Drawing on research done with video game makers, players, and the games themselves, this talk outlines key themes from 15 years of research on the representation of marginalized groups in digital games. This included some key takeaways learned in creating the LGBTQ Game Archive which documents LGBTQ content in digital games dating back to the 1980s, curating the world’s first exhibit on queer games history, as well as reflections on what has changed around questions of representation since Dr. Shaw’s book Gaming at the Edge was published in 2014.

About our guest speaker:

Adrienne Shaw is an Associate Professor in Temple University’s Department of Media Studies and Production (Philadelphia, USA) and a member of the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication graduate faculty. Among other accomplishments, Adrienne Shaw is the founder of the LGBTQ Game Archive and co-curator of Rainbow Arcade, the world’s first exhibit of LGBTQ game history.

What is Gamecity Impulse?

Gamers are diverse: Around 2,2 billion people around the world play video games, coming from a multitude of ethnic and religious backgrounds, nationalities, genders and sexual identities, abilities, age and language groups. The communities that form around games and the teams that make the games aren't always as diverse. This has already sparked a host of discussions throughout the games industry and community. The German games industry has picked up on the topic, by starting the joint declaration “Hier spielt Vielfalt”, as well engaging in projects, discussions and initiatives as individual companies, associations and people.

As Gamecity Hamburg, we want to contribute to the important discourse by hosting talks and panel discussions on diversity-related topics in different fields of the games industry and gaming culture in our digital event series “Gamecity Impulse”. We hope to help raise awareness of, start discussions, provide food for thought as well as offer industry insights on ways to improve equality, diversity and inclusion.

You can find out more about Gamecity Impulse and watch recordings of the past editions on our website.

Thanks a lot, Adrienne, for being part of our Gamecity Impulse event!

You can watch the talk here: