Articles

Talks

Ubisoft Montreal – Diversity Tuesdays, November 22, 2016

University of Oregon – Digital Humanities Department

Queerness and Games Conference 2017 – Microtalks – Surviving out of Sheer Spite

Microsoft Social Computing Symposium – January 11-13, NYC. Social Computing Symposium 2016: Harassment, Threats, and Trolling Online: Why Diversity in all aspects of Gaming is Vital

SOCOSY 2016 BONUS! Audience Choice talks, mine is first on XB1 and usability.

AlterConf Chicago – We Need Diverse Games Aug 8, 2015

Convention Panels:

Game Developers of Color Expo:

Diverse Character Design and Representation

Five games industry professionals will further the case for diversity in character design during this panel. Topics to be discussed will include the portrayal of dark skin in games, representation of Arabs in video games, queer people of color in games, whitewashing, and cultural appropriation.

Sande Chen, Twitter @sandechenworld
Amaryah Shaye Armstrong, Twitter @amaryah_sa
Tanya DePass, Twitter @cypheroftyr
Yussef Cole, Twitter @youmeyou
Dina Abou Karam, Twitter @SkulldelaCreme

More info about Brooklyn Gamery:
http://brooklyngamery.com

Like us on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/BrooklynGamery

Roll20Con:

I Need Diverse Games Spotlight

Run Lola Run – D&D 5th Edition Campaign by Koibu

GX Australia Panels & my BOH Talk:

HARDER. BETTER. FASTER. STRONGER. — SELF-CARE TIPS FOR DIVERSE PEEPS
Emilie Poissenot Wren Brier Snow McNally Tanya DePass Dameyon Bonson

As part of an underrepresented group in the games industry, our careers are harder than the norm. Our actions and words may be used as a blanket representation of our whole group. The knowledge of biases against us can lead to increased self-doubt and distrust of our coworkers. All these experiences take their toll on our well-being. How can we get better at recognizing these side-effects and alleviating them faster? The panelists discuss experiences and tips that have helped them get stronger to broaden your own set of tools for similar situations.

BUILDING BETTER GAMERS
Ashton McAllan, Tanya DePass, Dr. Jennifer Hazel, Alayna Cole, Adam Koebel & Mavis Chan

Can games be used to build better gamers? Can game design improve the outlooks and behaviours of the people that play them? Can we utilise this power to make our gaming spaces and communities safer and more inclusive? Come along and see our panelists discuss who is already doing this in their games, what they are actually doing, and how we can work this kind of magic in our own games.

DIVERSITY 404: WHAT NEXT? (PRESENTED BY THE IGDA FOUNDATION)

Tanya DePass,Felix Kramer, Katherine Cross & Rami Ismail

Diversity and inclusion is at a crossroads, with lots of performative diversity and well-intentioned-yet-ineffective strategies being touted as the Big Thing. But where are we, really? And what’s next?

My Boss of Honor talk! WHY A CUSTOMISABLE CHARACTER ISN’T DIVERSITY (PRESENTED BY THE IGDA FOUNDATION)
Tanya DePass

One of the responses that calls for better representation is often, you can customize your character in GAME! Well that’s not actually diversity, nor inclusion or an acceptable response to not thinking about inclusion in the first place. Through examples, and discussion let’s dispel this notion that customization characters = diversity.

DESTROYING TROPES AND STEREOTYPES IN GAMES
Tanya DePass, Lee Flores, Adam Koebel & Ken Wong

A look at the harm that using stereotypes and tropes does to games narratives, and why they need to be stopped.

WRITING THE “OTHER”
Anna Irwin-Schutze, Jody Toomey, Katherine Cross, Tanya DePass

At first glance, it seems obvious; Writers need to write about people and places they haven’t experienced directly for themselves. Most crime writers have not personally killed their victims. This panel is all about discovering how can write diverse and interesting characters while at the same time respecting where they come from. How do we be inclusive without having to save the whole world with every game narrative we design? What can we do to write the other to actually make a positive impact on the world and keep our stories awesome and engaging and inclusive at the same time?

HOW TO BROADCAST SAFELY AS A POC/LGBT/FEMALE ID’D STREAMER
Tanya DePass, Lee Flores, Adam Koebel

Streaming on Twitch can be fun, but it can also be perilous for some of us. This panel will bring you some tips and tricks such as using bots, human mods and other methods to make your experience as stress free as possible.

GX3 Panel Videos:

We Need More Diverse Games – How to Get There; with me, DJ Kirkland, Rachel Keslensky, Katherine Cross, Gil Almogi & Arthur Chu
Unheard Voices: a panel on diversity in podcasting about gaming. Ken Gagne [M], Shawn Alexander Allen, Anna Tarkov, JJ Signal and me!
Streaming Your Queerness; DJ Kirkland, Dylan Zaner, Me, Adam Koebel
Diversity in Games – What’s Next?: Matthew Anderson, Joe Perez, Donna Prior, Me,David Gaider
“How to Work on What You Want & Get Paid Doing it: A Patreon Panel” with Soraya, Zach Weiner, Brianna Wu, Alex Woolfson & me.
“All your Culture are belong to us: Appropriation, Erasure and RPG’s”with Mario Raul (M), Shawn Alexander Allen, Donna Prior, Arthur Chu, and me!,

Articles & Talks