Our fifth #GirlsBehindTheGames spotlight is Katherine Riverwood! Katherine is a “one-dev army” at Prey Interactive: a studio “born with a belief that games can grow and expand in countless ways, and open new dimensions in terms of what and how we experience a game.” She’s developed six games so far, and strives to push the boundaries of genre conventions.
Be on the lookout for more #GirlsBehindTheGames spotlights as we approach International Women’s Day on March 8th!
Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi! I’m a 20-something young woman who lives in England. I am a one-dev army at my studio, Prey Interactive. I really hope to grow my studio and have big goals for the near future. I believe my unique ideas and drive allow me turn out some really ambitious games that challenge a lot of the status quo we see in the industry. I live with my partner and some of his family, I work crazy hours and love it, and have made great friends with developers of all shapes and sizes around the world.
For the past three years my main income has been from making games, and over time as I have learnt so much and grown as a human being, my work has improved as little dreams become realities! I began as a fashion student at college and decided I would create playable universes instead of clothes. I self-taught myself almost everything I know, and hope to one day give talks to help inspire others to make the change to video game development.
How did you get interested in video games? What are some of your favorites?
I have played video games since I was very young, with one of the earliest games I remember being Streets of Rage, Paper Boy and Croc. As I became a teenager and turned to computer gaming more, I was into Populus, SimCity and the Sims. My favourite game would be Bioshock 2, but the whole series is amazing to me: an honest creation that mixes story, style, and fun gameplay, with nothing getting lost between.
Minecraft, however, was a real turning point in my inspiration to make games, as I was spending countless hours remaking Infinite, so I thought: why not actually make my own games?
Did you always know you wanted to work with games?
I had ideas of working in the industry when I was younger. I remember looking on the shelves at PC World as a 10-12 year old at the game engines they were selling in boxes. I really wanted one but they were so expensive anyway, especially to a child. I’ve always been an observer, so when I have played games I’ve taken mental notes of what I would do differently, and caught sight of bugs that most wouldn’t.
What projects are you currently working on?
Spiritlands. A 4X tile-based city-builder whose closest comparison would be if SimCity and Civilization had a child.
In the game, you collect natural resources, explore and fight against barbarians, and set up workers to build up automatic production. The game is designed to be easy to play once you learn how to play it, and have lots of replay value as you can create different maps and decorate settlements differently.
What past projects are you most proud of?
Project Abyss was my third game of six. It came out in October 2016 and received quite a positive response. I took a lot that I had learnt and tried a new type of game that I was not seeing a lot of: submarines in 2D. The game is a side-scroller and the submarine has turbine physics-based controls. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun to spin around and fire torpedos. So much of the huge map for the game is destructible, such as rocks that contain lost treasures and doors to ruined ships that hide ammunition. You can also leave the submarine itself as the diver to explore, with a different set of weapons and skills, there is a lot to do. There are bosses and missions and areas to unlock, and a solid end goal that all takes a fair few hours to complete even if you try to speed-run it.
What’s that one (career) goal you continue to chase?
That one big release. The one that introduces a new genre or changes one. To make a game that gets me into the light and gives me the chance to keep making more games for the rest of my life.
If you could change one thing about the game industry, what would it be and why?
We need better spaces for developers and their games.
Steam is a good place to publish games and probably the best, but I would love to see an area where each studio can talk about themselves, list their games etc. I think in indie development, the people matter a lot and it would be good for players to see the people behind what they enjoy so that they can build trust in studios. A part of that better space would also include humans who would decide what gets on their platform from the concept stages. We need to stop the tide of asset-flippers and copy-cats who are flooding the markets.
What advice would you give to women who want to work in the game industry?
Don’t be afraid to embrace who you are. Don’t feel the need to become ‘one of the guys’ or to sit back in lesser roles. Seize every opportunity and show off what makes you unique not just as a woman but as a human being. If anyone holds you back, fight them. If anyone doubts you, prove them wrong. You will have to deal with lots of amateur developers posting nude drawings of women to try and stir controversy, and some men patronising you by assuming you have done less and know less then them.
The big tip is to rise above all of that and do you.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Diversity brings choice and more variances in content. People have different opinions, styles, and ideas based on who they are. More women, and more LGBT people, and more individuals will only help the industry be more inclusive and interesting. We have a platform as developers of the most interactive media in human existence. We should use that platform to share interactive and personal experiences, such as a family’s fight against cancer to a woman’s fight against a dark depression. We are seeing this increase more and more, but we are still very far from a diverse industry.
