Brisbane-based game producer Kim Allom has been named the first recipient of the $20,000 SQ Mentorship, announced CEO Tracey Vieira.
“I am pleased to announce Kim as the first recipient for this new Screen Queensland initiative, designed to elevate the professional practice of female Queensland practitioners in the screen or games industry,” Ms Vieira said.
Premier and Minister for the Arts Annastacia Palaszczuk congratulated Kim on her success.
“Kim Allom is already proving to be a leader in her field. Earlier this year she took out the Queensland Young Achiever of the Year 2017 award for Online Achievement, and she has made a significant contribution to the Australian game industry,” the Premier said.
“The SQ mentorship will take Kim to California and Berlin in 2018 to be mentored by two leaders in the international gaming industry.”
Kim’s two mentors will be California-based Kim Sellentin, Producer at Blizzard Entertainment, known for World of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Heroes of the Storm®, Overwatch® and Hearthstone®; and Berlin-based Brie Code, CEO and Creative Director of her own company Tru Luv Media and former lead programmer on the Assassin’s Creed series.
“I am absolutely thrilled by this opportunity and feel like it will be a cornerstone to my career path and personal development. It’s important for me to say that I would not have this opportunity if it weren’t for my mentors, colleagues, family and friends,” Kim said.
“In this industry, women and non-binary identifying game studio CEOs exist, but are few and far between. I want to learn from pioneers like Brie Code and experts like Kim Sellentin to help achieve my goal of one day running my own video game studio,” she said.
“I’m excited to help support the SQ Mentorship program,” said Kim Sellentin, producer at Blizzard Entertainment. “Screen Queensland’s initiative is very much aligned with Blizzard’s own core values, and I’m eager for Kim to come see firsthand how our workplace embraces diversity and strives for gender parity.”
“I’m looking forward to mentoring Kim during the process of building up my new Berlin-based studio Tru Luv Media,” said Brie Code.
“I’ve been very impressed by Kim’s fast rise at Defiant and her groundbreaking work with Blushbox. When I was several years into my career, I had the opportunity to see how a few different studios ran from the inside, and it gave me increased perspective into the overall games industry and its possibilities. I’m happy to provide an opportunity for Kim to develop her perspective further, and I’m looking forward to discovering what new insights she will bring to Tru Luv,” Ms Code said.
Kim Allom started as an Associate Producer at Defiant Development in 2013, before being promoted to video game Producer. Partnering with Cartoon Network, Kim supported the release to mobile title Ski Safari: Adventure Time (2013), as well as its new content update in 2014.
In 2015, Kim was involved in Defiant’s first PC, Xbox One and PS4 title, Hand of Fate in 2015 with its sequel expected to be released later in 2017.
Kim is a mentor for The Working Lunch which is an initiative that aims to empower entry level women in the industry by connecting them to video game professionals. She has served as a mentor for the Tech Girls Movement where she supported girls in developing apps for social change, and she also runs Blushbox Collective.
SQ Mentorship is a three-year program (2017-2019) delivered annually as part of Screen Queensland’s commitment to diversity and achieving gender parity in the screen industry.
