Matt Conn | Polygamer

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 Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive, 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 #32: Matt Conn of Read Only Memories

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Matt Conn is the CEO of MidBoss, the studio behind Read Only Memories, a point-and-click adventure game featuring a diverse cast of characters. It is the first game from the same studio that produces the annual GaymerX (GX3) convention and the documentary Gaming in Color.

In this interview (originally recorded for the IndieSider podcast), Matt and Ken discuss why MidBoss chose the first-person adventure genre as a vehicle for social justice; who the game’s target audience is and what the reception has been from those quarters; what challenges are inherent to writing a script featuring diverse characters; and whether it is the responsibility of indie or AAA studios to include marginalized voices in their games’ casts.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:56 — 32.9MB) | 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 Apple Podcasts.

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