“I would love to see high-quality games that put us on the global radar”: Poornima Seetharaman, Director of Design at Zynga

Poornima Seetharaman is one of the most prominent pioneers for Indian women in video games. She began her career in the Game Development industry more than a decade and a half ago. Currently the Director of Design at Zynga, Poornima is a Women in Games Ambassador at WIGJ and is also in the process of setting up a Women in Games community for India.

The India Game Developer Conference 2021, the 13th iteration of India’s biggest conference on game development, took place from 16 November to 18 November 2021. Many well-established dignitaries from the world of game development participated and shared their knowledge with the audience.

During an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda, Poornima Seetharaman opened up about her journey and her work to make the game development industry more inclusive,

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Poornima Seetharaman, Director of Design at Zynga, opens up about her journey and work to make the game development industry more inclusive

Q. To begin the interview, I would like to ask you about your inspiration behind game development and designing. What drives you to make video games?

Poornima: For me, it’s not just one thing. It is the ability to be able to create a game that others may enjoy. It’s in a way paying it forward. I know how much I enjoyed playing games and how much they meant to me. So when the opportunity presented itself for me to be able to create that world for someone else, that inspired me and continues to do so. Player experience and the game development team are the two important things that drive me to continue making games.

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Q. You have been an ambassador at the Women in Games (WIGJ) and have set up the Women in Games (WIGIN) community for India. I would love to hear more about your work and experience, as well as your thoughts on diversity in the industry.

Poornima: When I started, 15 odd years ago, there weren’t too many women in the industry and barely any mentors. The industry itself was so small back then. Things are changing for the better right now. I was lucky enough to have great peers and colleagues who helped me. The rest of it, I found it on my own.

Today, we are seeing a lot of focus on diversity, which is such an important and welcome change. While I’m an ambassador at the Global WIG community, creating a community for India was something I had in mind for a long time.

In May 2021, I established the WIGIN (Women in Games India) community. We haven’t marketed ourselves yet as we are taking it more organic right now, and given the nature of virtual interactions, we don’t want people to feel overwhelmed.

In 2022, we are hoping to see a lot more activity from the WIGIN community. We want it to be a foster community of sorts that can help women grow to the next level, a judgment-free zone, a more collaborative space for them to gain confidence before they move into the larger community.

When it comes to diversity, a lot of groundwork has to be done before and after to help the system be more sustainable. Just hiring diverse folks is not the solution.

Some companies are also taking active measures today to enable diversity and inclusion in their teams. Zynga is one such example where we have multiple initiatives for the same. The more recent successful one is GirlsGame2 organized by the Women at Zynga India team in partnership with Unherd to bring awareness about gaming and provide a one-month free virtual mentorship to under-resourced girls.

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Q. You have been part of the game development industry for over 15 years. Keeping the technological advancements aside, how do you feel the industry has evolved over the last decade and a half and how has that impacted the ideas behind video games?

Poornima: The fact that today we have so many game development studios in India, homegrown or multi-national companies, is a living testament to the growth we have seen in India in the past two decades. The growth has also brought about different kinds of games that we make out of India. While we are largely a mobile market, the dimensions of games ranging from mid-core to hyper-casual and even more is amazing to see. We are also much more open to exploring different ideas like Mythology to even more relatable card or board games.

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Q. How has your experience been with IGDC and its relevance to not just South East Asian game development but also the global setting?

Poornima: I’ve been part of IGDC since its very inception. The journey we have taken from then to now is no small feat. Today, it is the largest conference in India and only growing bigger from a global lens as well, especially with some amazing speakers we have had on board!

This year, I had the privilege to host the absolutely amazing, award-winning, game design veteran Brenda Romero. She has been and continues to be a role model for all game designers, especially women. Thanks to her, the attendees also got a brief moment with the legend himself John Romero!

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Q. How do you feel game development has grown in India and how could it evolve in the future?

Poornima: Similar to what I said before, the growth is amazing. What I would love to see in the future are high-quality games that put us on the global radar with more focus on creating great player experiences.

In the development process itself, I would like to see employers focus on work-life balance and bridge any pay gaps. I would like to see the love for games come through from the developers and that reflects on our players across the globe.