NYC | Polygamer

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, Stitcher, 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.

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The Code Liberation Foundation is a New York City-based non-profit that offers free game programming workshops to those who identify as women. The organization was founded in 2013 by Catt Small, Kay, Jane Friedhoff, Nina Freeman, Phoenix Perry, and Kaira Villanueva, seeking to change the female-to-male ratio in video game development. By creating a safe space free of the pressures often found in a mixed-gender environment, the CLF provides students the opportunities to develop their skills and confidence at no cost to them.

CLF directing member Adelle Lin joins Polygamer this week to discuss how the Code Liberation Foundation prepares students to enter a workforce that is traditionally male-dominated and how to address that issue early in the pipeline; the resources that students need that aren’t always available in more traditional academic settings; why students are taught to make games and not another genre of software, and why p5.js is one of the languages of choice for these classes; how the Code Liberation Foundation is unique from other gender-oriented academic programs or even social organizations; and how the group has evolved in its first three years.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, 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: 46:59 — 22.4MB) | Embed

Tag Archives: NYC

Polygamer #56: Live at GaymerX East

Polygamer #41: Adelle Lin of the Code Liberation Foundation