Filmmaker Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, most known for her 2012 documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Stories of American Superheroines, has taken the mission of empowering young girls into her own hands. Her latest project seeks to encourage them in an area that is likely to grasp the attention of millenials — the world of online-gaming, NBC Latino reported.
“The game picks up where the film left off,” Guevara-Flanagan said. “We are interested in the reputation of women in popular media, and we couldn’t fit all that inside the film.”
“Wonder City” has made its debut after a year of production and targets adolescent girls ages 9 to 12. The game allows them to design their own virtual characters, known in the gamer world as avatars. Throughout the episodes, the game instills the themes of being an empowered female and leader.
Gueveara-Flanagan said she was not happy with the influx of pre-teen games focused on makeovers, celebrity dating, boyfriends and popularity contests. Instead, girls should have the same types of role models and options boys have, she said in the report.
“Very few CEOs of businesses are women, so we wanted a game to develop leadership skills in women — to take a role in changing this landscape — one that would have a positive influence in that way,” she said.