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Viral video game “Tampon Run” launches in mobile

Teen creators take gaming world by storm; aim to raise awareness of menstrual taboo and inspire girls to learn to code

NEW YORK, New York – February 3, 2015 – Sophie Houser and Andrea Gonzales, the teen creators of online viral video game Tampon Run, today announced the release of an iOS version of their hit game on the App Store. To create the app, the two teens have been working with Pivotal Labs, the agile development services unit of Pivotal, a major agile development firm.

Like the web game, the iOS version of Tampon Run features a girl who throws tampons at oncoming enemies who try to confiscate them. If she runs out of tampons and collides with an enemy, it’s game over. The iOS version also offers many new features including gameplay that becomes more challenging over time, a flying enemy, a leaderboard, Game Center achievements, and originally composed music. The game is free to download on the Apple App store.

Sophie and Andy created the original 8-bit online game as their final project at the 2014 Summer Immersion Program of Girls Who Code, an organization whose mission is to close the gender gap in tech.

“Our goal from the beginning has been to reach as wide an audience as possible to provoke thought and discussion about the menstrual taboo, and to encourage more girls to learn to code. Bringing Tampon Run to mobile is a key step to achieving that goal,” Sophie Houser said.

“Women are taught throughout their lives that their periods are embarrassing and crude, something to feel ashamed of,” said Andy. “We’re excited to see that Tampon Run has helped women and girls feel that their period is not only a normal and natural bodily function, but something to own and love.”

Sophie and Andy are also glad that they are inspiring girls and women to learn how to code. Right now 71% of all STEM jobs will be in computing fields. However, only .04% of high school girls say they want to major in computer science. The lack of women in tech leads to rampant sexism in the field, including the recent #GamerGate scandal in the gaming field. And more females in tech will lead to a greater diversity in products, like Tampon Run.

Tampon Run mobile comes in response to popular demand following the original September 3, 2014 release of the game, which the girls uploaded to share with friends and family. The game immediately went viral, with press, tweets and emails of support from around the world. Sophie and Andy quickly realized how important it was to convert Tampon Run into a mobile app. Pivotal Labs, in support of the girls’ goals, dedicated a team full time for seven weeks pro bono to work with the girls on the app.

“Pivotal values diversity and enjoyed supporting an initiative that fosters inclusiveness in the tech industry,” said Catherine McGarvey, NYC Office Director at Pivotal Labs. “We really enjoyed working with Sophie and Andy. They were both able to see the value in our pair programming and agile development practice and see their app come to life.”

Since then, Sophie and Andy have given a TEDx Talk, competed at a game hackathon in Silicon Valley organized by Stanford where they were finalists with a new female-themed game, and are developing a book concept around Tampon Run. Additionally, Teen Vogue ranked them #2 on their 2014 year end list of “Ten Teens Who Changed the World.”

About Tampon Run: Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser are high school students in NYC. They met in the summer of 2014 at Girls Who Code, an organization trying to close the gender gap in tech, where they cultivated their love of coding and released the web game.

About Girls Who Code: Launched in Spring 2012, Girls Who Code is a national nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in the technology and engineering sectors. With support from public and private partners, Girls Who Code works to educate, inspire, and equip high school girls with the skills and resources to pursue opportunities in computing fields.

About Pivotal and Pivotal Labs: Pivotal offers a modern approach to technology that organizations need to thrive in a new era of business innovation. Pivotal Labs, the agile development services unit of Pivotal, brings the best of agile development practices, Lean Startup techniques, mobile application development and innovation to enterprises and startups. Pivotal Labs also developed Pivotal Tracker, the award-winning project management tool.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Pivotal .