"Life is like a game of chess, where every move you make has an impact on the rest of your game," Kathy Gong Xiaosi said, looking radiant. Sitting in the open area outside her office in downtown Beijing, Gong, once the youngest national chess champion, recounted how her third startup survived a near collapse.
Called Wafa Games, her company uses cutting-edge tech to create fun and dignified gaming experiences. Venturing into the gaming industry requires massive investments and courage to withstand the risk of bankruptcy. But Gong chose to go against the grain.
The 35-year-old woman from the southwestern city of Chengdu founded the company in 2017 with a partner she got to know through playing games. "I'm a gamer, but I found most games boring or even disagreeable since female characters are designed mainly to appeal to male players, with scant clothing and sexualized bodies." For decades, most video games around the world have portrayed female characters as manifestations of male fantasies with hourglass curves and skinny waists. In hot pants or tiny skirts, they prance around to help, support and take care of their male teammates. Either that or they are framed as ditzy love interests needing to be rescued.
Gong developed her deep affection for games during a lonely period while studying in New York, so she decided to fight against this stereotype by creating well-rounded female protagonists, especially for women gamers such as her. "I like hardcore games where you use strategic thinking as you do on the chessboard," she said.
Continue reading: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-08-23/No-game-no-life-A-young-woman-s-trailblazing-entrepreneurship--12XitKkZQ9G/index.html
Called Wafa Games, her company uses cutting-edge tech to create fun and dignified gaming experiences. Venturing into the gaming industry requires massive investments and courage to withstand the risk of bankruptcy. But Gong chose to go against the grain.
The 35-year-old woman from the southwestern city of Chengdu founded the company in 2017 with a partner she got to know through playing games. "I'm a gamer, but I found most games boring or even disagreeable since female characters are designed mainly to appeal to male players, with scant clothing and sexualized bodies." For decades, most video games around the world have portrayed female characters as manifestations of male fantasies with hourglass curves and skinny waists. In hot pants or tiny skirts, they prance around to help, support and take care of their male teammates. Either that or they are framed as ditzy love interests needing to be rescued.
Gong developed her deep affection for games during a lonely period while studying in New York, so she decided to fight against this stereotype by creating well-rounded female protagonists, especially for women gamers such as her. "I like hardcore games where you use strategic thinking as you do on the chessboard," she said.
Continue reading: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-08-23/No-game-no-life-A-young-woman-s-trailblazing-entrepreneurship--12XitKkZQ9G/index.html
