
Faced with change, an all-female indie dev team evolves to a higher form (2013) - hnal943
http://the-magazine.org/14/choose-your-character
======
dgreensp
_I’m certain that if I had children, I would be failing at my job._

 _I’ve hit my 30s, a period when it seems as if all of my friends suddenly
have kids. That’s a priority shift completely incompatible with my goals.
Startups require that you give it all or go home, routinely requiring long
nights, longer weekends, and blood and toil. If you aren’t willing to put in
the hours, eager replacements are standing behind you. If I fail, the women I
work with will be out of their jobs._

It's this fearful attitude, lurking in the minds of bosses and employees, that
is the problem facing women in the workplace who want to have children, more
than anything else. (For example, I put it at the root of poor leave
policies.) It's called sexism when it comes from a man, but here (from a
female boss) it's clear it's just culture (American culture?).

I just had my first kid, and my wife had to go back to work at six weeks. I'm
a software engineer, and she's a medical device rep in trauma. Unlike me, she
can't work from home, she carries a pager, and she can't choose her work hours
or reduce them. She wasn't itching to go back to work either; she loved being
at home with the new baby. However, you do what you have to do. Some new moms
do quit their jobs, especially if they weren't making much more than they'd
save on childcare by staying at home, or if it was a crappy work environment
or an unfulfilling role anyway. However, for many, it's not an option not to
work, and being a software developer is actually a pretty cushy gig that I
would wish on moms everywhere.

If you're afraid for yourself or someone else of having kids, go out and talk
to some power moms.

~~~
ori_b
As a man, I feel like if I took on kids, I wouldn't have the time to work on
what I value and still do a good job of raising them. And that's with a
stable, 9 to 5 job at a big company along with side projects.

If I were working at a startup, where every deadline slip significantly
affects the viability of the company, I would probably feel like I didn't have
time for children and my startup.

It doesn't have to be about sexism. Children are hugely expensive, and take a
large chunk out of your life. Not everyone is willing or able to pay that
price.

~~~
je42
Uhm. I know at least three farthers that got kids right when their startup was
less than 3 years old...

After having kids, you actually value your work time more. I have f.e. an
almost strict 8 hour window. Hence, I try to make every minute count.

~~~
makomk
It may be easier for you to convince other people of that as a father than it
would be if you were a mother, unfortunately. I've seen complaints before
(admittedly, in other industries and academia) about fatherhood being seen as
something that enhances men's ability to do their job and motherhood a thing
that distracts women from theirs.

------
mikeleeorg
I'm pleasantly surprised the comments here aren't overly caustic.

And I really liked this article. As an entrepreneur who has structured my life
around my family (i.e. work from home, flexible hours), I can empathize with
Brianna and Amanda's points of views. The entrepreneur in me is obsessed with
development and deadlines and shipping. The father in me is obsessed with
spending time with my daughter. There are times when both are at odds, and
while I like to say I always make the right decision, I don't. It's a tough
struggle. And it's a struggle I am very conscious of, because I have
competitors who don't have or want to deal with similar constraints.

But honestly, I often think these constraints make me a better entrepreneur
than I used to be, because I am forced to be strict about my priorities and
time. If something is a waste of time, I don't give it a second glance and
move on to something else (HN notwithstanding, ahem).

------
up_and_up
> I’m certain that if I had children, I would be failing at my job.

Quality not quantity.

I work as an engineer for an NYC startup and have 3 kids. No, its not easy,
but yes you need to reset your priorities. Life becomes more focused on fewer
activities. Once the kids get a bit bigger its not as time intensive.

I work roughly 6:30am - 8:30am and then 10am - 5pm M-F.

I have many other friends who are engineers at fast moving companies with
2,3,4 or more kids. Its definitely doable.

If your company is asking you to work hours and hours maybe there is something
wrong with their product development process or business plan.

Stop worrying and start procreating!

~~~
grayclhn
Are you the CEO/founder? It sounded like the author is, and I think that would
make it a lot harder.

------
mutagen
I'm glad I read this despite the link title, which is appropriately based on
the article's sub-title (The title, "Choose Your Character", is even less
descriptive). The article hits on some of the startup and indie gamedev work-
life balance issues that affect everyone and some unique to women.

~~~
sp332
The magazine is called The Magazine. Maybe being undescriptive is part of
their brand :p

------
melling
I believe this team was interviewed on Debug.

[http://www.imore.com/debug-44-brianna-wu-amanda-warner-
and-r...](http://www.imore.com/debug-44-brianna-wu-amanda-warner-and-
revolution-60)

------
hrktb
A bit OT, but I think it's refreshing to have a character like her in the tech
seen, vocal and taking the spotlight in a lot of places.

At first I was thrown off by the very douchy looking attitude, it felt too
much like overcompensating. And I'd hate to work in her company for so many
reasons, the burning startup mindset being the main one.

But this article, as her Debug interview or the Isometricshow podcast also
show other facets that are pretty fair, balanced and well thought. The podcast
particulary brings hilarious and soul crushing moments alternatively, I'd
recommand to anyone wanting to hear something a bit different.

------
incision
I'd liken worries about staying productive while raising children to worries
about being able to run a marathon.

You're probably safely certain you couldn't do it tomorrow, but that says
little about your ability to do it 9 months from now and nothing about what
the next person is capable off.

Ask around and you'll find supremely productive people who do both.

------
jbrooksuk
Wow! It's lovely to see Brianna doing well, I interviewed her back in 2012 -
[http://james-brooks.uk/interview-with-brianna-wu/](http://james-
brooks.uk/interview-with-brianna-wu/)

:)

~~~
kefej89
this is not place to promote yourself. Go back to tumblr.

~~~
eru
Done in good taste, we are OK with self promotion on HN.

------
robertfw
Here is the game in question:
[http://www.revolution60.com/](http://www.revolution60.com/)

The feedback in the article was spot on. The characters look decidedly
anorexic.

~~~
sp332
Don't worry, they're video game characters. I'm sure they're fine! /s More
seriously, this is an art style and not a body image problem. Disliking an art
style is completely valid, but attributing medical conditions is a non-
sequitur.

~~~
quux
I think there were also some technical reasons for the character design, or at
least the costume design. When the team was interviewed on Debug they said
they had to make a choice to keep the polygon count low: Non skintight
costumes? or more realistic hair? They went with hair :)

------
wmeredith
Regardless of subject matter, hot damn this person can write. I hope she's
putting some of that spark into her games. That was riveting.

~~~
r00fus
"I’m an ENTJ, and she’s an INTJ. Small difference; all the difference in the
world."

Brevity is the soul of wit, indeed.

~~~
astrange
Though anyone who is actually planning to use Myers-Briggs tests for their HR
should note that the test is entirely nonsense, on the level of "which Naruto
character are you".

Most people score in the middle of each two letters, with some variation
depending on what mood you're in, and it then gives an answer at the extreme
end. Then the explanation for every answer just tells you how cool and special
you are, so nobody complains.

------
Paul-ish
How has the game and her indie studio fared today?

~~~
xsmasher
3.5 stars on TouchArcade
[http://toucharcade.com/2014/08/04/revolution-60-review/](http://toucharcade.com/2014/08/04/revolution-60-review/)

4.5 on the iOS app store (222 reviews)
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/revolution-60/id742869081?mt...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/revolution-60/id742869081?mt=8)

------
DarkIye
This article is really long and has no easily discernable point. Can someone
highlight it?

------
spopejoy
It's completely hilarious that this article would bring the anti-PC haters out
of their cave. There is absolutely nothing in this article about PC, it breaks
the script in numerous ways:

\- referring to her employees as "girls" instead of women

\- her conflicts about her employee's pregnancy

\- fretting over the attention to female-image issues in games, wondering if
"the only way to win this game is not to have women at all"

I guess as long as a tech writer dares to use the female first person, HN will
be deluged with comments from "gahh I HATE politics" know-nothings plus their
more anti-social brethren. It's even curious there would be such focus on the
boss being childless, this is so not the point of the article. I would
probably criticize her cheezy i'm-so-rad-on-my-red-motorbike aesthetic before
even thinking about gender stuff.

If there's a bright side to all the defensiveness, it suggests that the recent
focus on gender is working. Much like the Anita Hill hearings brought out all
sorts of ugliness out on the way to sensible anti-harassment policies, we're
witnessing the next evolution.

~~~
qq66
When I first started reading this comment I thought you were using the phrase
"anti-PC haters" to mean console gamers.

------
metafex
It's silly how much goes into correctness in games nowadays. You'd have to
make an Asteroids clone just not to offend anybody (except sentient
asteroids...).

Just make your game fun, challenging or whatever your goal is and _have_ fun
making it. And of course you can put in interesting looking characters, it's
called art :)

Also, to the politics topic: Oh I hate that so much, it only takes one person
to mess up whole teams and the worst thing is if it's one of your superiors.
It's horrible when you can't do anything but change your job (been there, done
that).

edit: to the downvoters, please read the whole thing and my response down
there, if you still disagree, no hard feelings :)

edit 2: From the article, one of the points I was referring to

"“Why are they all white?” sneered a liberal friend of mine before launching
into a 20-minute screed about how offended he was by the naked shower scene in
Heavy Rain."

~~~
jkscm
Can you explain to what extend it is "silly" to make an effort to avoid sexism
or racism?

~~~
Hytosys
I fear that this comment spurred the wrong discussion. Sexism and racism
addressed in video games is not the problem -- 12 Years a Slave, She's the
Man, and 10 Things I Hate About You are not the problem.

The problem is that games like Red Dead Redemption, Hitman, and Grand Theft
Auto systematically reward sexist and racist behavior (tying a woman to train
tracks, brutalizing prostitutes, etc.). Many refute the idea that video games
can affect a player's long-term behavior, and as far as I know both sides of
that argument are difficult to study and prove.

I do hypothesize, however, that these video games reinforce or at least mimic
the very real disregard and dehumanization of females in society. It's not so
much video games that are the collective problem, it's people.

EDIT: I am realizing this comment is being interpreted as if I were suggesting
a ban on certain qualities of video games. I am not. I am only postulating
some sort of parallel between video games and real life.

~~~
gnarbarian
These games have a right to exist as free speech regardless of what they
portray or how the player is rewarded. Banning media or forcing them to
conform to your political beliefs because you don't agree with it is nothing
short of fascism.

I don't see people out there arguing to rewrite Bukowski for being sexist.

~~~
CJefferson
No-one is suggesting these games are banned. Free speech goes both ways, the
games can be made, I can critise them.

------
foobarbecue
By "aspirational" I suppose she meant "inspirational"?

(As for the article itself, I only made it through a few paragraphs. I assume
it was going to be about sexism and reproductive discrimination in the
workplace, which I think is a serious problem. Part of this problem is solved
in Sweden, where a couple can split maternity / paternity leave any way they
like.)

