Champlain’s Game Studio Highlighted for Inclusivity

In recognition of Women’s History Month, online publisher Future of Business and Tech highlighted Champlain College’s Game Studio in a special March feature about women and the game industry.

Alongside a Q&A with actress and lifelong gamer Olivia Munn and other impactful stories about equity in games, Future of Business profiled Champlain’s Game Studio in its special Women’s History Month issue.

The profile highlights the inclusive and collaborative nature of the Game Studio through the perspective of Game Art student Andrea Katsup ’24 and Amanda Crispel, Chair of the Game Studio. “Let the Games Begin: Champlain College’s Inclusive Approach to the Game Industry” addresses gender disparities in the game industry and how, at Champlain, curricula aims to mitigate that in classrooms and studios.

It reads:

“Kutsup says most of her Game Art classes are 50% women and 50% men, but some of her other game-related classes are male-dominated and more reflective of the percentages found in the game industry. 

‘Champlain College is very inclusive,’ says Kutsup. ‘Even though I might be the only female in the class, I’m never at a disadvantage. We all respect each other, and we’re very open.’”

Crispel attributes that openness to Champlain’s emphasis on team-based projects across the Game Studio programs, which were recently ranked among the top 10 for game design by The Princeton Review. Together, students share their individual knowledge with their team as they work toward a shared goal.

“From their very first year, they’re working with students from other game major disciplines,” says Crispel. “That environment simulates the setup in a professional game studio, and allows our students to gain a level of skill not just specific to their one area of study, like game art or programming, but also to fully understand the process of how a game is developed through teamwork and collaboration.”

Read the Future of Business article in its entirety here.