Meet the creative: HyperBeard

As a keen astronomy student, Kyu Valencia found wonder in our universe. It’s no wonder, then, that she now builds worlds of her own as HyperBeard’s chief creative officer, the company behind KleptoCats, Kiki’s Vacation and other cuddly capers. We spoke to Valencia about the presence of women in gaming, her relationship with International Women’s Day, and her female-friendly furnishing game, Pocket Love.

Kyu Valencia: HyperBeard has always done a great job of developing games that appeal to women, but Pocket Love is arguably HyperBeard's first game designed by women, for women. That perspective encourages every woman on the team to craft experiences which speak to the underlying expression of the game.

Going forward, we’ll continue to build games from the heart which showcase our diverse and inclusive team. In that way, we will continually improve representation in gaming in both the art and the industry.

Although women make up half of all gamers globally, most video game protagonists are male. What’s worse, female characters often assume stereotypically subservient roles. Fortunately, we now have much better female representation in gaming, leading to more female characters that anyone can see themselves in.

International Women's Day is a reminder that we are far from reaching equality. Every day, millions of females experience wage inequality, harassment, sexual abuse or worse; things that women close to me have experienced. We have a long way to go, but I am hopeful that we will get there one day.

Pocket Love is a game made by women, for women! To celebrate International Women's Day we'll be releasing brand new furniture sets and clothing items in the game's first major content update after launch in February.