Career Advice

 As we begin our new voyage in game design and development, as new game consoles are upon us, we need to ask ourselves: how do we measure diversity in the game industry? Diversity speaks many languages, and shapes our very existence. The challenge is, and always has been, how do we do the right thing? How can we continue to be one of the most profitable industries in the nation if we don’t look at the big picture? Will we fall short and just line our own pockets and satisfy our own selfless needs? Diversity speaks to the very core of our nation and cries for justice. Now I can spend all of your time looking for reasons to explain away reality but that’s not my job.

What is my job is telling you that together we can change things because the game industry is smarter, wiser, richer, more qualified and more determined to be the best source of entertainment in the universe. The IGDA’s demographics/diversity report revealed that we are willing to make a difference in our world. Through diversity initiatives that educate and enhance the lives of the global community, we can influence the consciousness of generations. We make some of the best games in the world that service a very demanding consumer who push us to research and develop new technology to enhance the sensibilities of a people in need of a game fix. We live vicariously through fantasy worlds steeped in reality although we live worlds apart. We experience the highs and the lows of the electronic universe in the palms of our hands. Our children are capable of manipulating these devices at a very young age. The games we play are time consuming, stimulating, exciting, invigorating and a major part of modern society. We are influencing a new culture of gamers as we reach beyond the physical and command our teams online. Virtual reality is here in sight and sound and it’s inevitable that we will use all five senses to play our favorite video games.

Diversity in the game industry can only make for a better story for consumers and a better bottom line for investors. The nation is facing major demographic changes. The game industry must recognize that it has to provide games that will entertain the growing population of racially, ethnically and culturally diverse consumers. The minority market is not a niche market; it is a viable market with billions of dollars invested in technological entertainment.

Just think of it this way, what would the music world be had it not been for the diverse sounds of Jazz, R&B, and Gospel? We need to provide a vehicle to work collectively and introduce interesting and compelling stories that enrich and enhance our consumer’s lives. The challenge is how do we finance diversity? How do we move the conversation from a social discussion to the financiers’ boardrooms -- where the decisions are made, where millions of dollars are transferred for ideas, where creativity is fueled by technology and business blooms like a spring garden? Where is the financial roundtable for diversity? We have the will to make a difference. We have the creative opportunities to make a difference. We need to cultivate financial incentives for diversity. There is a whole community of developers that are waiting to contribute new game ideas if given the opportunity. We just need the fortitude to make it happen and make it happen the right way!

I am so glad to be apart of something that is just like jazz when be-bop was introduced, just like R&B when doo-wop was introduced. I can’t wait to see a Latin Saga, a Black Nintendo or a Caribbean EA. As silly as it might sound, the opportunities are massive in the game industry. Diversity has a place waiting with open arms. I have said it before and I will say it again: there are no guns, no hoses, no whips, no chains and no dogs separating diversity from the gaming community. The education is waiting for you if you want to take hold of the opportunities. There is no real competition because nobody is marketing to diversity in the game industry. Although some people get it, many people don’t. The same ideas that drive FUBU and Echo in the fashion industry are the same ideas that fuel Hip-Hop in the music industry. We live in urban co-temporized communities that enhance advertising nationally and internationally and where the sounds of innovation move the market place. It is a new generation filled with uniqueness and creativity that will fashion the game industry’s quest to be the best. When games like GTA usher in whole new genres, we are only moments away from the explosion of copycats. I hope some folks take the time to bring diversity to a new level.

I look forward to diversity opportunities in the game industry, to make a difference in game design and development for the developers and the consumers. We have gone through the era of “Step n’ Fetch It” in the game industry, let’s see if we can bring in the Jamie Fox and Ray Charles award winning mentality to the game arena. When we collaborate to create games that reveal the soul of diversity, we can move the next generation of gamers to a more creatively rewarding experience and even perhaps an educational understanding.

The stories that I want to exhibit are rich in character development that are not stereotypical. The stories I want to tell are not superficial but contain the breadth and depth of a culture rich with creativity. To empower creativity and foster technology, to enhance diversity in the development of game design will enrich the lives of the consumer. It is possible, if we take the chance.