It’s a good time to be a gamer and it’s a great time if you are taking classes to become a game designer. Sony Online Entertainment, with administration by Scholarship America, is currently offering a scholarship associated with its G.I.R.L (Gamers In Real Life) program.

G.I.R.L is a program that is designed to influence more women to get involved in the gaming world. The goal is to get video game designers to develop video games that are more interesting for women to play and to help entice more women to become developers.

One student will win a scholarship worth up to $10,000, which will be applied towards tuition and other school expenses. The winner will also be offered a internship for up to 10 weeks at one of Sony Online Entertainment’s studios (note that room, board and transportation will not be included).

In the January 2009 issue of Delta’s Sky magazine - you know, that thing you end up reading because it’s in the seat pocket in front of you because you’ve seen everything in the SkyMall Catalog already – there is an article that attempts to educate the the uncomfortable masses about female gamers who are becoming game developers.

The article, titled “Crossing the (Gender) Divide” [sic], focuses on formerly frustrated gamer Vanessa Paugh who decided to create her own Quake levels. She found several of the game’s levels so gorgeous that she wanted to…

I was just opening up a newspaper in my old hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, this weekend and what did I see? A feature on women employed in the videogame industry. Since this happens to be a topic I have an invested interest in, I devoured it whole.

It has the hallmarks of many articles written about the generally male-skewed industry…