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Description
Cooperative Gaming provides context and practical advice regarding diversity in the games industry. The book begins with a deep dive into research literature and the history of diversity in the games industry to provide context around what diversity is and why it is a topic worth considering. The book looks at the different facets of diversity and games, exploring the issues and solutions within game development, studio management, event planning, and more. It provides people with practical advice about being a marginalized person in the games industry and how to be heard, how studios can support inclusive practices, and events can actively become more accessible to a diverse audience.
Key Features
- Explores the history of diversity in games
- Provides important information around what it is like to be a marginalized person in the industry
- Gives practical steps to improve the inclusivity of the industry that are designed to aid in contextualizing and upskilling new developers
Author Bios
Alayna Cole is the managing director of Queerly Represent Me, a not-for-profit championing queer representation in games. Alayna is also a producer at Sledgehammer Games, co-chair of the IGDA LGBTQ+ special interest group, and an award-winning games journalist and game developer. She was featured on the 2016 and 2017 Develop Pacific 30 Under 30 lists and the 2017 and 2019 Develop Pacific Women in Games lists, and she has received several other accolades in the industry.
Jessica Zammit started writing in 2013 for Start Select Media, and for the next five years she followed her interest in writing about representations of mental health, diversity, and particularly, sexuality in video games. Jessica has been speaking about diversity in games at conventions such as PAX Australia since 2016 and has been featured on several other discussions in and around the topic of representation in games and games criticism. Along with her co-author, she is co-chair of the IGDA LGBTQ+ special interest group, and she was featured on the 2018 Develop Pacific 30 Under 30 and Women in Games lists.
List of contents
Chapter 1 Being Marginalized 1
Chapter 2 Development and Representation 11
Chapter 3 Company Culture 45
Chapter 4 Events 63
Chapter 5 Future of Diversity and Games 71
About the author
Dr. Alayna Cole is the managing director of Queerly Represent Me, a not-for-profit championing queer representation in games. Alayna is also a producer at Sledgehammer Games, co-chair of the IGDA LGBTQ+ special interest group, and an award-winning games journalist and game developer. She was featured on the 2016 and 2017 Develop Pacific 30 Under 30 lists and the 2017 and 2019 Develop Pacific Women in Games lists, and has received several other accolades in the industry.
Jessica Zammit started writing in 2013 for Start Select Media and for the next five years she followed her interest in writing about representations of mental health, diversity, and particularly, sexuality in video games. Jessica has been speaking about diversity in games at conventions like PAX Australia since 2016 and has been featured on several other discussions in and around the topic of representation in games and games criticism. Along with her co-author, she is co-chair of the IGDA LGBTQ+ special interest group, and was featured on the 2018 Develop Pacific 30 Under 30 and Women in Games lists.
Summary
Cooperative Gaming provides context and practical advice regarding diversity in the games industry. It begins with a deep dive into research literature and the history of diversity in the games industry to provide context around what diversity is and why it is a topic worth considering. It looks at the different facets of diversity and games.
