The Game Development Award

Game Development Award

Game Development is often forgotten when we think of women in tech – there are some awesome game devs out there – nominate them to get them some recognition for their hard work!

Entry Criteria

Criteria for the Game Development category:

– Nominee works in Game Development

Successful nominations should detail but not be limited to the following:

– Examples of work the nominee has worked on
– What makes them stand out from others in the Games Industry
– Anything else notable that the judges might be interested in

2022 Winner

Becky Lavender

Becky is an outstanding game developer whose enthusiasm, creativity, excellent attitude and attention to detail make her a superb team member. She was a fundamental part of the development team that created Lost Words: Beyond the Page, a multi-award winning game from Colchester based Sketchbook Games. She worked as an ‘Incredible Engineer’ on Yooka-Laylee, and was only partially responsible for choosing the job title herself! Before that she was a programmer on Godus at Peter Molyneux’s 22Cans. Becky also created a procedural generator of Zelda-style dungeons which used new techniques involving generative grammars. The work was published and presented at several research conferences including Foundations of Digital Games 2015 in California. In the same year she graduated with a first in Computer Games Programming (BSc) from the University of Derby. Becky always brings a high level of energy and commitment to any task and is always focused on ensuring she is making the best possible game she can. Her practical approach helps her find the best solution to any given problem. Becky also has a strong social conscience and is interested in using games for good. Lost Words won two Games 4 Change awards for Most Innovative and Best Gameplay, and was also nominated for an IGF award and two SXSW awards for Cultural Innovation and the Indie Game of the Year. Becky worked on creating her own series of apps and games designed to help with mental health, as well as on Sketchbook Games’ new project, which looks at the topic of anxiety. As well as being a brilliant programmer, Becky also has an excellent design sense and also helped with the design writing of the narrative on the new game. She is now working with Netspeak Games on an exciting but as yet unannounced project! Becky is an excellent role model for young girls aspiring to get into game development and so we think that she deserves the spotlight of receiving the DevelopHER Game Development Award.

2022 Finalist

Joanna Haslam

2022 Finalist

Amanda Harris