I Need Diverse Games

Effective August 13, 2016, I Need Diverse Games became a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c)(3) foundation, based in Illinois. All documents that have a public version are available.

We are dedicated to helping those that want to bring more diversity to the art of gaming. We will do this by sponsoring attendance at diverse gaming conventions, promoting those that are making diverse games, indie projects and presenting on the topics of diversity in gaming at conventions.
So please support our work on Patreon, even $1 per month will help. One of our goals is to have more articles, to pay people for their contributions, and to do more tangible things for the community.

We also want to help others get to conventions, share their work if funding is an issue. We would love your support to send aspiring game devs to conventions like GDC, IGDA events in their city, GeekGirlCon, HavenCon, VectorConf, East Coast Games Conference, and other places where gaming and diversity are parts of the conversation.

We want to do this by highlighting work by marginalized, underrepresented people in the industry, getting their voices heard and their work seen be it a game, articles, etc. But that takes resources and time. Our founder does this full time, others give what time they can to moderate our spaces, and dedicate our time to better diversifying the games space.

So in the meantime, we humbly ask for your support to do the work we can and to bring change to the art form we love and want to make better!

Thank you so much for whatever support you can give towards our work.

Cheers,
Tanya D. aka cypheroftyr
@cypheroftyr // @INeedDivGms
[email protected]

Our purpose and mission:

The Mission of I Need Diverse Games:

I Need Diverse Games via all associated platforms and members; including but not limited to: twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other mediums seeks to bring projects, works and research by marginalized folks to light. We also seek to discuss, analyze and critique identity and culture in video games through a multi-faceted lens rooted in intersectionality

How we achieve our Mission and Goals:

• Participating in the Game Developers Conference Scholarship program which sends 25 people to GDC, one of the most important professional development conferences in the games industry. Each scholar gets an All Access Pass, a $1600 USD value given to us each year by the conference to assist those who would normally be unable to attend due to the cost.
• Publishing articles on diversity in games who would otherwise not have a voice on issues relevant to them in the works they see and others create. We pay contributors for their work.
• Work with other conferences and conventions to provide passes, free of charge to attendees that would normally not be able to attend events such as GaymerX, OrcaCon, HavenCon, AlterConf and others due to monetary issues
• Speak at conventions on issues of diversity as relevant to our mission and goals. Or assist others in going to conventions to attend such talks and panels.
• Participate in Diversity and Inclusion focused activities at conventions & conferences, and offer volunteer opportunities so community members can attend such events while assisting with our table.

Purpose:

1. Provide a safe online space for gamers of color and gamers of any other marginalized identities (including race, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability, etc.) to discuss, promote, and educate for inclusion within the gaming industry and games themselves.
2. Promote the work of creators in the gaming industry, including journalists, developers, artists that are marginalized and would otherwise go unheard.
3. Encourage and defend diversity in all forms of gaming, and most importantly, make sure it is done right, by creating conversations that invite both critique and praise for the art of gaming.
4. Promote posts on social media and online publications that use a sociological lens to talk about video, tabletop and other forms of games as well as gaming culture, posts that raise awareness of PoC activism and independent projects, and posts that discuss the future of games as a form of media.
5. Maintain journalistic integrity, as well as accountability, in the discussion of the need for diverse gaming with the goals of education and growth in that community.

We view diversity as a way to enrich the video game experience, not a quota to be filled, or a tool to avoid criticism. Diversity is essential not just to reflect the variety of our community, but also to push the limits of immersion, to present audiences with a perspective that they have never experienced before, and ultimately, to foster empathy for others.

Board of Directors:

• Tanya DePass, founder and Director
• Tiffany Murphy, Legal Advisor
• Keisha Howard – Director of Community Relations
• Elizabeth Parmeter, Director of Media Relations
• Andrien Gbinigie Industry Advisor
• Glenn White, Director of Operations
• Vacant, Chief Financial Officer