What makes Elizabeth Sampat a Global Shaker?
Elizabeth Sampat is the award-winning game designer and activist dubbed a “Game Changer” by Marie Claire magazine in their list of “20 Women Changing the Ratio” in male-dominated industries. The San Francisco-based gaming pioneer has played a leading role in mobile gaming, contributing her design expertise to huge titles such as Plants vs. Zombies 2 and the most downloaded game in mobile history, Subway Surfers.
Sampat has placed the crafting of games at the core of both her professional and private lives. Whilst working for successful publishers by day, she works from home on her own more personal, intimate projects. Her first book, Empathy Engines: Design Games That Are Personal, Political, and Profound was well received by an industry which is seeking to push the boundaries of the relationship between game and player.
When not creating games, Sampat is campaigning for more female representation in the world of gaming, speaking at conferences, debates and events across Europe and the United States and working as part of the IGDA’s Women in Games steering committee. Her writing, which discusses personal experience and games design can be seen in the likes of Lifehacker, Vice and The Yearbook Office.
A diverse set of skills have been the catalyst behind her success. From flourishing in senior creative designer roles at Storm 8 to writing scripts for Ghost Recon: Commander and Fallen London, Sampat continues to impress the industry with her championing of more intimate styles of gaming.
Last updated: May 17, 2019
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