Now, I don’t know if you’re familiar with how game jams tend to work, but here’s a hint: you’re supposed to stay up all night during the game jam, not the day before.  (Actually, you shouldn’t even do that; see Advice #3 below.) So I started out sleepy and in a bad mood, and by the time we got to the “get into groups and brainstorm” part of the evening, I was feeling pretty generally awful.  Then my group’s theme didn’t really resonate with me, and none of the game ideas that we generated caught my interest.  (They were mostly arcade-style games and platformers, which aren’t genres that I’m personally into.)

By the time we did group introductions, when someone felt compelled to express oh-so-much-surprise that I’m a female programmer, I was so tired that I couldn’t even come up with a witty retort.  I try to be well-prepared for things like that – I have a reputation as a wiseass to maintain, after all – but all I could manage right then was stare at the guy with my mouth hanging open.  There might even have been a little bit of drool.

This is the point at which I honestly considered leaving.  I felt horribly out of place, and didn’t think that I could contribute anything of value.  The only thing that stopped me was that I drove with friends, and had no way to get home without dragging them along.

Later, I would be so glad that I was forced to stay.

When we split up into our final groups, I waited and waited, but still didn’t feel particularly drawn to any of the ideas.  Finally, at the very end, there was this guy (hi, Major!) who kept repeating the phrase “velociraptor cannibalism”.  Mostly people just laughed, but someone else threw out the idea of using that as the theme for a board game. The sheer randomness of this piqued my interest, so I wandered over and joined up with this haphazard group.

Of course, once we finally got into a group and started working, the usual thing happened: all of my anxiety fell away, and I quickly got into the flow of brainstorming and creation.  My mood turned around completely, and I started having fun. Three hours later, we had already nailed down the basic concept for a game that we all really liked.

It turns out, this utterly random assortment of people made a great team.  We had a variety of complementary skills, from illustration, to writing, to business sense, to extensive knowledge of board game mechanics.  Even though I’d never worked on a board game before, I was able to use some of my logical/systematic programmer skills to help flesh out the rules for the game. Furthermore, everyone on the team respected everyone else.  When we had a disagreement about an aspect of the game (which will definitely happen!), we resolved it by thinking through the consequences, instead of getting into ego-driven personal conflicts. We were so into our idea, and got such great feedback, that after the Game Jam we decided to continue working together.

I’m pleased to report that Velociraptor! Cannibalism! just wrapped up a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, in which we raised more than 1000% of our funding goal.  (Yes, you read that extra zero correctly.)  We’re currently working on getting full art drawn for the game, and preparing for our first commercial print run. Velociraptor! Cannibalism! has become a real thing, a game that literally hundreds of people are going to play, and I got to be a part of its creation.  It’s been a wonderful experience, and a tremendous honor.  And I never would have experienced any of that, if I’d given up and left when I wanted to.

So, from all of that, here’s my advice to any reader who has the slightest interest in games.

1. Give Global Game Jam a try.
You don’t have to be a programmer or an artist, just someone who’s interested in games and capable of generating game design ideas.  Also, it’s not a competition, so there’s no judgment or extra pressure.

And if you’re female, you won’t be the only woman present; I can guarantee that, because I’ll be there.  (Plus, if you’re in Philly, half of the local IGDA’s officers are female.)

2. Make yourself stay through the end of the first evening.
Join a team and give it a genuine try. If you’re not into it by the time people are drifting off to sleep, you have my permission to leave.  But make yourself stay at least that long.

3. Sleep.
Ignore the people who like to brag about not sleeping the whole weekend.  Getting enough sleep doesn’t make you weak or less “hardcore,” it just makes you more effective. I live an hour away from Center City, and I still went home once to sleep.  Next year, I’m probably going to split a hotel room with some people.

Make arrangements so that you can get the sleep you need, especially if you’re introverted.  It helps tremendously.

4. Step out if you need to.
It can get overwhelming, being around a bunch of people constantly. At one point, I could tell I was starting to get jumpy, so I left and went for a nice long walk around downtown Philly.  It helped clear my head, and when I got back I was ready to deal with people again.

Don’t be afraid to take time out.

5. Start out by assuming that people are friendly.
This is a practice at which I often fail: I tend to focus too much on the ways that I don’t fit in.  But 99% of the people I met at Game Jam were totally chill and a lot of fun to talk to, once I got over that initial awkward shyness.

I find that if you start with the assumption that people will be friendly, they generally will be.

6. Diverse teams make more interesting games.
Our team was lucky to have a variety of skillsets, points of view, and general life experiences.  Try to work with a mix of people who are different from yourself in various ways; not only will your game benefit, but you might make some valuable friendships too.

In conclusion, Global Game Jam is an awesome opportunity for anyone, whether you’re connected to the game industry or not, to get involved in making a game.  My hope is that reading this will inspire one or two people who wouldn’t otherwise consider it to come and check out next year’s Global Game Jam, in Philly or at the location nearest to you.

I’ll see you there!

Recap written by Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia Member, Bri Lance
Bri Lance is a freelance web developer, game designer, and aspiring writer.  She has worked on Kickstarter hit board game Velociraptor! Cannibalism! as well as the award-winning educational game Fitter Critters.  Find her on Twitter as @yeah_its_me.

The track I followed tended to be the workshop-geared one. Having just taken a MOOC (massive open online course) that introduced me to test-driven development (TDD), I was eager for some reinforcement of the concepts, and dropped in on Audrey Troutt’s session on TDD. Her ten-minute overview went deeper in presenting a broad overview of testing than I expected, and I was happy to learn a few new terms, especially exploratory testing, which just sounds fun. Her demo was in Java, a language I haven’t touched since college, but it was very clear and easy to follow. I also enjoyed Cat Farman’s presentation on Responsive Web Design… not only because it validated some of my concerns about having splintered approaches to dealing with our multi-device world, but also because it was funny. She did a very nice job of incorporating humor into her slides when showing the downfalls of having a mobile-separate strategy.

Additional highlights included hearing and meeting someone I’ve been following on G+ for a while, Lynette Young, and hearing from the very accomplished women on the panels on being second in command and giving back, all of whom spoke with refreshing candor. The tone of the conference was more tough love than it was fluff. Being in an industry that’s highly sensitive to hyperbole, saturated with snark, and constantly spinning on its heels after chasing every change in the wind’s direction, spending a day with realism was a welcome breath of fresh air.

My deep appreciation goes out to all the organizers who pulled this off – Tracey Welson-Rossman, Gloria Bell, Kimberly Gress, Amy Larrimore, Yasmine Mustafa and Pam Selle, and to the speakers and attendees who made this event what it was. I hope this is the first of many more.

Recap written by Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia Member, Sondra Willhite
Sondra is a developer between gigs who has been attending every GGD, GDI and WSW class and workshop she can as she explores her career path. She has a particular interest in switching to a LAMP environment, and would not consider it rude if you contacted her about any developer openings in the CC area. You can find her on Twitter: @sondrawi.

As wonderful as the organized panels and workshops were, the best part about WITSPHL for me was the tangible sense of female empowerment and support. Multiple presenters commented on how having a strong support network can make the difference for a young woman starting and strengthening her career in tech. Just seeing 200+ tech-enthused women in the same room, actively participating, and asking why are things the way they are, and how can we make it better? was enough to move me to reach out and expand my own network. All of these great women are right here in my city? Who knew! [In fact, that might be why I'm writing this article today. :) ]

The second big take away for me was echoed in multiple sessions. Ask for what you want – in your career, in your teams, in your life. Wise words from women who have been there.

I’m excited to see what WITSPHL will turn into going forward. I’m hoping for some more workshops, a wider representation of technology positions amongst the panelists, and some breaks between sessions. :) Can’t wait to go back next year!

Recap written by Shannon Morrison.
Shannon Morrison is an IT Security Consultant at PwC. She spends her days hacking into websites, scrutinizing UNIX system configurations, calling people and asking for their passwords, and traveling all over the US.

The topic of the (brief!) event talks is the upcoming Grace Hopper Conference, located in Baltimore next year. Never heard of it? Great! We’ll get into that, and talk about some women’s experiences with the conference. We’ll also discuss Philly Tech Week, the Women in Tech Summit, and other topics of interest to the geeky lady community of Philadelphia.

Come — you’ll love it!

RSVP on MeetUp

WHAT
GGD PHL/Systers LunchUp

WHEN
Saturday, May 12th
12PM (noon)

WHERE
Triumph Brewing Company
117 Chestnut St.
Phila, PA

HOW TO GET THERE
http://www.oldcitydistrict.org/getting-around

SYSTERS
Systers is the world’s largest email community of technical women in computing.The list has over 3,000 members in at least 54 countries around the world.We welcome technical women of all ages and at any stage of their studies or careers to participate.

http://anitaborg.org/initiatives/systers/

SPEAKERS

Grace Hopper and Systers: A Quick and Dirty Overview – Pam Selle

Experiences for a Lifetime: Tales from a Repeat Attendee – Kimberly Blessing, Former GHC Webmaster and Committee Chair, 15+ Year Systers Member

SPONSOR

Visual Studio Live! is back in the Big Apple, May 14-17! This 4 day event is a great opportunity to interact one-on-one with industry leaders and Microsoft insiders while receiving some intense .NET developer education. Plus, members of Girl Geek Dinners get $400 off the standard Best Value Rate by registering with code UGNY13! Register today to guarantee your space: http://bit.ly/VSGGD

View Flyer (PDF)

April 11, 2012 (Philadelphia, PA) – Chariot Solutions, a leading enterprise application and mobile development consulting firm, announced today that it has launched the Chariot Scholars Program. The program will aim to increase the diversity in the Philadelphia-area IT community by mentoring and training women and minority software developers. Scholarship recipients will receive one-on-one mentoring, skill evaluations, and a tailored two-week training program near the end of the term.

“As software engineers and developers, we at Chariot are concerned about the lack of women and minorities in our field,” said Ken Rimple, Director of Education at Chariot Solutions. “Our goal is to improve diversity among our peers, which is the reason behind the Chariot Scholar Program.”

Chariot will select three applicants from the applications submitted and match them with a Chariot member. The mentorship will be kept confidential with the scholars selected. The program is only open to minorities and women who have a background and aptitude in information technology and are over 18 years of age. These individual must live in the Delaware valley.

Scholarship winners will gain access to Chariot’s extensive education services team, which was started in 2008 and has provided continuing education to IT professionals throughout the country. Courses cover a wide-range of emerging technologies, including the Spring framework, Hbernate, Maven, Scala, and others.

“Though we can’t explain why there has always been such an imbalance of women and minorities in this industry, we are trying to take steps towards doing something about it,” said Mike Rappaport, CEO of Chariot Solutions. “Under this program we will provide proper training, mentorship and support to the scholarship winners to help them have long and successful careers in software development.”

Interested individuals can self-nominate, or be nominated by others, at chariotsolutions.com/scholar and all applications must be received by Tuesday May 15, 2012. The program is anticipated to start in mid-June 2012 in the Chariot offices in Fort Washington, PA.

City Tap House has saved us a pit patio and will offer some drink specials from 8-10pm. Grab a friend and help us enjoy our first year’s successes.

Drink Specials: $4 select crafts and $5 select red & white wines

Note 1: Ladies & Gentlemen welcome! Please RSVP so we can give our gracious host an estimated headcount the day of.
Note 2: There will be no presentations or speakers. This is a social event.

Ladies, your male friends are welcome!

When
Friday, April 27 from 8:00PM – 10:00PM
Everyone is welcome to stay longer if they wish.

Drink Specials: $4 select crafts and $5 select red & white wines

Where
City Tap House
3925 Walnut Street
Phila, PA

This is an informal social. There will be no dinner or presentation. Attendees are responsible for purchasing their own food and beverages.

RSVP
RSVPing is not required but will help us better prepare our gracious host. Please RSVP if you have a free moment. http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Geek-Dinners-Philadelphia/events/60287922/

It’s been a year since we held our first meeting. To celebrate, we plan to spice it up a little: a smaller event with a talk on hacking — hacking sex toys to be exact.

This event will be a hybrid talk/roundtable discussion. The first half will be a presentation from our speaker about DIY/hacked sex toy ideas that she and other folks she knows have already experimented with. The last half will be Q&A/brainstorming.

Join us at NextFab Studio on Friday, April 27, from 6:30pm – 8pm. Space is limited to 20 ladies. In order to discourage no-shows, we will be charging $5/person (NO REFUNDS). If money is a problem, please contact us directly at info–at–ggdphl–dot–com and we’ll see what we can do.

To allow everyone a chance to RSVP, we will open sign ups at noon on Wednesday, April 18.

This event is for ladies only. Please RSVP on Meetup. No video or photography will be done during this event.
Note: Dinner will not be provided; however, there will be snacks and beverages.

After, join us for our Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia Turns One Social Event!

Robin, Rebecca, Sarah, Fritz, and I all played Super Dungeon Explore, which my friend Josh was nice enough to bring and run for us. Lisa, Janette, Abby, Stacy, Jennie, and Kristin all played Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer, but then switched out to play some Pandemic as well as King of Tokyo later on in the night with Jesse and Anthony.

We played games from 6:30 until the store closed! Sarah, Fritz, Anthony, and I finished up the game of Super Dungeon Explore, which took several hours – but we victoriously slew the dragon and won the game! It was very exciting. Several ladies asked if we could make this a regular thing, and the owners of the store agreed that it was a good idea, so stay tuned for more details on our next lady board game night!

Photos can be found on Flickr and Facebook!

Recap written by Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia Co-Founder, Nicole Kline.
Nicole is a Philadelphia native who loves to write, play video games, and shop for socks. She has a regular day job as a secretary, but by night, she’s the Senior Editor of video game site Warp Zoned, a columnist on popular culture for literary magazine Press 1, a contributing writer at local blog Geekadelphia, and has recently gotten back into Dungeons & Dragons with a serious vengeance. Her current goal is to write a novel and get super famous.

GGD PHL had her first SweetSwap on Sunday, February 19, a long-delayed cookie swap which had been postponed at Christmas due to plague. Some people got all fancy about it (cough cough, Tristin and Renae) but mostly we just ate chili and stuffed our faces with sugar. Then we talked Princess Bride, anime, good books, and future gatherings.

The event was such a success that we hope to have a general food swap at some point.

Recap written by Girl Geek Dinners Philadelphia Member, Dawn Fallik.
Dawn is a medical reporter specializing in database analysis. She writes for the Wall Street Journal’s medical section and covers bad reality TV for the culture desk. She’s also Director of Journalism at the University of Delaware.