{"486061":{"#nid":"486061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Students Launch Different Games Collective to Foster Diversity and Inclusivity in Gaming Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2013, Sarah Schoemann, now a doctoral student in Georgia Tech\u2019s Digital Media program, co-founded the Different Games Conference while in graduate school at New York University (NYU) because she saw a need for inclusivity within the gaming community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnderrepresented communities don\u2019t necessarily consider themselves \u2018gamers,\u2019 and yet, the gaming community is filled with diverse participants,\u201d said Schoemann. \u201cBy launching the Different Games Conference, we created a space for broader, more inclusive discussions of games and game cultures.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Different Games Conference is an annual, volunteer-led event featuring discussion panels, workshops, and playable games from emerging voices and perspectives that are not typically supported by the commercial industry. Previous panels and workshops have explored a range of topics \u2014 from games and mental health to global game development. The fourth annual Different Games Conference will occur April 8-9, 2016, at NYU\u2019s Polytechnic School of Engineering in Brooklyn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithin two years, the Different Games Conference has doubled in attendance, speakers, and \u201carcade\u201d games. Last year\u2019s conference featured three programmatic tracks with 60 speakers and 42 playable games in the arcade. Six Georgia Tech students were among the nearly 300 attendees from more than half a dozen countries who participated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Schoemann came to Georgia Tech as a Ph.D. student, she teamed with Michael Vogel, a graduate student in Georgia Tech\u2019s Digital Media program, and other members to create the Different Games Collective, a grassroots volunteer-run collaborative that creates community resources and events to support marginalized voices in the development of do-it-yourself and independent games. The Different Games Collective encompasses the newly launched Atlanta-based Dear Games, which is a feminist games collaboration with the Georgia Tech Game Studio that supports diverse participation in video game development and culture at the South\u2019s oldest independent feminist bookstore, Charis Books.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDear Games was started for the Georgia Tech community, and it is our hope that in the next few years, we will get more Georgia Tech students and faculty involved in both Dear Games and the Different Games Conference,\u201d explained Vogel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Aby Parsons, director of Tech\u2019s LGBTQIA Resource Center and one of the supporters of the Different Games Collective, \u201cSarah, Michael, and their team members have helped to increase Georgia Tech\u2019s presence in the gaming community, especially at a time when diversity in gaming and digital media is a huge issue across the nation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech students and game designers interested in showcasing their games at the 2016 Different Games Conference arcade can submit an application by Jan. 22, 2016, at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.2016.differentgames.org\u0022\u003Ewww.2016.differentgames.org\u003C\/a\u003E. To learn more about the Different Games Collective and\/or attend an upcoming event, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.differentgames.org\u0022\u003Ewww.differentgames.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Brooklyn-Based Different Games Conference Inspires Dear Games Collaboration between Georgia Tech Game Studio and Charis Circle"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In 2013, Sarah Schoemann, now a doctoral student in Georgia Tech\u2019s Digital Media program, co-founded the Different Games Conference while in graduate school at New York University (NYU) because she saw a need for inclusivity within the gaming community."}],"uid":"27465","created_gmt":"2016-01-14 14:02:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:24","author":"Annette Filliat","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"486071":{"id":"486071","type":"image","title":"Different Games Conference","body":null,"created":"1452902401","gmt_created":"2016-01-16 00:00:01","changed":"1475895239","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:59","alt":"Different Games Conference","file":{"fid":"204324","name":"differentgamesconference2015.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesconference2015_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesconference2015_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":509994,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgamesconference2015_0.jpeg?itok=npypDB4L"}},"486081":{"id":"486081","type":"image","title":"Different Games Conference Keynote","body":null,"created":"1452902401","gmt_created":"2016-01-16 00:00:01","changed":"1475895239","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:59","alt":"Different Games Conference Keynote","file":{"fid":"204325","name":"differentgameskeynote.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgameskeynote_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgameskeynote_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":55250,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgameskeynote_0.jpg?itok=NybTcXmB"}},"486161":{"id":"486161","type":"image","title":"Different Games Arcade","body":null,"created":"1452902401","gmt_created":"2016-01-16 00:00:01","changed":"1475895239","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:59","alt":"Different Games Arcade","file":{"fid":"204327","name":"differentgamesoculus.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesoculus_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesoculus_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":109001,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgamesoculus_0.jpg?itok=2zVybSWL"}},"486211":{"id":"486211","type":"image","title":"Dear Games","body":null,"created":"1452902401","gmt_created":"2016-01-16 00:00:01","changed":"1475895239","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:59","alt":"Dear Games","file":{"fid":"204328","name":"deargames.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/deargames_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/deargames_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":153524,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/deargames_0.jpg?itok=n4WnIGrq"}}},"media_ids":["486071","486081","486161","486211"],"groups":[{"id":"1313","name":"Institute Diversity"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"169820","name":"Dear Games"},{"id":"171573","name":"Different Games Collective"},{"id":"169818","name":"Different Games Conference"},{"id":"124","name":"Digital Media"},{"id":"137111","name":"lgbtqia resource center"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnnette Filliat\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Diversity\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:annette.filliat@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eannette.filliat@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["annette.filliat@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}