{"670707":{"#nid":"670707","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Importance of Inclusive Gaming","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By nature, humans are storytellers,\u0022 says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wcprogram.lmc.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/6439751f-8a77-5e9c-b283-bbdb66f6c4e7\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELee Hibbard\u003C\/a\u003E, a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wcprogram.lmc.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0022And since people have been people, we have found ways to entertain ourselves.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHibbard studies how people talk about their identities and share them with others. Much of this comes down to storytelling, he explains. Humans love to share stories because it\u0027s how we relate to each other and find common ground. In video games, role-playing, and tabletop games such as Dungeons \u0026amp; Dragons (D\u0026amp;D), storytelling comes to life in an interactive way that movies, TV shows, and books just don\u0027t match.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Games are such a huge marker of identity formation, especially for young people, because they give you the chance to pick up and play with things and try stuff out for fun,\u0022 Hibbard says. \u0022It\u0027s a lower stakes opportunity to experiment with yourself and with other people, and it\u0027s a cool way to learn about yourself.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInterest in these kinds of games has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic, with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.merchoid.com\/uk\/blog\/post\/rolling-dice-in-crisis-the-unexpected-boom-of-tabletop-gaming\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eone study\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;reporting that online searches for D\u0026amp;D have increased by 85% since 2020. Beyond playing the games themselves, fans spend millions of hours a year on Twitch and YouTube watching players adventure in these fantasy worlds. Rising interest and a growing gamer base spur discussion about the importance of inclusion in such spaces, Hibbard says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the following Q\u0026amp;A, Hibbard discusses why inclusive gaming is so important and how it can help people in marginalized communities claim space in the real world.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/feature-news\/2023\/10\/inclusive-gaming\u0022\u003ERead the full article on the Ivan Allen College website.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The Importance of Inclusive Gaming"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInterest in role-playing games has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic. A growing gamer base spurs discussion about why inclusive gaming is important and how it can help people claim space in the real world. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Interest in role-playing games has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic. A growing gamer base spurs discussion about why inclusive gaming is important and how it can help people claim space in the real world.  "}],"uid":"35797","created_gmt":"2023-10-26 18:31:10","changed_gmt":"2023-10-26 18:36:07","author":"Siobhan Rodriguez","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672188":{"id":"672188","type":"image","title":"AdobeStock_388073198_Preview.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1698345077","gmt_created":"2023-10-26 18:31:17","changed":"1698345077","gmt_changed":"2023-10-26 18:31:17","alt":"Gaming Dice","file":{"fid":"255381","name":"AdobeStock_388073198_Preview.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/26\/AdobeStock_388073198_Preview_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/26\/AdobeStock_388073198_Preview_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":192015,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/26\/AdobeStock_388073198_Preview_0.jpeg?itok=Lbrj9G4-"}}},"media_ids":["672188"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/feature-news\/2023\/10\/inclusive-gaming","title":"The Importance of Inclusive Gaming"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2356","name":"gaming"},{"id":"193223","name":"Inclusive gaming"},{"id":"2449","name":"video games"},{"id":"183688","name":"dungeons and dragons"},{"id":"167349","name":"storytelling"},{"id":"193224","name":"table top games"},{"id":"175295","name":"Diversity and Inclusion"},{"id":"88701","name":"LGBTQIA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}