Women who are gainfully employed in the games industry are becoming more and more common. The assumption that video games are a man's domain is finally becoming outdated. Women are playing and working with video games in astounding numbers. According to the ESA in 2006, 38% of game players are women. While the percentage of women working in the industry is still small, these women are paving the way for equality in this environment as well. More and more young women are going to technical schools and getting hired by game developers who see the value of a female perspective when creating video games.

So, how did these women get started and why do they do it? Those are the questions I want answers to, so I ask. This will be a continuing series of profiles of the women who have broken stereotypes and taken jobs in the video game industry.

Bekah Hamilton works for Perpetual Entertainment as an Associate Producer on the Gods and Heroes game. Here's what she had to say:

Name: Bekah Hamilton
Title: Associate Producer
Company: Perpetual Entertainment

What's your earliest memory of video games? Did you grow up on games or did you find them later in your life?

I grew up with video games; my earliest memory was when my aunt brought home an Atari for my cousin. We thought it was the coolest thing ever & you couldn’t drag us away from it! Later, my mom bought me a Nintendo & to this day she’ll tell you that the only way she could tell if I was actually sick (& not just wanting to stay home from school) was if I wouldn’t play my Nintendo.

What kind of education do you have and has it prepared you well for this industry?

I loved collage so I was on the 10 year plan & ended up with multiple degrees all of which have come in handy. My education focused on the creative arts, like painting, photography, animation & creative writing.

What type of work did you do before you got into the industry and what jobs in the industry have you held?

I’ve had many different jobs over the years from bookkeeping to managing a dry cleaning store. I’ve also had the opportunity to work in more creative and fun jobs. I worked for Cox Cable in AZ as an assistant editor working on local commercials. Defiantly the most interesting and challenging job has been being a producer for Perpetual, which is my first job in the industry

Was your entry into working with video games planned or chance? What initiated your interest in working in this industry? How did you get started in the industry?

After graduating with my animation degree I worked for a small local (Bay Area) start up animation company doing 2D & 3D animation. Since the company was so small I started taking on more producer type tasks which got me really interested in becoming a producer. I knew some people in the games industry and the opportunity to work at Perpetual came up so I jumped on it.

How long have you been working in the industry?

I’ve been in the industry for a little over a year.

What does your job entail? What is an average day like?

My job and daily tasks have changed so dramatically over the past year, even on a day to day basis they aren’t the same. Currently I am helping out with the balancing and tuning of our game. Being a producer, my main job is to make sure people are communicating & when things are broken or people are blocked from doing work, I figure out ways to fix the problem. Great communication skills & an almost neurotic sense of order are a must for my job.

Tell us about the most interesting or exciting moment for you in your job.

Currently the most exciting moment in my job is actually seeing everything come together. We are getting closer & closer to shipping our game and everyday when you jump in the game you see something new or something that’s been greatly improved. It’s a very exciting time at our company.

What is your least favorite thing about working in the industry?

Honestly I haven’t found anything that I don’t consider worth the payoff of getting to work in an industry that can be so fun & rewarding. The hours can get long & the stress can be hard to deal with but both of those things I bring on myself so I can’t complain :-)

What is the one misconception you feel people have about working in the industry in your type of position?

That it’s easy & all we do is sit around all day playing video games all day. It’s so far from the truth, I usually work 12 hour days & I haven’t had time to play a video game during the week for months now. Any game time I get is weekends only.

Do you feel you are advantaged or disadvantaged as a female in an industry so dominated by men? Do you have any examples of situations where you feel you had an advantage because you were female? Anywhere you think being a woman played against you? Any anecdotal stories where being female played a part?

I think the industry is evolving and there are more women in the industry now than there were even 5 years ago, and it seems that more women in the industry is a welcome change. As for advantages, I haven’t seen many just because I’m a woman, you have to work hard to make it anywhere and it doesn’t matter if you're male or female.

Do you consider yourself a hardcore gamer? How many hours a week do you get to play (besides the title you are working on)?

I don’t consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I have sat for 10 hours straight playing WoW. Unfortunately now with the schedule I’m keeping I don’t get much time to play many games. I still play for a few hours on the weekends if I’m not working.