NZGDC 2021 (our first GDC) was cool and good!
In August three (out of four haaa) members of our team attended the 2021 New Zealand Game Developer’s Conference in Wellington and it was super super great! The event itself saw a substantial number of attendees hit the venue of Te Papa Tongarewa and managed to go down without a hitch (in part thanks to a level of organisation which required speakers to pre-record their talks to allow for travel restrictions) which is quite an achievement during these uncertain “covid times”.
The NZGDC focuses on providing actionable and inspirational content to attendees, with a lot of learning, networking, and growth opportunities for those in attendence. NZGDC 2021 spanned across three jam-packed days, with two of us Fnifesters (Nate and Thomas) participating as Speakers in a Culture Panel on Diversity and Inclusivity in Games.
All in all, we went to heaps of panels, took a lot of notes, used a million elevators a million times to search for toilets that weren’t being swarmed, and attended social events every evening of the conference. Also we (Thomas specifically) locked our hotel key in our room, which was fine and cool, really.
Yeah, we were super exhausted by the time we returned to Christchurch.
Being new to the games/screen industry, and new to the concept of “leaving the house to go and talk to other people who share your interests” we were pretty overwhelmed, but like, in a good way.
There were so many great talks, panels, social events, after-parties, and good vibes! The conference really felt like a safe space for complicated conversations to be had around game-making culture, and it was especially cathartic to be able to have discussions about the landscape of the game development scene in Aotearoa.
Within the event there was a sense of timely acknowledgement around the long-standing, horrifyingly abusive work culture of Activision-Blizzard and other major AAA Game Studios that has been unearthed recently. A sentiment that came up quite a lot during the conference was that managers, teachers, and industry leaders can (and must) put in the effort to foster a better community, a better work culture, a better industry. It definitely feels like the scene in Aotearoa is keen and committed to being better!
OUR FUN & FRESH PANEL!
Tackling Inclusion and Diversity in the Games Industry, with Audrea Topps Harjo, Sam Ramlu, Raqi Syed, Nate Tamblyn, Thomas Barrer, Chellew Wu and Tamati Kawha.
We wanted to use our panel to look at what it means to be a woman, POC or member of the LGBTQ+ community in the New Zealand games industry. We ended up discussing how we see the industry evolving, and what this means for the future of diversity in games and studios, and how leaders in the sector can go beyond paying lip service to inclusivity and actually practice it.
Our panel had a really fantastic spread of people from different roles in the interactive industry, as well as different experiences to draw from. For Nate and Thomas (from the ShelfLife Team) it was important to discuss how studios can be more inclusive for queer and gender diverse team members. It’s important for workplaces and schools to provide opportunities for rainbow individuals to put themselves into their creations, and see themselves represented in the projects they’re making.
More broadly, the panel discussed the importance of identifying and eliminating racism, homophobia and transphobia within teams and workplaces. A higher value should be placed on establishing a creative culture where individuals feel heard, respected, and protected if they need to come forward about harassment or challenges they are facing. This conversation can take place through the medium of games themselves: simple changes that can be made in projects, such as changing the “default” state of a game’s character creator to something other than a traditionally masculine cisgender white man. Straightforward adjustments like these within games can start to challenge people’s perceptions around identity and prejudice.
It was really great to have some of our team be able to participate in a talk like this. Everyone was quite nervous going into it (Thomas felt he bombed some of the questions) but it’s a learning experience as always!
[Panel Link Here]
OTHER PANELS, PEEPS & PROJECTS!
Outside of our lovely panelists, we were able to meet up with Zoe from Runaway Play (a Dunedin based studio with really strong diverse and environmental values working in the mobile space). We also met approximately 5000 Wellingtonian Pikpok employees who were all super friendly and fantastic, as well as bunch of folks from Cerebral Fix from Christchurch, and many, many more really sweet folks!
There were lots of amazing panels within the Culture umbrella at NZGDC 2021. Below are just some of the panels we got super excited about! Please explore the full spread on the NZGDA YouTube.
Transcendent - Being Transgender in the Industry, with Liliana Ravenwood, Patty Shannon and Samara-Jade Sendek.
Liliana, Patty and Samara-Jade’s panel on Being Transgender in the Industry was a hugely welcome addition to NZGDC 2021. The panel provided their personal experiences around being gender diverse within the game industry, answering loads of questions about challenges and difficulties, as well as ideas around what managers and studios can do to be more supportive and inclusive.
The panel gave our team (since we’re comprised entirely of LGBTQIA+ folk) insight into what the experience of working within a larger studio might be like — aspects that affect trans and rainbow studio members across different businesses in the game industry, and ideas around how the industry could, and should, be better. It was a cathartic, important, and super necessary talk.
[Panel Link Here]
Māori Narratives in Games, with Morgana Watson, Hiria Te Rangi, Jo Barber and Matiu Awarāwhiti of 4Phase Games.
The 4Phase Games Team’s panel on Māori Narratives in Games was incredible. There was a lot of discussion around how developers should approach telling indigenous stories in games with authenticity, using examples from the 4Phase Team’s in-development RPG project, as well as their different disciplines and areas of expertise as individual devs (Creative Director, Producer, Visual Artist and Māori Combat Specialist).
We really resonated with the panel’s discussion around why it is important for Aotearoa to make space for indigeneity and identity within games. There is a barrier to entry in the form of hate speech and harassment aimed at minority creatives, women, people of colour and Mana Wāhine in particular. The vitriol that vulnerable artists and developers face online and in real life is intended to silence and discourage teams making diverse projects, and it’s important for people working within the game development scene in New Zealand to be aware of this and not tolerate it.
[Panel Link Here]
Te Ao Kemu - Working with Māori in Game Design and Development, with Maru Nihoniho, Eric-Rangi Hillman, Hine Mona, Reuben Shortland and Michael Vandermeer of Metia Interactive.
The team at Metia Interactive had a fantastic panel on the high degree of responsibility evident when working with cultural representation in Game Design. The Metia team have years of experience working on Māori games and resources, and were able to leverage their expertise to give awesome insights into their approach.
Among other awesome titles, the team at Metia have been developing interactive adventure series Guardian Māia — a historical/science-fiction story-game set in te ao Māori. Guardian Māia draws on Māori storytelling and features themes of belonging, guardianship/kaitiakitanga and elements of mystery. The story is told from perspective of Māia, a powerful wāhine toa with the ability to speak with birds, and the project serves as an amazing achievement of cultural representation (and strong women characters) in games.
[Panel Link Here]
Fostering Adaptive and Accessible Workplaces, with Cameron Hopkinson, Humphrey Hanley, Kelly Marquand and Bailey Raumati.
The Adaptive and Accessible Workplaces Panel detailed how inaccessibility and inflexible work practices are a barrier to employment for many groups — including disabled people and parents — who are already faced with discrimination and underrepresentation in the Game Industry.
Through discussing their disabilities, the panel explored ways in which adaptability and accommodations for workers can help workplaces become more diverse and inclusive. Emphasis was placed upon the fact that accomodations shouldn’t be seen as costly or intimidating to businesses, as there are support agencies available in Aotearoa who exist to help additional needs employees reach their full potential.
If you’re looking for resources around starting your accessibility journey as a dev, check out the Accessibility Unlocked site!
[Panel Link Here]
FINAL THOUGHTS:
To summarise, NZGDC 2021 was an excellent opportunity for us as artists and game developers in Aotearoa. It was so amazing to meet other creatives who prioritise diversity and actively nurture and promote inclusive themes within their teams and projects.
We also managed to achieve some amount of ~technical learnings~ around narrative engines, audio & soundtrack implementation, studio management (are we even a studio?) from the panels we attended. The entire process of being able to learn and share felt really really great.
We’re super pumped for the next NZGDC!