{"492511":{"#nid":"492511","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Digital Media Students Launch Different Games Collective to Foster Diversity and Inclusivity in Gaming Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo graduate students in the Digital Media program in the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication are collaborating with Ivan Allen College alumni and graduate students at other universities to make the gaming community more inclusive in Atlanta and beyond. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Different Games Collective was co-founded this summer by doctoral student Sarah Schoemann and masters student Michael Vogel along with collaborators in New York and Chicago, as well as local Georgia Tech alums Dannielle Del Rosario (CM \u201813), and Jordan Kilpack (CS, \u201812). As a grassroots, volunteer-run organization, Different Games Collective aims to create community resources and events to support diverse voices in the do-it-yourself and independent game world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile this fall marked the launch of the collective, IAC students have been collaborating on Different Games since 2013, helping to organize an annual, Brooklyn-based conference with collaborators in New York City and Chicago. The Different Games conference features panels, workshops, and playable games from perspectives 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 Media Arts and Games Network (MAGNET) center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnderrepresented people in games aren\u2019t necessarily seen as \u2018gamers,\u2019 but the games community is actually extremely diverse. Statistics even suggest that current, women outnumber men as players,\u201d Schoemann said. \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\u003ENow as Different Games Collective, the organization recently launched its first major local project in collaboration with Atlanta\u2019s feminist bookstore, Charis Books and More, the oldest store of its kind nationwide. With the guidance and support of Ivan Allen College professors Ian Bogost and Anne Pollock, students created \u003Cem\u003EDear Games\u003C\/em\u003E, an event series aimed at supporting diverse participation in video game development and culture. Through lectures and hands-on workshops, \u003Cem\u003EDear Games\u003C\/em\u003E will explore connections between game design, feminism, literature, and identity at Charis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDear Games was started by the Tech student members of Different Games, as a way to build connections between our community at GT and this historic feminist institution. It\u2019s our hope that in the next few years, we will get more Georgia Tech students and faculty involved to continue building the relationship between our campus and important local organizations, like Charis\u201d explained Vogel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Aby Parsons, director of Georgia 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\u003EVogel said his involvement with the Different Games Collective has opened his eyes to a multitude of conversations surrounding advocacy for inclusiveness and diversity in games.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWho gets to participate in games culture? Who is thought of as someone who plays games? Who is thought of as someone who makes games?\u201d Vogel said. \u201cThese conversations are so much more fundamental than I realized in the past.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\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 \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.2016.differentgames.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ewww.2016.differentgames.org\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E. To learn more about the Different Games Collective and\/or attend an upcoming event, visit \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.differentgames.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ewww.differentgames.org\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo graduate students in the Digital Media program in the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication are collaborating with Ivan Allen College alumni and graduate students at other universities to make the gaming community more inclusive in Atlanta and beyond. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Two graduate students in the Digital Media program in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication are leading an effort to make the gaming community in Atlanta more inclusive and diverse."}],"uid":"28513","created_gmt":"2016-01-28 17:26:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:31","author":"Daniel Singer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-02-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-02-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"492971":{"id":"492971","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech students meet up at the Different Games Conference","body":null,"created":"1454432400","gmt_created":"2016-02-02 17:00:00","changed":"1475895251","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:11","alt":"Georgia Tech students meet up at the Different Games Conference","file":{"fid":"204504","name":"differentgamesorganizerswithgtstudents.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesorganizerswithgtstudents_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesorganizerswithgtstudents_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":162682,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgamesorganizerswithgtstudents_0.jpg?itok=Ref9lOwC"}},"492951":{"id":"492951","type":"image","title":"Simon Ferrari (DM MS \u002710) moderates a panel at the Different Games Conference","body":null,"created":"1454432400","gmt_created":"2016-02-02 17:00:00","changed":"1475895251","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:11","alt":"Simon Ferrari (DM MS \u002710) moderates a panel at the Different Games Conference","file":{"fid":"204502","name":"differentgameswithformergtstudentsimonferrarimoderating.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgameswithformergtstudentsimonferrarimoderating_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgameswithformergtstudentsimonferrarimoderating_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1905146,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgameswithformergtstudentsimonferrarimoderating_0.jpg?itok=CQaV7k31"}},"492961":{"id":"492961","type":"image","title":"The game arcade at the Different Games Conference","body":null,"created":"1454432400","gmt_created":"2016-02-02 17:00:00","changed":"1475895251","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:11","alt":"The game arcade at the Different Games Conference","file":{"fid":"204503","name":"differentgamesarcadeinaction.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesarcadeinaction_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/differentgamesarcadeinaction_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1890765,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/differentgamesarcadeinaction_0.jpg?itok=gmdEdl1q"}}},"media_ids":["492971","492951","492961"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"171573","name":"Different Games Collective"},{"id":"2213","name":"Games"},{"id":"2356","name":"gaming"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.894.1720\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Erebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}