Although women are playing online games in ever greater numbers, female game developers and computer programmers remain rare. That’s something Kirsten Tomilson is working to change as she develops her own digital media company, Fourth Monkey Media.

“I don’t understand why there aren’t more women working in the gaming industry,” said Tomilson, CEO and president of the Bridgewater-based venture.

“I go to several conventions a year and they’re primarily peopled with men, so are the studios. I’m passionate about getting more women involved.”

To that end, Tomilson mentors young women through Techsploration, a Nova Scotia non-profit that helps girls explore careers in science, trades and technology.

Getting more women working in digital media would widen the choice of games available. As it is, Tomilson said games tend to be men-centric.

“I admire Silicon Sisters out of Vancouver. It’s the first female-owned and run video game studio in Canada. Their mandate is to make games for women,” she said.

“Women play a lot of hidden object, puzzle and word games. There are many applications that women may develop, such as apps to advance health and science.”

Tomilson, who was born in Calgary, said she dreamt of running her own company since she came to Nova Scotia as a child. The four years since Fourth Monkey Media began have been tough.

“We’re bootstrapping. We have no external investment. We’re just starting to operate in the black. If you can last in this space for two years I believe it shows an ability to sustain yourself. If we can survive for another three years it will show we’re going to make a positive contribution to this province.”

Helping Tomilson sustain Fourth Monkey is a lean team, including a network of freelance artists, programmers, managers and designers, most of them in Halifax.

Many in the network have worked on high-profile titles like The Simpsons. “There’s a theme park attraction at Disneyland called Goofy’s Paint n’ Playhouse that we provided the 3D assets for,” Tomilson said.

She started out as a producer in film and television and went on to become senior production manager for a large video game producer. Most recently, she has produced and managed a number of branded online educational games.

Hiring local people with the right skills is becoming easier, she said, thanks to the close relationship between the Nova Scotia Game Developers’ Association, of which she is president, and the local educational institutions that train the talent.

The association was formed in October 2013. On its website, it quotes the Entertainment Software Association of Canada that states that there are 18 video game development studios around Nova Scotia.

Tomilson believes the provincial digital media tax credit is imperative to the industry.

Introduced in 2007, the credit has been extended until the end of this year. It allows producers to claim the lesser of 50 per cent of qualifying expenditures or 25 per cent of total expenditures.

“Tax credits like these are vital,” Tomilson said.

Fourth Monkey develops games on various platforms, including HTML 5.

Staff are also working on projects for other companies and have just completed an app for networking equipment specialist Cisco Systems.

Ideally, Tomilson would like to spend more time on Fourth Monkey projects. But it costs a lot to make a game. The minimum cost is around $15,000 and it can go up to hundreds of thousands.

But the rewards can also be high. “In terms of profit margins, Canada is ranked third in the world. Other countries are vying for our position. We have to ensure we have good programs and incentives in place.”

Disclaimer: Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support startup companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies and individuals are featured in this column, nor do they review columns before they are published.