Interview

Speaker Spotlight: Geogrify CEO Kate Edwards on falling backwards into games and what's next for the industry

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd

Speaker Spotlight: Geogrify CEO Kate Edwards on falling backwards into games and what's next for the industry

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd. To give you a taste of what to expect, we'll regularly be publishing interviews with the speakers at the show.

For more details on PGC London and to book a ticket, head to the website here.

In today's Speaker Spotlight we're talking to Kate Edwards, CEO of Geogrify, a consultancy for content culturalisation.

Edwards has acted as a board member of Take This and is the former executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) from 2012 to 2017.

In addition to being an outspoken advocate who serves in several advisory/board roles, she is a geographer, writer and corporate strategist. Following 13 years at Microsoft, she has consulted on many game and non-game projects for BioWare, Google, Amazon, Facebook and many other companies.

Fortune magazine named her as one of the "10 most powerful women" in the games industry and she was named by GamesIndustry.biz as one of their six People of the Year.

In April 2018, she was honoured with Reboot Develop’s annual Hero Award and in October 2018 was presented with IndieCade’s annual Game Changer Award.

She is also profiled in the November 2018 publication Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about the company?

Kate Edwards: Culturalisation and world-building consulting to help game creators adapt their content to global markets without potential geopolitical and cultural issues that may impede their success.

What does your role entail?

I'm the found of my consulting company, I run the daily business while also doing the actual consulting work, advising on game (and non-game) projects and helping them understand the implications of their content choices.

I also do a tremendous amount of global travel to various events for speaking about both culturalisation as well as advocacy.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

I never actually aspired to; I sort of fell backwards into it during my 13 years at Microsoft, and as a lifelong gamer, I found my true calling

What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?

Passion isn't enough; you need to practice that passion and put it to use by producing whatever it is you do - whether an artist, writer, programmer, etcetera. Don't tell people what you can do, show them.

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

The industry continues to prove its immaturity with gross incidents at ArenaNet, Riot, the closure of TellTale, etcetera. We have a long way to go to ensure that people in this industry are treated fairly and respectfully.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

Organised labour is going to happen (it already is)

How has the games industry changed since you first started?

It has honed my culturalisation abilities and insights in a way I think no other industry could, but it has also convinced me that we are truly shaping the future of narrative and storytelling among human beings.

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

As always, meeting with long-time colleagues as well as making new ones. 

Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 on the website.