Gamecity Impulse: Panel-Discussion on Diversity Management in the Games Industry

July 22, 2021

Gamecity Impulse: Panel-Discussion on Diversity Management in the Games Industry

What can games companies do to actively contribute to strengthen equality, diversity and inclusion in the industry and in games? And what challenges do studios, publishers and other games businesses - from large corporations to small indies - face in this field?

To discuss these & more questions, we set up a panel discussion on Diversity Management in the Games Industry.

This is a past event - ► Watch the recording of the live discussion here

Three industry experts from Hamburg and San Francisco will join us on August 12, 6-8 pm (CEST):
Trinidad Hermida (Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Niantic, Inc.), Rod Oliveira (Studio Marketing Lead at Deep Silver FISHLABS) and Maurice Hagelstein (Co-Founder & Game Director at Tiny Roar).
Games journalist, researcher and developer Nina Kiel will moderate the discussion.

Don’t miss this interesting evening of discussion and exchange of experiences!

This event is part of our event series “Gamecity Impulse” which covers diversity-related topics in different fields of the games industry and gaming culture throughout 2021.

Event Schedule for August 12:

6:00 pm (CEST): Welcome words by Gamecity Hamburg & Introduction of the panelists
6:10 pm (CEST): Keynote by Trinidad Hermida on Diversity Management at Niantic, Inc.
6:25 pm (CEST): Panel discussion & aftwards: questions from the audience
8:00 pm (CEST): End of event

About our industry experts on the panel:

Trinidad Hermida, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Niantic

Trinidad Hermida is the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Niantic, Inc., an AR technology company that produces mobile games, including Pokémon GO, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress. Since joining Niantic in December 2018 she has brought expertise and passion in championing burgeoning diversity initiatives. She is here to empower each and every person who crosses her path. Trinidad believes that by “setting a standard of incorporating everyone’s genius, we can change the game”.

Rod Oliveira, Studio Marketing Lead, Deep Silver FISHLABS

Rod is a Communicator, Marketer and Globetrotter. He’s passionate about leadership, communication & people. He brings over 15 years of multinational experience to brands big and small in different work cultures and industries to the table, with a broad range of operational topics.

Maurice Hagelstein, Co-Founder & Game Director, Tiny Roar

Working in the games industry for over 10 years, Maurice has seen more than enough systematic problems and had to learn how to step up and make others feel safe when working in the best industry in the world. Why the games industry could be a front-runner in making diversity the new norm and why it is still so damn hard are his main points in this panel.

Moderator: Nina Kiel
Nina Kiel is a games journalist, researcher and developer from Germany. In 2014 they published their first book “Gender in Games”; since then they continued their research on body image, gender roles and sexuality in digital games. As an expert in the field of diversity in games, they are a regular guest at conferences, gaming events and barcamps. They are also the host of “Random Encounters”, a monthly podcast about love, sex and relationships in digital games.

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” throughout 2021. 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.

Previous Events:

In her talk “Why Video Games Can Save the World”, Rebekka Niederländer from the Initiative “Kein Pixel den Faschisten” discussed what societal impact representations of diversity in video games have. You can watch a recording of her talk here.

This is a past event - ► Watch the recording of the live discussion here

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