This story is part of our March 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.

Growing up, Jessica Flor remembers her childhood with the original Nintendo, pressing the toy gun against the TV with her sisters playing Duck Hunt. Decades later, after doing marketing for and playing in esports, she set her sights on making video games herself.

“Until that point, I never really even saw that as an avenue for making money,” Flor says. “Because growing up, your parents tell you, ‘Why are you wasting time with games? Games will never get you anywhere.’”

In 2025, Flor founded Hexwave, a Sacramento-based indie game studio and publishing collective that develops games showcasing diverse voices to make a positive impact and bring players together through immersive experiences.

She has heard from other small teams in the community how tough it is to get traction on any platform, especially up against mega-conglomerates like Xbox and Electronic Arts that have all the money and resources. As CEO, Flor is working to build both community and tools to support small creators.

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Currently, Hexwave is developing its first project with an all-female team: HerSalon, a cozy Black salon narrative business management game “where you style hair and heal hearts to rediscover your own spark,” she says.

Hexwave’s mission became clear after her experience at her previous game industry job. It was a male-centric office developing games for a male-centric audience, she says, adding she was one of four female employees out of 80.

“In that space,” she says, “there was little room to create things that felt unique to people that were not part of a traditionally masculine male audience that wanted brutal violence and scantily clad women and all of these traditional game staples.”

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In her experience, women in the game industry have to walk a fine line because they’re perceived as too bossy, lacking the right experience to have a valid opinion — or they keep the peace and never have an impact. Flor wanted to create a space where those limits didn’t exist.

In addition, Hexwave is developing Project Indie Connect, a platform to help indie creators run their businesses and connect with early-stage collaborators, supporting healthy, sustainable development for small teams. This aligns with Flor’s long-standing devotion to the developer community. She has organized several Women in Game Development meetups and other events, including Video Game Book Club.

“Sacramento has more developers than most people realize — primarily independent creators — and Jessica has played an important role in strengthening that ecosystem,” says Thomas Ruiz, president of the Sacramento Developer Collective, a nonprofit that connects, develops and advocates for video game and creative developers in the region. “She has created intentional spaces where developers can connect, share ideas and grow professionally.”

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Ruiz met Flor about a year ago at one SDC’s events, Pitch Day, where she was recommended as a judge. He says she delivered thoughtful, actionable feedback and made an immediate impact on developers in the room. He also highlights her efforts in game preservation.

Barbara DeHart, a retired executive and founder of Sama Learning, connected with Flor as an advisor through FourthWave. With a background in media, entertainment and video games, DeHart sees Hexwave as addressing a real gap in the industry.

“Mentoring and coaching were beneficial for me throughout my career, especially in environments that have been so heavily male-centric,” DeHart says. “Having voices where you can see what’s possible and learn from others who have traversed the same territory is really important.”

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For Flor, operating in what is typically a male-dominated space has shaped how wants to move forward as a founder.

“There’s definitely a lot of toxic behavior on the internet playing a game as a woman, especially in games where you’re communicating with your voice,” she says. “And it’s hard to hide the fact that you’re of a different identity than other people in the group. With that though, I’ve also made friends just because there are people out there who are super awesome allies and advocates who will tell people to, like, ‘Shut up and sit down’ if they start harassing you.”

After seeing both dynamics play out online, Flor set out to build something open and welcoming. The shift was obvious in the meetings themselves.

“When you have five women on a call together, it’s polite and balanced and collaborative,” Flor says. “Sometimes there’s just dead silence. I thought, ‘Wow, this would never have happened in one of my other meetings.’ In those, everyone was yelling over each other, and it felt very combative. And this is very lo-fi, chill-beats energy.”

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