Polygamer #56: Live at GaymerX East

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Ken Gagne

GaymerX, the world’s only annual video game and geek culture convention for the LGBT+ community and its allies, has arrived on the East Coast! After four successful events in California and one in Australia, the first GaymerX East was held in New York City the weekend of November 11–13.

I attended GXE, as did many other Polygamer alumni. I invited three of them to participate in a panel about their work in gaming diversity, how they stay inspired and motivated, and how they define success. Joining me in this discussion were GaymerX founder Matt Conn (episodes #01 & #32); ethnographer and voice actor Khadeja Merenkov (episodes #05 & #10; and undergraduate community organizer Francesca Carletto-Leon (#33).

Stream the audio recording of this panel below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, acast, or TuneIn, and stay after the credits for a bonus discussion about the viability of the upcoming Nintendo Switch console.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:07 — 31.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #36: Gay erotica artist Steven H. Garcia

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Steven H. Garcia is an artist of gay erotica, especially of the pinup variety. His models are characters from throughout geek fandom, including movies, comics, and video games. His 2016 wall calendar showcase popular icons such as Superman and Batman, Ash from Pokémon, Street Fighter’s Ken and Ryu, Spider-Man and Deadpool, Harry Potter, and more. When not creating art, Steven is the co-host of the Gayme On video game podcast.

Steven recently exhibited at GX3, the third annual GaymerX convention. In this interview, Ken and Steven chat about their experiences at that event; how Steven finds real-life models for his art; representation of gay characters in comic books; whether Steven’s art represents or violates canon; how objectification of male characters is similar to and different from how women are traditionally portrayed; and why a video edition of an audio podcast isn’t a bad idea.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, acast, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Continue reading →

Podcast: Download (Duration: 45:26 — 21.7MB) | Embed

GaymerX (GX3)

GX, or GaymerX, is an annual convention focused on games — video games, tabletop games, card games, and creating a fun and safe space for gamers and gaymers of all identities to have fun and hang out with like minded folks.

Although it’s a “queer space”, with many of the panels revolve around queer issues or queer devs, GX is made for everyone and everyone is welcome!

This year’s special guests include:

Jennifer Hale, voice of Commander Shepard and a ton of amazing lead characters including Samus Aran (Metroid) Jaden Korr (Star Wars), and Naomi Hunter (MGS)
Natasha Allegri, creator of Bee and Puppycat and a part of the success of Adventure Time (and the creation of Fionna and Cake!)
Dr. Rob Jagnow, co-creator of the hit games Cogs and Extrasolar
Zach Weiner, creator of webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Ellen McLain, voice of GLaDOS (Portal)
John Patrick Lowrie, voice of The Sniper (TF2)

Musical performances from:

2 Mello
SAMMUS
Doubleclicks
Super Soul Bros.

And more!

Listen to Polygamer‘s interview with GaymerX co-founder Matt Conn!

Unheard Voices at GX3

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Ken Gagne

I’m honored to be moderating a panel at the GX3 conference in San Jose this December 11–13. "Unheard Voices" will feature podcasters Anna Tarkov (Unconsoleable), Tanya DePass (Fresh Out of Tokens), John James (Minus World), and Polygamer alumnus Shawn Alexander Allen (Nuchallenger) on the following topic:

"Get heard with podcasting! The past two years have seen an explosion of diverse voices taking to the airwaves to discuss race, gender, and equality in gaming. This panel will examine the motivations, equipment, and challenges to getting heard."

Formerly GaymerX, GX3 is an annual convention of games and gaming culture for marginalized voices and their allies. The event was co-founded by Matt Conn, Polygamer‘s first guest and recent guest of Less Than or Equal. This panel will mark my first time speaking on the West Coast and my first conference panel on equality and diversity since "Sex, Sexy & Sexism" at PAX East 2014.

Tickets for GX3 are still available. Come hear our panel on Saturday, December 12, at 11:01 AM PST!

Polygamer #22: Philip Jones, director of Gaming In Color

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Gaming In Color is a feature documentary exploring the queer side of gaming. After being Kickstarted in 2013 and enjoying a limited release in 2014, the film had its official debut on May 19, 2015. Featuring interviews with GaymerX organizers and attendees and discussing topics such as representation in video games, Gaming In Color serves as a 62-minute primer on the intersection of sexuality and gaming.

In this interview, Gaming In Color director Philip Jones discusses how they took over the project after its acquisition by MidBoss Games; the documentary’s coverage of transgender issues; the reception the film has received from industry developers and publishers such as Riot Games and Electronic Arts; and why, in a pay-what-you-want distribution model, a customer paying only $1 to stream the movie was evidence the film was reaching its target audience.

Download the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, acast, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Continue reading →

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:43 — 27.3MB) | Embed

Polygamer #01: Matt Conn of GaymerX

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Ken Gagne

Welcome to the premiere episode of Polygamer, where we look to expand the equality and diversity of the gaming industry. New episodes of Polygamer air every other Wednesday on YouTube and iTunes.

Today’s guest is Matt Conn, founder of GaymerX, an annual gaming convention for the LGBTQ community and its allies. How does the gaming industry and community benefit from having a convention specifically for this unique intersection? Who is the target audience? Are corporate sponsors willing to support this event? Conn discusses these issues, as well as the lack of queer protagonists in video games — a situation he hopes to improve with Read Only Memories, a game being developed by his company, MidBoss, and releasing in late 2014 for PC/Mac/OUYA and early 2015 for iOS, Android, and game consoles.

This year’s GaymerX is being held in San Francisco on July 10–13. There’s still time to register! Use discount code GAMEBITS for $20 off.

A video of this interview is embedded below; for the interview-only audio edition, please click the links below the video, or subscribe in iTunes.

Conn also appeared in executive produced the 2014 documentary Gaming in Color, currently available for download.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:13:19 — 38.0MB) | Embed