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Inequity and Diversity in the Game Dev Sector

Posted by Zonk on from the lots-of-one-little-of-the-other dept.

Thumpah writes "J, the Damned Vulpine, has just posted a report on the inequality panel from the latest meeting of the Austin Game Developers group. The panel consisted of Sheri Graner Ray of Sony Online Entertainment's Austin studio, Ellen Hobbs of Amaze, Chris Smith of Lois Earl Entertainment, Denise Fulton of Midway Austin, Matt Crump of Amaze, Suzanne Freyjadis-Chuberka of the Women's Game Conference, and Susan O'Conner (a freelance game author) to moderate the panel. He ties the discussion in with the recent IDGA Game Developer Demographics Report."

5 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. So... by Otter · · Score: 2, Funny
    To summarize today's news:

    Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Google, iPod, game developers, game developers, game developers, shaaria-compliant Simpsons in Arabic, game developers...

    Slow day at Google today -- it's a good thing someone stepped into the breach to sue them!

    --
    What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
  2. Man, I hate this stuff by 0kComputer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why is diversity so important? Why does every industry HAVE to have diversity? Discrimination is one thing, but I think its pretty obvious that thats not going on here. I just don't buy the whole "lets encourage everyone but young white men to get into [ insert field/acedemia here ] because the industry needs diversity argument."

    --
    Top 10 Reasons To Procrastinate
    10.
    1. Re:Man, I hate this stuff by RaphKoster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The most practical reason is because diversity in the development teams leads to diversity of subjects in the games, which then potentially leads to larger audiences for games. Games like Dance Dance Revolution, Katamari Damacy, SimCity, and so on appear because people who aren't like the current game developers, people who aren't interested in the same old things, end up controlling a project. These then may well result in larger revenues, and larger cultural relevance, for games in general. As well as more kinds of games to play for everyone.

    2. Re:Man, I hate this stuff by Ada_Rules · · Score: 2, Insightful
      (on a side note) Boy this is a scary discussion. Seems like a lot of anonymous cowards!

      To quote the parent

      One of the main reasons that gaming is only popular among males under the age of 30 is that the majority of people working in the industry are men under the age of 30.
      I'd actually turn that around. I think one of the main reasons that the majority of people working in the industry are men under the age of 30 is because they are the ones that want to play the games.

      I see a lot of students that "want to get into writing games". They don't think they are going to get rich doing it. They think they are going to have fun doing it.

      --
      --- Liberty in our Lifetime
  3. Minor correction, AGD is not AGC by RaphKoster · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Austin Game Developers group is not the same thing as the Austin Game Conference. The AGD meets periodically and holds discussions like this; the AGC happens annually and is a for-profit conference.