Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Pick only one. . .

Celebrating Female Game Devs of Yesteryear

by Ernest Adams

As Women in Games International's Austin conference approaches, Next-Gen takes a moment to recognize the outstanding female developers who molded the industry during its early years. . . .

ImageThe business has also included its share of transgendered women. Dani Bunten Berry was without doubt one of the greatest game designers of all time, although much of her work was published under her original name, Dan Bunten. Berry created games that are considered industry milestones, most notably M.U.L.E. (which stood for Multi-Use Labor Element). It was a multiplayer trading and exploration game with a clever and innovative auction interface. Berry died of lung cancer in 1998 and is sorely missed. . . .

The WIGI Conference will be held on September 8, 2007 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. Visit www.womeningamesinternational.org for more details.

Transgender woman reflects on life changes

Robbie Cohn, 56, has decided she will no longer pretend to be someone she is not.

"After the genie was out of the bottle, I told myself that I would never live in denial ever again," said Cohn, who was born a man but has been living for 41/2 years as a transgender woman.

"I don't deny the fact that I'm transgender. By the same token, I don't wear a T-shirt that says, 'kiss me, I'm trans.' I don't have it tattooed on my forehead."

Confused, in denial and living a lie are the words to describe the emotions Cohn kept built up inside until she came out and began to live her life as a woman and not a man.

"I thought that somehow it would go away," said Cohn, recalling how uncomfortable she felt while living as a man. "(I thought) that there was a way to cure it, a way to stop it ... "

Cohn said these feelings dated back to when she was 3 or 4 years old, when her mom's friend was baby-sitting her. She and the baby-sitter's daughter played dress up. Cohn remembers very vividly, she said, putting on makeup and feeling like it was right and natural. . . .

(Listen to Robbie talk about growing up in the 1950s)

Picture
Robbie Cohn talks with a reporter about her transgender selection and the difficulties she faces on an ongoing basis. Bobbie Jamison/The Dispatch
Flash required to hear audio


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