Ubisoft PH's Lyka Nierras On Women In Competitive Gaming: 'If I See A Woman Who's In Esports, It Would Encourage Me To Do The Same Thing'

The landscape of gaming has indeed changed now that women are getting recognized in the industry. Globally, representation of women in Esports are currently on the rise, especially here in the Philippines.

More women are leading the way in the world of game development as well. One of them is Lyka Nierras, Communications Manager of Ubisoft Philippines and she also runs the diversity and inclusion council in the studio.

For someone who's been with the Ubisoft for almost seven years, seeing many women in game development shows promise in the industry.

"In terms of the rise women in the industry, to me it's really exciting in Triple A game development, particularly here in Ubisoft. It's been very promising and seeing more women making the games. I'm part of that," Nierras said. "But even in terms of the development side – just alone our project managers – majority are women. So, It's showing a lot of what women can do."

"At the same time, how we can start giving that representation in games not only in front, where the characters exist, but also in the back. Where different minority groups can share their opinions, share their perspectives in making these games. So, there's really a lot," she added.

Though she's one of the trailblazers in the industry, Nierras says producing Triple A games are quite challenging. Philippine-based game developers also give input and contribute ideas to the main studio on the titles they're working on.

"In general, for game development – particularly in Ubisoft Philippines – our industry is very young. In terms of Triple A level, wala pa masyado. We're still growing," the studio's Communications Manager stressed "So, there's a lot of really good mobile and outsourcing companies here in the Philippines. But in terms of Triple A code development, we're only beginning. So what is Triple A co-development? In Ubisoft Philippines, we're actually making the games. Hindi lang tayo sinasabihan na 'Oh, we want this asset, make this asset'. No, we're part of the full pipeline. We contribute our ideas to the project."

In the game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, a region called "Snotinghamscire" was made entirely by the studio in the Philippines. Although she's proud of her team's accomplishments, Nierras says that Filipino game developers still have a lot of learning to do in terms of reaching their full potential in making high quality games.

"For example in AC [Assassin's Creed]: Valhalla, Ubisoft Philippines particularly made the full region of Snotinghamscire. So, all of that Philippine made and that's all by our developers. And we need more people like that in Triple A [games]," she disclosed. "Yes, it's a young industry and we still have a lot of learning to do. We're trying to grow our developers so that they can reach that level. At the same time, of course, Triple A games take a while. So, there's still a lot of things you need to learn to be able to ship these really, really big titles."

With the continuing console wars between Playstation and Xbox – most notably with the news of Microsoft potentially acquiring Activision-Blizzard –  Ubisoft however, remains open to making games for all platforms.

"We're open to all consoles and to all platforms. I think anything that we can get our games on we want to so that we can access all different kinds of players," Nierras said.

Speaking of games, the studio has been working on the latest Assassin's Creed title dubbed as "Assassin's Creed: Mirage", that is soon to be released and a new game called "Skull and Bones" which is currently in development alongside Ubisoft Singapore.

"One thing we're excited about is AC [Assassin's Creed]: Mirage. The Philippine studio is directly working on the development of AC [Assassin's Creed]: Mirage, which is coming out," Nierras announced. "I do hope you guys can support it and play the game – definitely AC [Assassin's Creed]: Mirage and Skull and Bones.

When Nierras is not working on Triple A titles, she puts on her gaming hat and streams on Twitch. She plays mostly First Person Shooters like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege and is also a fan of the Assassin's Creed games like Black Flag and Valhalla – which are all made by Ubisoft.

"Personally, I've been a fan of AC [Assasin's Creed]: Black Flag and AC [Assassin's Creed]: Valhalla but also, I like FPS [First Person Shooter] games mostly. So, I really like [Tom Clancy's] Rainbow Six [Siege]. Very competitive," she confessed with a laugh.

Before joining Ubisoft, she worked for advertising and public relations companies like Publicis Manila, DIGITANK Studios and Ogilvy Philippines. Albeit graduating in Communication Arts and Advertising – a double major degree – at De La Salle University in Manila, her background would eventually lead her to the industry she loves.

Nierras' advice to anyone, especially women, who dreams of pursuing a career in the video game industry should just go for it.

"Personally, go for it. Don't let outside or external factors influence your decision as much as possible. Of course, you can take opinions and advice, but at the end of the day, go for something you love because you might regret not taking it," the DLSU alumnus said. "For me, I did the safe route, where I ended up going for a business degree first 'cause the pressures got to me. The typical pressure na, 'Ah dapat pumunta ka sa industriya na may pera, doon ka sa typical. Huwag ka doon sa bago lang [na] hindi mo pa alam', right? So, now for me, I was lucky enough to get into the industry I wanted, even with a different course which I took was communication and advertising. So even then, I got into the video game industry with my background."

"So, that was something I was able to do. But if you're someone who wants to be a programmer, if you want to be a lead level designer, go for it. And for me, there's always a support system who will have you, who will back you up if you wanna go for it," she added.

With representation of women growing in the gaming industry, especially the esports scene in the country, Nierras believes women are definitely capable of competing at tournaments mostly dominated by men. Seeing more women at Esports events would definitely inspire the younger generation of passionate female gamers.  

"I think it's great. I think it's good to see more women going into the competitive scene, even in Esports. I think, if even given more opportunities, I think just generally, being able to, like personally for me, if I see a woman who's in Esports and can do certain things, it would encourage me to do the same thing," said the Communications Manager of Ubisoft Philippines. "So, I think having more women represented in the industry and mas kita sila, mas ma i-inspire yung mga younger generations to do the same. In the competitive industry, I really encourage more people to join if this is really your passion."