Meet Adrian Cheater: Game developer, 'tech witch' and ceiling breaker

This is one of nine profiles on outstanding Manitoba women in honour of International Women's Day. The CBC Creator Network project was written by Carmen Ponto and illustrated by artist Joanna Turner. Some answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Adrian Cheater, 43, is a self-taught game developer, parent and "tech witch" who realized she was transgender and neurodivergent at 38.

She and her business partner started their company Complex Games in 2001, which has seen enormous growth and success.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Professionally, I'm most proud of our company. I'm especially proud of the culture we've managed to foster. Over my career I'd hear horror stories about how horrible the culture in the gaming industry was, and it's not like that here.

We make an effort to identify issues as they arise, and resolve them instead of just blaming it on the culture. We don't want to be that company that hires and fires people based on rapid scaling up and down at the beginning of a project.

I focus on the idea that games are people. We have senior staff who have been here for more than eight years, and I think it's because of the environment we've created.

Individually I'm proud of the last six years since I began my transition and discovered my ADHD and autism. I'm still on the journey of self-discovery, but it's really exciting. 

What does it mean to be a woman in 2023?

For me this question is synonymous with what it means to be human. Transitioning was never about escaping one box to land in a different one. Being a woman is not anything tangible or expressive.

My gender isn't my hobbies, clothing, makeup, hormones or body parts. It's what I say it is. And so really, what I want is for everyone is to be fully themselves. 

I'm honestly very happy being myself , where I'm at and the journey it took to get here.- Adrian Cheater

When I was young, I made being "part of the crowd" the goal. I saw the way the world treated the exceptional and unexceptional, and it wasn't good on either side. I valued fitting in.

But at this point in my life, I don't know how I could be anything other than a proponent of personal agency, for any gender. People should be allowed to live their lives in peace, as long as they don't infringe on others' rights to individuality. 

Now, as I'm figuring out how to listen to that inner teenage girl I never knew was there, I have finally come to a point where I'm done with people's expectations. 

2023 is a great time to be 40 going on 17. I'm honestly very happy being myself, where I'm at, and the journey it took to get here.

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