Esports: Leveling Up Teach-Out

What are some areas of concern in terms of representation in gaming and esports?

I think my real area of concern is that people kind of seem to think that representation is the beginning and end of the conversation. It's of course great to see more marginalized folks being depicted across games and esports, but we need to be thinking about the systemic issues keeping marginalized folks out of the rooms where those characters are being created, etc. There's a way broader lens I think we need to apply to marginalized folks being included beyond representation.

There has been a lot of recent news coverage on sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, and overall problematic workplace cultures in some leading gaming companies. What measures and practices should gaming companies adopt to create supportive environments?

I'm not a business person or DEI person, but to me the main thing seems like giving into worker demands in regards to this stuff. So for example, the Activision Blizzard employees have asked for outside investigation, and no more forced arbitration for when these things come up, and that's certainly a start. But overall workers just need more inherent protections so management can't just sweep bad behavior under the rug or make it into a workplace culture.

Outside of gaming companies, where else do you see issues related to diversity within the audience? How about the relationship between players and their fans?

I mean, honestly it's everywhere. There are toxic streamers all over the place, abusers within the influencer, streamer, pro and journalistic space, and just fans that have fully bought into GamerGate rhetoric like it's religion. All you have to do is look in the comments of any major site or YouTube channel. As far as the relationship with players and fans, I don't know. I see plenty of really great communities, and I see even more that are awful and the people in charge refuse to do anything.

How do you think the design of games can be changed to improve inclusion and representation?

Having marginalized people in the room, but more importantly, giving marginalized folks the money, space, and support to create the work they want outside of the realm of AAA.