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***Update 1 – 2015-10-18 – 11:44 CEST***

When I originally wrote this article, I stated that Jessica Curry´s health problems were stress-related. That´s incorrect, as Curry suffers from degenerative disease. And sadly enough, that´s not something which Curry can recover from (like in the case with stress related illnesses, for example). So I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.

“As many of you will know from my twitter feed I’m ill. I have a degenerative disease that simply won’t do what it’s told, and anyone who knows me is aware of just how stubborn I am and how hard I try every single day.” – Jessica Curry, The Chinese room

Credit:
Acg
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Games journalism and Gaming journalists are a bigger problem then the industry itself

First of all, I find it to be really sad that Jessica Curry (composer and former CO-director for The Chinese room) felt like she had to step down as the CO-director for The Chinese room, due to sexism and illness (Curry has also stepped down from her CO-director position at the “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture” SCE Santa Monica Studio). However, in her case it doesn´t seem like it´s the game industry that´s the actual problem. No, it´s a problem that was created by the game journalists. Because from what I can tell (I base my thoughts and opinions on Jessica Curry´s post), Curry thinks that she has not been treated with the respect and credibility that she deserves, simply because she´s a female. That´s of course not alright, and Jessica Curry has proven her worth several times over as well (she´s a BAFTA nominated composer, and her score for “Dear Esther”and “Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs” speaks for itself really).

the chinese room co director jessica curry part 1

I feel sorry for Jessica Curry, but she should blame the game journalists, and NOT the video game industry as a whole.

the-chinese-room-co-director jessica curry part 2

I had no idea (whatsoever) that Jessica had been treated like this. In my opinion, she should call them out (with names and everything).

So I got quite sad (and mad) when I read Curry´s own post on the matter (it´s the parts that concerns her illness and sexism in the industry):

“I thought I was strong enough to lead the charge, to prove through talent and hard work and positivity that women have a vital role to play,” “On a personal level I look back at my huge contribution to the games that we’ve made and I have had to watch Dan get the credit time and time again.”

“I’ve had journalists assuming I’m Dan’s PA, I have been referenced as ‘Dan Pinchbeck’s wife’ in articles, publishers on first meeting have automatically assumed that my producer is my boss just because he’s a man, one magazine would only feature Dan as Studio Head and wouldn’t include me. When Dan has said ‘Jess is the brains of the operation’ people have knowingly chuckled and cooed that it’s nice of a husband to be so kind about his wife. I don’t have enough paper to write down all of the indignities that I’ve faced.”

“I’ve realized that the only way I’m going to get credit for the work that I do is if I take a step away from Dan. I love Dan so, so much. He is a talented, intelligent, shining-souled man. This is not a rejection of him but of the society that still can’t cope with the fact that a woman might just be as talented as the man she shares her life with.” – Jessica Curry, composer and Company Director at The Chinese Room

Where do we go from here? And what can we learn from Jessica Curry´s tragic and sad story?

It´s Jessica Curry (former The Chinese room CO-director) and Dan Pinchbeck (Curry´s husband and Creative Director for The Chinese room).

Sadly enough, that´s just the half of it. As Curry also revealed that The Chinese room had problems with “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture” publisher Sony. In which Curry stated the following:

“Big business and the creation of art have always been extremely uncomfortable bedfellows and making Rapture proved to be no exception for me. I don’t want to do this anymore – in fact I can’t do it. I want to surround myself with honest, open people whom I can trust.” – Jessica Curry, composer and Company Director at The Chinese Room

In other words. All of this took it´s told on Curry in the end, as she got burned out because of stress (thus her illness status and decision to step down as the CO-director for The Chinese room). That´s a darn shame for sure. However, I should point out that Curry will still remain as the Company Director at The Chinese Room, and she will also continue to compose music for Chinese room´s future game titles. I´m really glad to hear that, but I would still like to know which game journalists it was that treated Curry like this. I mean, who knows? Maybe they (the male game journalists) have treated other women in the games industry like that as well? And “if” that´s the case, then they should be dealt with (a warning or a sharp exit leave, depending on the situation).

Personally, I have never EVER had any problems with females wanting to work in tech, software or games. In fact, I grew up playing Roberta Williams (Writer, Game designer) King´s Quest series, and Jane Jensen´s (Designer, Author, Writer, Game designer) Gabriel Knight series. So I have never looked down on women. I should also mention that I just see talent, not gender or race. My point would be this. People such as Jessica Curry, Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen aren’t talented for being “females.” They are “just” talented. It’s as simple as that. Either you have it, or you don´t. In short, it´s not a gender thing. Anyhow, I hope that Curry will recover from her stress related illness as soon as possible.

With that said, feel free to share your thoughts with us on this matter in the comment section down below!

Credit:
Best Mom Eva

Source:
IGN

***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.

Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround