Dress Code And Work Enviornment For A Video Game Designer

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"The video-game industry has a dress code - driven by a lack of diversity"

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Start date May 18, 2015
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Guardian Article

Most professions have a uniform of some kind, whether it’s the suit and tie of corporate culture, or the brand-asserting mono-wear of the world’s major retail outlets. Sometimes, however, dress codes can be much more insidious. In the world of video games, a young creative industry that seeks to assert its rebelliousness and vibrancy, we aren’t required to conform through necessity or tradition. But one thing I discovered very quickly when I started working here is that there is a uniform: it’s just that this one is the result, not of workplace rules, but of a lack of diversity. And it can be just as excluding.
It was the night of my very first launch party. I’d just finished my internship at a video games TV channel and I was going through the familiar routine of choosing an outfit. In other words I was trying on everything in my own wardrobe as well as the wardrobes of all my flatmates. I eventually decided on something I’d been saving for a special occasion: a patterned mid-length dress with black panels down the side. I sent a photo of it to the colleague who’d invited me, but her replied surprised me: “It’s lovely, but a bit too dressy for tonight.” I wore it anyway.

When we arrived at the event, I realised straight away that she was right. I was greeted with a sea of plaid and denim, amid which you could sometimes pick out the odd T-shirt, usually bearing a video game or movie reference so obscure only the wearer and four of their friends would ever understand it. There were barely any women there, and most of those were publishers or in marketing, rather than developers. I felt like a lone speck of femininity in a musty fog of identikit men.

The white guy in checked shirt, jeans and trainers. Possibly with a beard. It’s the joke we often make about the industry, but there is plenty of truth in the stereotype.

I entered the games industry as a 19-year-old woman, facing a professional environment dominated by men. In its 2014 workplace study, the International Game Developer Association found that the number of women in the industry has doubled in the past five years, but it still stands at just 22%. And at industry events it can feel like a lot less. I was acutely aware of standing out, the clothes I liked to wear didn’t fit in with the consensus of casual boyishness. Consequently, I found myself consciously wearing more androgynous outfits, my dresses and skirts were pushed to the back of the wardrobe, and I started choosing plainer clothes that I wouldn’t have really considered before. Goodbye beloved floral A-line dress, hello plain black T-shirt.
As a woman who often appears in front of camera I was particularly self-conscious of choosing anything that could be considered “sexy”. I was once told by a seasoned industry professional that they were reluctant to let myself and a female colleague stream video together as they didn’t want to look like they were “selling sex”. Somehow, internet commenters started to have an influence – they made me think that my body wasn’t something that belonged to me, but to those who looked at me. The way to combat that was to tone down the way I dressed. To be taken seriously as a video games journalist, I had to avoid looking “sexy” or “girly”.

It’s taken me over a year, along with meeting and befriending other inspirational women in the industry, to realise that changing my style so that I can fit in is wrong. A uniform implies control and regimentation, and this is a young and creative industry, where those constraints should not apply. Indeed, we are lucky to be part of a culture that is still forming its own identity – that can be a wonderful thing. We joke about the stereotypical games industry look, but we need to be aware that it is the product of a lack of diversity, both in terms of gender and ethnicity – as such it can seem just as exclusionary as the tailored suit and tie of the professional world.
Of course, I’m not saying that the whole industry needs a makeover, but it has to be more welcoming toward different concepts of style and identity. Creativity begins with how we feel and how we see and present ourselves as people. This industry isn’t just dressing identically, it draws its inspiration from the same music, movies and books. This homogeneity leads to staid ideas.

I now happily wear my floral A-line dress to video game events, and yes, I do stand out, but that’s fine. In an industry that lacks it, difference is a good thing to have.

I hope gaming slowly starts to evolve into a more inclusive place for women

: Apr 30, 2013

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Shite plaid shirts and jeans are the outfit for any less casual offices in most professions. Seems more like a disinterest in fashion and trends in general. Of course, I hope this industry and everywhere else becomes a more welcoming place for women to work and express themselves.

Where I work the dress code is basically "shirts you got for free at a random gaming event or your last job".

: Jan 22, 2007

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More inclusive for women, but also less focused on unofficial dress code. I still find it ironic and slightly insulting that tech-oriented companies would have a bad opinion of anybody wearing a suit, or fashionable clothes in a general manner.

More inclusive for women, but also less focused on unofficial dress code. I still find it ironic and slightly insulting that tech-oriented companies would have a bad opinion of anybody wearing a suit, or fashionable clothes in a general manner.

When Google outsourced some of their ad sales business to a company I worked for, they said they had to get rid of the dress code as part of the deal and they really didn't like anyone in meetings dressed in suits. Made planning for a day when I had meetings with them and other clients a pain in the arse!

I don't get the first half. She was told it wasn't formal, dressed formal anyways, was upset it wasn't formal? I don't get it.

Don't really get the point of the article. "Oh no I have to wear t-shirts or something because the guys dress too casual."

I don't think the dress code is a product of the lack of diversity. Isn't it more of a broader culture thing that guys in creative offices in the western world often only have two uniforms- suits and shirts when facing clients, and 'smart casual', which is pretty much just shirts and jeans etc. A woman in a male-dominated office is always going to stand out a bit more, as they have a far wider (and less conservative) choice of cuts, colours etc etc.

Head into any department store and the male uniform she describes is what is sold to guys. I don't work in games, and I'm pretty much wearing that now, although our office is pretty much 50/50 men/women and, looking around, the ladies have a far more varied spread of colour and clothing. I don't think it's a uniquely game industry problem, more that male fashion trends change really slowly, and in a male-dominated office that is going to seem like a uniform. I've been wearing similar check shirts and jeans to work for at least 15 years, and really don't feel like experimenting. I suspect most guys are similar, and have several pairs of similar jeans/trousers and shirts/tee-shirts on constant rotation so they don't have to think about it too much in the morning, whereas my wife co-ordinates her work outfits on a daily basis, often planning out a couple of days in advance.

None of that means that saying you can't have two women presenting something because it's 'selling sex' isn't a load of sexist rubbish.

point taken about the low percentage of women in the industry

not quite sure what the problem is with needing to dress casually and not wearing a dress to a casual gathering or on stream or whatever. It doesn't mean you don't own your body.

Never worn plaid shirts in my life. I don't understand what people are wearing even matters.

: Aug 9, 2006

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I don't get the first half. She was told it wasn't formal, dressed formal anyways, was upset it wasn't formal? I don't get it.

She felt out of place and self-conscious because she's a girl wearing a dress and while the company's internal dress-code doesn't really exist there is still a greater societal expectation that she conforms to and this is more apparent in after work hours events. The underlying idea seemed to be that had it been more diverse with women she would have felt more comfortable.

I think what you take from this article needs to be perspective and the feelings, not any particular call to action or problem spotting other than "more diversity."

Journalist's Own Clothing Choice Makes Them Uncomfortable. World Eats Itself

*shrugs* dress for success and to be noticed. If I was at a launch party I'd dress in a nice button up shirt and some nice dress pants. I don't give a damn if people want to dress down, I'll dress better because I care to.

I do not know why she cares about what everyone else is doing.

Who cares what other people wear? Shouldn't they be comfortable, too?

: Oct 27, 2013

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I work in an environment of an even number of men and women. We have a company dress code, and usually the men wear a nice outfit which consists of long-sleeve button down shirt, tucked into a pair of dress pants. Same outfit, 52 weeks a year. However, women have more freedom with the dress code depending on the season. Since it's getting warm outside here in the Midwest, they can wear short sleeve tops and skirts. Definitely freeing of the heat! Meanwhile I am stuck with long sleeve shirts in July.

I think it just depends on the industry where you work. So yeah, with gaming, it's more casual. Just how it is. My wife is a nurse, and she wears scrubs and a t-shirt to work everyday. I envy that!

Of course, I'm not saying that the whole industry needs a makeover, but it has to be more welcoming toward different concepts of style and identity.

The question is, was it actually unwelcoming? Did people give her funny looks or not to talk her etc because of her outfit?

If not, I don't think there was any issue apart from her feeling bad because she thought she wasn't wearing "the right stuff".

*shrugs* dress for success and to be noticed. If I was at a launch party I'd dress in a nice button up shirt and some nice dress pants. I don't give a damn if people want to dress down, I'll dress better because I care to.
I do not know why she cares about what everyone else is doing.

Who cares what other people wear? Shouldn't they be comfortable, too?

She's not saying that people should change or feel uncomfortable. She's saying theres an unspoken dress code and a need to conform in an industry that pretends to always think outside the box.

Eh the dress code is dress however you want.

I know someone in the industry that always wore a suit and fedora every single day, and no one minds it.

Hah! My shirt is striped not checked.

Deleted member 126221

Unconfirmed Member

Eh the dress code is dress however you want.
I know someone in the industry that always wore a suit and fedora every single day, and no one minds it.

A guy wearing a fedora in a game studio. Nothing unusual. A woman wearing dresses on the development floor would be another story (and that's what this article is about...)

More inclusive for women, but also less focused on unofficial dress code. I still find it ironic and slightly insulting that tech-oriented companies would have a bad opinion of anybody wearing a suit, or fashionable clothes in a general manner.

I'm a software engineer, and I've had conversations with college friends where they say "If someone showed up for an interview in a suit I wouldn't hire them on that basis." with a completely straight face. This logic always confused me, but it seems to be prevalent in certain companies.

Let me understand this:

Bayonetta trying to be sexy is a problem because obviously that means we see women as objects and that's sexist; and a young woman "can't" dress sexy in her workplace means everyone is sexist there?

She felt out of place and self-conscious because she's a girl wearing a dress and while the company's internal dress-code doesn't really exist there is still a greater societal expectation that she conforms to and this is more apparent in after work hours events. The underlying idea seemed to be that had it been more diverse with women she would have felt more comfortable.
I think what you take from this article needs to be perspective and the feelings, not any particular call to action or problem spotting other than "more diversity."

but anyone who shows up dressed differently from everyone else at any particular event/job feels this way. There should be more women in the industry, but if there were, who is to say there would be more dresses at this event? They might just dress like everyone else at these work-things too. Lots of people conform to the standard at work and usually it's much worse than just the way you dress--sometimes a job demands an entire personality shift. Then they go home and wear what they want and be themselves.

You can't even do anything to actively combat it because it's not just a matter of policy. Even if management and everyone else is like "hey brah, no standards, do what you want," people will still create an unspoken standard. It's not going to be like going to be like you work at burning man or something.

Let me understand this:
Bayonetta trying to be sexy is a problem because obviously that means we see women as objects and that's sexist; and a young woman "can't" dress sexy in her workplace means everyone is sexist there?

Huh? You might want to work on your reading comprehension.

I see this attitude reflected in videogames aswell, where female characters are often covered up to be taken seriously by players. We're shaming the sex because any character that dresses in such a matter would obviously be a trivial person not worth taking seriously...

*sigh* No, that's not what happens at all. If you really believe that then I don;t know what to say, other than things that would get me banned.

they made me think that my body wasn't something that belonged to me, but to those who looked at me. The way to combat that was to tone down the way I dressed. To be taken seriously as a video games journalist, I had to avoid looking "sexy" or "girly".

I see this attitude reflected in videogames aswell, where female characters are often covered up to be taken seriously by players. We're shaming the sex because any character that dresses in such a matter would obviously be a trivial person not worth taking seriously...

I'm a software engineer, and I've had conversations with college friends where they say "If someone showed up for an interview in a suit I wouldn't hire them on that basis." with a completely straight face. This logic always confused me, but it seems to be prevalent in certain companies.

I work for the federal government in an IT role and while I showed up to my interview in a suit, they were actively relieved when I said that I prefer not to dress like that. I have heard plenty of situations as you've described.

I wear jeans and a t-shirt or button up shirt daily to the office.

Deleted member 126221

Unconfirmed Member

Let me understand this:
Bayonetta trying to be sexy is a problem because obviously that means we see women as objects and that's sexist; and a young woman "can't" dress sexy in her workplace means everyone is sexist there?

Good try, but no, you didn't understand shit.

I still find it ironic and slightly insulting that tech-oriented companies would have a bad opinion of anybody wearing a suit, or fashionable clothes in a general manner.

I hate getting criticized by other IT folk for 'dressing up' because I happen to enjoy wearing a suit and tie. It's to the point where I prefer to associate with the business and managerial staff instead.

Actually it's driven by a lack of ethics in games journalism.

Edit: Damn I can't tell if I'm serious.

: Jun 8, 2004

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A guy wearing a fedora in a game studio. Nothing unusual. A woman wearing dresses on the development floor would be another story (and that's what this article is about...)

A woman wearing a dress is unusual to who? Who on earth would say anything or give weird looks? Who would care?

Even if it's true, couldn't a man who likes to wear suits write this same article? How is it a gender issue?

: Dec 10, 2013

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Journalist's Own Clothing Choice Makes Them Uncomfortable. World Eats Itself

I don't really see why she is making a big deal out of this. Surely it didn't come as a surprise to her? Also, I don't understand being told told that a function is casual, then turning up in smart dress and moaning that you feel out of place.

My experience of the games industry is that, yes, most people are very casual and there is a lot of denim and plaid around, but there are also people who don't conform to that particular style of dress. I've seen people in all sorts of weird get up, and plenty of people who dress smarter than average. Unlike in other industries, this journalist is in a lucky position that she can choose to dress up smart if she likes. Maybe if she did others will follow her lead.

My advice to her would be to spend less time worrying about how others are dressed, and dress the way you want.

A guy wearing a fedora in a game studio. Nothing unusual. A woman wearing dresses on the development floor would be another story (and that's what this article is about...)

Nothing different. I've seen that too in the same studio.

Several women wearing pretty upscale dresses.

I don't like the judgement of women here, but I can't honestly say I mind the gaming/tech industry's hostility toward "dressing up". I wouldn't oppose dressing up if it weren't treated as supremo professionale in so many other industries, but it's an attitude that really needs to die. And if I gotta judge someone for how they dress, I'd rather judge the privileged dude in a suit. The endgame should be no one gives a fuck of course, but being accepting of casual wear is a necessary step towards that.

: Feb 6, 2012

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This isn't a gender issue, it's a fashion issue. Most games developers are scruffy, techy dorks and proud of it, and they go into their professional lives wearing that badge by eschewing the pursuits of fashion which no doubt many of them find a superficial waste of time and money.

Women of course are naturally more fashion-inclined than men, but a fashion-conscious woman shouldn't be surprised or alienated by the games development world's taste in clothes, or lack of it.

Creativity begins with how we feel and how we see and present ourselves as people. This industry isn’t just dressing identically, it draws its inspiration from the same music, movies and books. This homogeneity leads to staid ideas.

This is such bullshit.

Wow, how embarrassing.

*sigh* No, that's not what happens at all. If you really believe that then I don;t know what to say, other than things that would get me banned.

Nice indirect insult. It's a good thing you didn't call me a retard, but only implied it.

: Dec 5, 2008

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I don't understand the complaint. If you want to dress up, dress up.

Huh? You might want to work on your reading comprehension.
*sigh* No, that's not what happens at all. If you really believe that then I don;t know what to say, other than things that would get me banned.

Do it. No seriously, do it.

Nice indirect insult. It's a good thing you didn't call me a retard, but only implied it.

Nah, I don't use that word. I would have said idiot.

Deleted member 126221

Unconfirmed Member

Nothing different. I've seen that too in the same studio.
Several women wearing pretty upscale dresses.

On the development floor? Without anyone making any comment?

This looks like a magical studio.

I hope people on e3 stop doing the t shirt and orphaned suit jacket look this year

Please God

Am I misunderstanding that while she felt uncomfortable at the launch party, no one actually had a problem with her dress? She mentioned that her colleague who was also a woman was the only one who commented that it was a bit too dressy when asked before they arrived.

From the sounds of her descriptions, no one there minded or cared that she was in a nice dress.

If you are in contact with business partners and customers take care of you clothes, wash yourself and behave.
If you work in QA, development or so - nevermind.

Nah, I don't use that word. I would have said idiot.

Which is the name for a mentally handicapped person. Do you even recognize the fact that you're interacting with real people here? No one attacked or provoked you. Calm down a bit.

Deleted member 126221

Unconfirmed Member

Gotta love all the men posting here that it's not a gender issue because they dress however they mind and nobody minds.

: Aug 5, 2004

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Less to do with actual sexism, and more to do with a male dominated environment and feeling awkward adding some sole femininity to the mix. She could rock that dress if she wanted to. But of course she's gonna stand out being the only one. So just don't feel awkward about it?

If anything the dress code needs to improve. Game developers have terrible taste in clothes

I don't understand the complaint. If you want to dress up, dress up.

You get ostracized by a lot of tech circles for dressing up, which can have an impact on career growth/opportunities. That's my own complaint about it.

Which is the name for a mentally handicapped person. Do you even recognize the fact that you're interacting with real people here? No one attacked or provoked you. Calm down a bit.

Of course I do. It's just tiring to see people come in and trot out the same tired arguments that have been shot down again and again.

Dress code of the games industry and some other sections of the computer industry resulted in the fact that many people do not interact with people from other companies or customers directly, clients, etc. Those that do in the industry tend to dress in suits or fancy casual. I don't think it was a creation of the lack of diversity (this does not mean that lack of diversity doesn't exist, but I don't think it resulted in the dress code). This is not limited to the games industry.

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