Game Changers | Zoe Hobson, Runaway Play
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GamesIndustry.biz Game Changers is a series of profiles on the groups and individuals going the extra mile to make the games industry a better place. These interviews encompass folks from around the world helping to improve conditions and attitudes towards diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, mental health and more. You can read more Game Changers interviews here.
Zoe Hobson does a lot in her day-to-day life, covering many roles, including being a mother to two children and the CEO of Runaway Play, a studio that creates meaningful games aimed at making everyone more aware of the world around us.
The games industry has been around for decades but too often girls are forgotten, or even worse, excluded from the creation, enjoyment, and conversations around games. This imbalance has motivated many of Hobson's efforts over the years.
The prime example is her role in the creation of #girlsbehindthegames, a social media hashtag that encouraged companies to showcase the talented women on their teams or for individuals to speak about their accomplishments.
"We hoped to reach a couple people but instead we reached millions"
#Girlsbehindthegames achieved over five million tweet impressions around International Women's Day 2018 and continued to highlight women across the industry in the years that followed. Hobson tells GamesIndustry.biz she had no idea the campaign would become as big as it has.
"We thought… a couple retweets… that will be enough, you know? Maybe … hopefully it will reach a couple people that are thinking about getting into game dev.
"We were coming up on International Women's Day and thought it would be fun to do a thing on
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