“Women Don’t Have to Choose Between Empathy and Edge”: Tina B, Co-Founder, LightFury Games

I think my journey with the gaming space began in 2017, to be very precise. Back then it was very nascent. India, on that front, was still getting warmed up from a game development and gaming opportunity standpoint. At that point in time, the challenges were very different in terms of assembling the right set of talent because it was a very niche space.

Even today, the kind of crème talent that you would want to assemble is a challenge, especially in the space and segment that we are in. But back then, the pool was very limited. So more than seeing it as tilted or inclined toward a male or gender-specific nuance, I think it was more about finding the right source and channel to recruit the right set of talent and get the right minds together. From then to now, a lot of things have shifted. We have seen so much happening across all spectrums of gaming genres whether casual, hyper-casual, or even complex game development scenes. But coming back to your point, yes, women representation can be much better than what it is today.

In India, there is still only about 12–14% women workforce representation in the game development space. In our company, we’ve tried to make it healthier around 20-22% representation right now. But this is not from an inclusivity-for-the-sake-of-it standpoint. We prioritize hiring for the right skill and diversified perspectives, because close to 50% of games are consumed by women. So balanced perspectives matter. Back in 2017, the optics were very different altogether.

I’m not sure whether it was from the angle of being a woman, but in most of my leadership roles, I would have been the only woman leader in a room of seven or eight men.

For me, a lot of character building happened early in life. I come from a background where my sister and I had to take family responsibility at a very early stage. So even if there were situations where my viewpoints were challenged whether because I wasn’t from that particular domain or because of differing opinions, I approached it with data.

If you have a data-backed approach, it helps you make your point clearly and legitimately at the table. There have been situations where you are voicing your perspective in singularity against a group of leaders, and because women representation in leadership roles is lower in numbers, you may find yourself in that position.

There are also situations where someone is not senior enough and may get challenged. But how you put your foot down, how you present assertive, data-backed solutions that turns the table.

Technically, I may not have been challenged in terms of capability, but I have been challenged on whether something is needed at that point in time or whether there is a better way to do it. My go-to solution has always been: do thorough research, get your data right, bake all inputs into your solution, and then present it. That has worked consistently in my career.

I completely agree that representation is low compared to other ecosystems like VC and tech.

The data is improving. There are more success stories now in the VC circuit, women entrepreneurship, and tech spaces. But you still face situations where you are one among very few in a room full of people.

How do we change the ratio? I don’t have a straightforward answer. I strongly believe that merit should precede and supersede everything. If you are qualified, have the right skill set and domain expertise, that should earn you the job or promotion. I don’t necessarily believe in quotas or provisional policies.

However, we can make the environment healthier, safer, and more inclusive. We even have specially abled professionals working with us. The idea is equal opportunity based on merit.

If women or anyone work deeply on technical or domain know-how and people management skills, they should be able to grow up the ladder.

Views help.

For example, if there is women representation in the design team and certain nuances are being designed from a user or player standpoint, definitely those optics and perspectives help in ideation. Then we measure impact.

But I would not say there is a direct bearing purely along gender lines. It is more about having diverse viewpoints that strengthen the output.

I would have loved to see more women in the engineering workforce. I see many women in art, design, and production teams, but I would love more representation in engineering. However, game development requires deep technical expertise, so that pipeline needs strong foundational training.

In terms of subtle biases  in my observation, it is less about gender and more about hierarchy. Sometimes conversations are not taken seriously based on seniority rather than gender. The more senior you are, the more respect you gain. That is more of a traditional construct.

That is why at Light Fury we have a relatively flat structure. We are not too layered. Many people report directly to the co-founders. We don’t want bureaucracy or hierarchy limiting open dialogue.

Most of my early career was as a strategic business partner. Whether it was hardcore business, R&D, product, or tech functions I always viewed things from a business performance standpoint.

You need to understand the basic lifecycle of game development. If you are completely unfamiliar with the nuances, conversations become difficult.

As a founder, it is very different. Every decision has a domino effect. You have to think across people, company, process, and long-term sustenance sometimes 5 or 10 years ahead. You need a pragmatic and holistic mindset. And I wouldn’t say I hesitated, but the level of responsibility and thinking required increases.

We built the organization top-down with experienced veterans, including expats and returning Indian talent who came back due to lack of opportunity earlier.

We assembled like-minded leaders who share the same cultural fabric and value system. There is no hierarchy. Anyone can walk up and share concerns, views, or ideas. Ideas are taken based on impact not whether they come from women or men. We encourage speaking up and voicing opinions. We have supported women who returned from maternity breaks. Our marketing leader has a six-month-old baby and manages both responsibilities. We believe in human empathy. You are working with humans and emotions matter. Authenticity and honesty in leadership trickle down to the grassroots level.

I don’t mind being labeled difficult.

My imagery would probably be that I am a taskmaster when it comes to work quality. We believe in outcomes. We do it with what we call “compassionate aggression.” We are empathetic and human, but when a task needs to be done at a certain quality level, that cannot be compromised.

Being assertive and forceful when required has helped me manage large rooms of men even when I was the only woman. It has brought respect.

My advice to women is: work on your domain expertise, excel in your technical abilities, and bring solutions backed with data and research. Then you can walk into any room and make your point clearly.

I think, networking really helps. Speak to as many people as you can. Sharpen your skills. There are many platforms now like AI tools, open-source systems, deep technical courses that can help you learn. Figure out your strong suit be it design, art, technical engineering, production and go deep into it. Ace it. Build a strong network. Gaming is a small ecosystem. The right mentor, the right entrance opportunity, and the right organization can hold you through the journey of growth.

I wouldn’t frame it as “treatment,” but I would change the education structure.

There are very few universities in India that offer strong game development curriculum. I would love to see a more structured, institutionalized system in this discipline. That would reduce vagueness and ambiguity around how to build domain expertise. If this gets institutionalized, more people including women would pursue game development as a serious career choice. There are shifts happening, but I would love to see much more structure than what exists today.