My not so exciting first day in MN: Sooo… after discovering I had the dumb yesterday and left way too fucking early for my flight (i thought we were on the 12:15, we were on the 1:00 actually) being more than concerned about traveling on a holiday and worrying if my colleague and I would be able to board, [We bought her ticket under her middle name and the assholes at UAL wouldn’t do anything but say oh well see what happens at the airport!] we wound up with two hours to kill at O’Hare.

We found a Chili’s, had a Marguerita’s and then wandered to the correct gate. Short flight, made me wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to drive… but considering that an hr flight versus a 7 – 8 hr drive plus the parking, gas, etc clearly made the flight the winner. After a couple of thumps during descent we got off, found our other colleague and headed over to the hotel.

Our room wasnt ready, since the conference housing people had decided to change JD’s hotel to a single room without notifying him, considering he’d said a 2 bdrm suite for 3 adults. *huff* it did give us a chance to find a good sushi place, eat and catch up with each other. We checked in at the conference, got our buttload of materials, and then finally got checked into the hotel.

Tis a lovely suite, and it has free wi-fi, a kitchen, and even a full dining area. *squee* I conked out early, actually at the conference hotel where we went for some cocktails in the evening. I didn’t snore thankfully but I did nod off at the table and was entirely out of it on the way back to the hotel.

I hope I’m not omfg sick, like I could sleep all day sick today because it would suck, and I’ve got a full day planned ahead. There’s a first timers session that takes up a good chunk of the day, and then we have a little time for lunch and then concurrent sessions run from 2:30 till about 4:00.

The opening plenary speaker is Colin Powell this evening. Should be interesting to hear him speak.. I just hope I don’t start the Chris Rock skit in my head and laugh out loud during his speech.

Now, off for some coffee and then maybe a shower to clear my head.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.