3 team shares her story:
“I never imagined that I’d have the opportunity to work in the gaming industry. Considering it’s a male dominated industry I was unsure of how I would fit into the culture. I soon realized how wrong I was. The amount of talent and creativity circulating through the studio was tangible, both among men and women. Each person was so gifted and contributed in a different way. I thought, “How am I going to be able to contribute? What can I offer?”
Little did I know the journey I would take working on The Sims 3 franchise. I learned a lot as I worked on finding the bugs that would affect the users, while also trying to make it the best gaming experience I could. I began to develop a love for the product, and for the people we were working for. Using the Sims, I worked on my own Sims Story and posted it on my personal blog for the community to see. I became involved with the community and connected to the people we were building the games for. With the love and understanding I had developed for our players, I was able to give my feedback to the developers and help them create a game that would be entertaining to the wonderful people I had met. I felt like I was able to take my compassion as a woman, and my understanding of our fans to our game and make it something they would love.
Working in this industry has taught me to be proud of who I am as a woman, and contribute to an incredible industry with a unique point of view.”
What would you do if you were in her shoes? Answer the question “What unique perspective would I offer to a game?” on Twitter with the hashtag #PlayAs1 for our Diversity & Inclusion team to read. The first 5 people to tell us their stories will receive a copy of The Sims 3, and everyone who answers with the hashtag by March 29 will be entered to win the grand prize of an EA Swag Pack!
Interested in working at EA? Share your information with us here so we can reach out to you, and also check out https://jobs.ea.com/ to see what we currently have available!”
