As one of the speakers at Inspirefest 2016, Brenda Romero – renowned game designer and co-founder of Romero Games – left the audience in fits of laughter at her brilliant take on a gender-warped gaming industry.

Brenda Romero, who spoke during the first morning of Inspirefest 2016, is by far one of the longest-serving and most knowledgeable game designers in the industry. She began her career in 1981 after being hired in a bathroom for being a fan of the board game Dungeons and Dragons.

Romero – who was one of only five women in the entire industry in the 1980s – said during her fantastic keynote that, over the intervening years, gaming companies have certainly added more women to their staff numbers, but female designers still remain a noticeable minority.

Drawing quite a few laughs from the audience, Romero said the way women are portrayed in AAA gaming titles is certainly unique.

“Erect nipples is probably a phrase you didn’t expect to hear from a game designer, but there you go,” she said.

Words by Colm Gorey