Seriously guys…it’s time we break up this sausage fest.
We’ve heard a lot about the toxic nature of the video gaming community. I’m not referring to outsiders in the media who continue pointing the finger at us whenever some stupid degenerate blows away his entire family or walks into an elementary school with a loaded rifle. No, I’m talking about the average, run of the mill gamer and how treating each other like crap is often our default setting.
Aside from my mother’s honor coming into question via Xbox Live on a fairly regular basis, I do retain hope we can one day rise above. In fact, large portions of the press have focused on how the female gamer often draws the ire of those around her more sharply than others. Any girl can attest, as soon as she opens her mouth in a multiplayer lobby, she’ll usually find herself on the receiving end of several nasty slurs or comments that border on sexual harassment. This has led many developers to call for a cease and desist, via social media, regarding the hateful tone and rhetoric found within our little circles. While I’m all for that, I do feel this comes across as a bit hypocritical. If you were to look at their rosters openly, you’d clearly see the male-to-female ratio is quite askew. So this begs the question: How can game developers preach equality when they themselves are guilty of not providing a level playing field professionally?
Fortunately, one company is making strides to help tear down these walls and move the conversation forward. Intel has recently announced a $300 million plan that looks to bridge the gap between white male professionals and women, not to mention minority men as well. They’re calling it “Intel’s Diversity in Technology Initiative,” as it hopes to ensure Intel’s future workforce will be “more representative of the talent available in America, including more balanced representation in senior leadership positions Intel said support more positive representation within the technology and gaming industries.”
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich also threw down the gauntlet, boldly (and very publicly), challenging his peers to follow suit.
We’re calling on our industry to again make the seemingly impossible possible by making a commitment to real change and clarity in our goals. Without a workforce that more closely mirrors the population, we are missing opportunities, including not understanding and designing for our own customers.
For me, this is kind of a no brainer. Sure, it can be seen as a bit of back-pedaling to undo the PR damage Intel garnered from feminist groups a while back during #GamerGate… but who cares! This is $300 million big ones we’re talkin’ about here!
If there is one form of entertainment where both females and minorities can flourish and contribute just as much (if not more so) than their white male counterparts, it’s gaming. I almost find it insulting I’m even required to make such an argument in this day and age, but alas, we’ve not progressed quite far enough as a culture to see this kind of BS die quietly. We work in a creative medium where backgrounds, skin color, and gender need not be a hindrance. Naturally, a stronger presence of these neglected groups can only enhance our imaginative process. Many experiences are completely unique to minorities and females, yet ithey’re a resource we’ve stupidly not taken full advantage of when crafting our art. (Frankly, it’s shameful we’ve ignored it this long.)
Intel’s latest initiative is like a hand-made glove when it comes to gaming evolution. Let’s hope more developers pick up this ball and run with it.