It’s nearly time for CONvergence (or #CVG2025 for the hashtag on Blue Sky) and I’m a Guest of Honor! As such, I’ve got a busy schedule but if you’ll be there and want to say hey, please do so. Here’s my panel schedule.

Thursday July 3rd

Being a Content Creator over 25 – 2:00pm Greenway FGH

Content creation seems to be for the young, but in reality, creators are likely to be older than you think! Many do the Twitch thing, hold down a day job, raise families, and try to have a life. Let’s discuss being older and online creating content.

Panelists: Tanya DePass, Chris Kluwe, Taru Hunter, Brian Forrest

Opening Ceremony – 7:00pm Nicollet Ballroom

Meet your 2025 GoH’s, hear what’s in store for this year’s convention!

Friday July 4th

Streaming for Fun and Rarely Profit – 11:00am Great Lakes A3

A lot of people think streaming is easy, just turn on the console, PC, camera, and go! We’ll have some real talk on what actually goes into streaming and the harsh reality that you need to be in it for the love of it, and if you earn some money…bonus!

Panelists: Tanya DePass, Chris Kluwe, Taru Hunter

Inclusive Gaming: Creating Welcoming Spaces – 2:00pm Northstar B

A discussion on how to create inclusive and welcoming gaming environments. Learn about the importance of diversity in games, strategies for fostering inclusivity at your gaming table, and how to address and prevent toxicity in gaming communities.

Panelists Jaymie Delia Wagner, Grace Holdinghaus, Kerry Peterson, Katarina R Larsen (mod), Tanya DePass

Writing Fanfiction – 8:30pm Lakeshore A

Discussing the ins and outs of writing fanfiction. **mature content**

Panelists: Erica Fair, Allison Dean (mod), Jaymie Delia Wagner, Dirk Thomas Ykema, Tanya DePass

Saturday July 5th

Passive-Aggressive vs Aggressive-Aggressive 11:00am – Great Lakes A3

Anger is a natural human emotion, though one that requires more control in expressing positively than many. How does one keep from being toxic while still allowing a healthy expression of their anger? In what ways is anger a good?

Panelists: Charlene Holm (mod), Jamie Riedesel, Kelly Murphy, Elizabeth Ess, Tanya DePass

Dragon Age: The Veilguard – 2:00pm Northstar B

After 10 years, Bioware finally gave us a sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition. How well did they do? What lingering questions do you still have?

Panelists: Brittany Ann Kerschner (mod), Caitlin Jean Sauve, Janna Seliger, Theo Quinlivan, Tanya DePass

Parasocial Relationships – 7:00pm Greenway BCDE

Parasocial relationships (one-way relationships where fans feel they “know” a content creator, media personality or influencer) have always existed. With social media, they take unfortunate, sometimes perilous twists. Let’s discuss navigating them.

Participants: Tanya DePass (mod), Kendrick Edmund Cronin, Chris Kluwe, Taru Hunter, Naomi Kritzer

Sunday July 6th

Best Intentions: Unexpected Triumphs – 2:00pm Greenway FGH

When we started, we were headed somewhere else, but we got here. Come hear stories of unexpected triumphs and cautionary tales!

Participants: Chris Kluwe, Tanya DePass, Prof Brown, Tanya Brody (mod), Jules Porter

Closing Ceremony – 5:00pm Nicollet Ballroom

That’s it, a wrap on this year’s CONvergence!

Participants: Dawn Krosnowski, Tanya DePass, Prof Brown, C.S.E. Cooney, Chris Kluwe, Jules Porter

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-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 attend 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 it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.