NatWest Bring it 2020 has provided £50 of match funding
Melanin Gamers
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
A gaming community that promotes diversity and inclusivity in the video games industry.
An advocate is defined as someone who provides supports when others need it. I am an advocate.
I am also a gamer and as a black woman, the story, unfortunately, does not begin and end with that statement, the gaming industry has been both something I love and hate simply because of this fact.
It was for this very reason why I created Melanin Gamers, not just as a show of support, or as a cry for some desperately needed change but more importantly as a safe space, an online and in real-life community for people of colour to come together, share ideas and feel represented. We want to be seen and heard. Melanin Gamers is more than a passion project it is a necessity in the current climate we are living in and I believe that by creating this platform we will be able to strive towards changing an industry so that it reflects all those who are part of it. We are not calling for needless tokenism but a real shift in the tide, from the grassroots to the very top.
I am well suited to run this enterprise as I am passionately invested in the simple idea of seeing myself and people who look like me reflected in an industry.
The Melanin Gamers Squad
I also believe that most things are difficult to attain but should be possible. I am grateful for the other members of MG who are as invested as I am in the goal MG is striving towards. I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to running MG from trial and error and from all the help I've gotten from other people who run gaming communities.
Our approach to increasing diversity in the industry is threefold:
- Panel talks at conventions such as EGX (April 2019, October 2019), Comic-Con (October 2019) and Insomnia gaming festival (August 2019). To educate and spread our message.
- Gaming tournaments across London: Kent Hall (July 2018), Platform (June 2019), Microsoft store Oxford Street (November 2019), Mayamada Gamepad (June 2019, September 2019, January 2020), Loading Bar (August 2019) and the Mayor of London Skills event (October 2019). To grow our community and provide a place where people can come together and socialise. We also engage and encourage our members and audience, to get into the tech industry; providing referrals for internships through our contacts.
- Online presence: showcasing content creators, providing a platform and a mouthpiece for ethnic minorities. Including interviewing up-and-coming gaming developers (November 2019)
A round up of all we have achieved so far...
With more funding we will be able to grow the team, organise more events, support content creators of colour and provide more opportunities to people looking to get into the games industry.
This project successfully funded on 7th May 2020