San Francisco — Girls want to make games, too. It’s just that they’re intimidated.

At least that’s what a survey conducted by Sony Online Entertainment has revealed.  Conducted among female students currently enrolled in game design, programming and visual effects at The Art Institutes schools, the survey showed that 61% “believe male dominance in the industry is a deterrent to women pursuing a career in gaming” and 42% “would like to see women portrayed as leaders in video games.”

As a result, this inspired SOE to form G.I.R.L. (Gamers In Real Life), a scholarship program to educate and recruit women in the video game industry. The announcement of the scholarship program was made during the Game Developers Conference last month at an event for SOE’s upcoming spy-themed MMO “The Agency.”

Representives of G.I.R.L. included some of SOE’s executive staff as well as women working directly on “The Agency” from SOE Seattle, like producers Sherry Floyd and Heather Sowards.

Being that women working in games is a topic I’m quite interested in, I sat down with both Floyd and Sowards the day after the event to talk about what it’s like to be women working in a male-dominated field.

One reason why it’s good to have women in games? They know how female video game characters should dress. During my conversation with Floyd, who works on the art content of “The Agency,” she told me:

“We have to do a lot of women’s clothing; half of the characters in the game are women. … I think it’s really good to have a female perspective there. I know more than once I’ve talked to an artist and said, ‘Um, you can’t cut the sleeves like that because her bra would show.’ You’ve got full-figured women in the game, and they would have to wear a bra! [laughs] Actually, everybody’s really respectful about it, and we do laugh a lot when we have these conversations. And I would say the men in our creative group definitely know a lot more about shoes, the cuts of blazers, A-line skirts versus pencil skirts and everything else than they ever cared to know. But they’re definitely educated now, and they’ve educated me as well, so it’s been really good.”

Sowards and Floyd each have had several years experience working in the games industry; Sowards has been a music composer and audio director for video games, while Floyd worked in print advertising and then at RPG publisher Wizards of the Coast before coming to SOE. With previous experience in mostly male fields, working at SOE Seattle — where about 10% of its 70 employees are female — wasn’t weird for either.

In fact, both women said they felt a little strange being called out to represent the G.I.R.L. scholarship program. “It feels a little unusual because I don’t think about the fact that I’m a female in games hardly ever,” Sowards said. “We’re all building a game, we’re all having a great time, and I don’t think about the fact that I’m a girl walking in the office in the morning, so you shouldn’t either.”

Floyd added that while they don’t necessarily like focusing on their gender, it’s something that could have positive effects for other women interested in making and playing games, especially considering the survey results. “I think some women might be scared by the industry or don’t really know what the industry is about or understand the opportunities that may be there for them,” she said. “And so the G.I.R.L. initiative, I think, is really trying to get the word out about that. … It’s just going to take a while for people to realize that hey, there are actually all these women who game. I think it’s already happening, and I’m just glad to be a part of anything that can help usher the communication and positive light.”

Both women said they haven’t faced any major challenges based on their gender during their careers. However, Sowards did have one issue when she started in the games industry about 12 years ago. “I think probably one of the biggest challenges I’ve had was when I first started in the industry was to make sure that when people came to the studio they didn’t call me the secretary because I was the only woman in the office,” she said, laughing. I asked her if that still happens now. “No, it does not!”

What about the folks who think that the scholarship is singling girls out, and that gender shouldn’t matter? “I would like to believe that gender doesn’t matter but there is a difference,” Floyd said. “I will occasionally wear skirts and high heels and most of the men in the office do not,” she added, joking.

But in all seriousness, they do have advice for young women who feel intimidated about working the games industry. “It’s not that bad out here, and there’s nothing to be scared of,” Sowards said. “You just gotta buck it up and go in there. If you really want to do it, just go ahead and do it!”

Floyd also said that it’s really important to get more women, and different kinds of people in general, working in games: “I think diversity is always good. I think young, old, male, female — it doesn’t really matter. We just need talented people. And the industry is really low on resources, and so the more people we can get in, the better. And you know what? It would be great if some more of those people were females.”