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Citation Details

Building Digital Dream Houses: An Interview with Jesyca Durchin

Award ID(s):: 1922391

PAR ID:: 10478296

Author(s) / Creator(s):: Kocurek, Carly; Mirghaderi, Leilasadat; Simon, Sara

Corporate Creator(s):: In 1995, Jesyca Durchin accepted a job as a producer at Mattel Media under Nancie Martin. The then-fledgling game and software studio had fewer than a dozen employees and existed at a distance from Mattel’s more central toy business. Barbie Fashion Designer ; Mattel CEO Jill Barad’s enthusiasm for the project and willingness to invest in a television commercial salvaged the situation. Games for girls continue to occupy a fraught position in cultural history, and Barbie, in particular, is a divisive figure. Backlash came not only from uninterested male executives, journalists, and audiences; not all girls would want to play sparkly pink dress-up games, some women warned, urging the industry to expand its notion of games for girls beyond Barbie. Ultimately, however, Barbie Fashion Designer is one chapter of a career focused on media and entertainment aimed at girls and women. Durchin took her first job in interactive media after a stint working for the director Tim Burton, assuming that game companies might be more willing to give her a chance producing. In this interview, Durchin reflects on her career, offering insights from her experiences creating games that girls love. She shares stories of early production discoveries that led to pivotal games like Barbie Fashion Designer, and she discusses the difficulties the field faced in trying to forge a more inclusive industry. Taken together, Durchin’s insights shed light on an important and often overlooked chapter of games history.

Publisher / Repository:: ROMchip

Date Published:: 2022-12-01

Journal Name:: ROMchip

ISSN:: 25739794

Format(s):: Medium: X

Sponsoring Org:: National Science Foundation

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