Lee Ying Foo Makes Game Industry’s 100 Game Changers

It’s always a joy to cover Malaysians doing extraordinary work, as is the case with Lee Ying Foo, co-founder of Women in Games Hangout (WigOut). For her work in creating an inclusive space for women and under represented groups, Foo has been listed as part of GameIndustry.Biz’s GI 100 Gamechangers for 2020.

Lee Ying Foo is a UI/UX artist by trade, and you may have seen her work in the Malaysian-made game Simulacra, as well as its sequel. The game was developed by Kaigan Games.

Foo told GameIndustry.biz that her work with WigOut was about challenging a lot of the stigma around queer identities, as well as challenging public perceptions of what a game developer “should” look like.

“When I first entered the industry, I felt like I didn’t belong as a woman and a queer person, and for years I always thought that I was the problem. After speaking to other folks, I realized that they felt the same way, and when you see other people having to deal with the same issues, you really start to draw a line”, she says.\

Foo added that while WigOut was focused on empowering marginalized identities, they weren’t in the business of tokenism. Instead, Foo says they would work to make sure women would actually be included.

“While there’s been a bigger push for diversity in recent years, there’s also the danger of tokenism,” she continues. “People may talk about ‘women in games’ once a year, and celebrate that, but if there’s no concrete action for making women feel more welcomed and safe in the industry, it’s just a box-ticking exercise”.

This year’s GI 100 Gamechangers profiled individuals for their work in diversity, accessibility, charity, mental health, progressive politics, lifting emerging markets and uniting communities. You can read the full list of profiles over on their website.

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