Games are amazing and I’m sure anyone reading this agrees, but there is a lot of room for improvement in the gaming industry today. We want our industry to grow, we want it to evolve and we want it to be a place where more people feel welcome to both play and develop games. That’s why diversity is so important.
Diversi is a new project that aims to increase diversity in the gaming industry, by enabling gaming companies, educations and communities to encourage and support each others’ diversity efforts. We are proud to say that we are a part of Diversi, and the first ever Diversi Meet Up was held on our school premises in Stockholm just last week.
Diversi demands that the industry shows solidarity and stands up against the antagonistic culture against woman and all minorities within the industry. As a reaction to the heated debate surrounding the cold climate in gaming Diversi has published a debate article, or perhaps we should call it a call to action, that Futuregames is proud to support.
The article was published in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet as well as on their website, on October 24’th, 2014. For those of you who’d much rather read it in english, here is a translated version:
Sexism has no place in the world of gaming
Sexism, hate and threats have no place in our society, and neither does it have a place in gaming – industry or otherwise. Lately a lot of women in the industry and in games media have been victims of threats, harassment and assault. We distance ourselves from these acts, writes representatives from the largest Swedish game development companies and game educations.
Nowadays most people are aware of the successful export of the Swedish games industry. A large part of which is attributed to the fact games are no longer the pastime for enthusiasts, instead it has become widely enjoyed by a sizeable cross section of the population. This is a major shift that has occurred in recent years, not only in Sweden – but in the world. It is this increase in demand that drives the growing market, and as a consequence: more people look for work in games.
Lately we’ve heard horrific recounts of women that publicly take a stance against sexism in video games being subjected to threats and harassment by anonymous people online, to the point where their physical safety and the security of their own homes can’t be guaranteed (SvD Kultur 20/10). This isn’t something that needs to be said, however here we stand: Hate, threats and harassment can never be accepted. We – representatives from the industry as well as the education managers – reject, in the strongest possible way and without reservation, all harassment and sexism. We support the women who have suffered this. We want to defend everyone’s right to exist and work in games without being treated poorly because of their background, affiliation or gender. Threats should always be taken seriously and be reported to the police.
We have, as employers, educations and the trade associations, over a long time worked with equality, and pushed to better women’s opportunities to work in games. For a long time there was one woman for every ten men in the industry. Today it’s looking better, and in 2013 the percentage of women employed within the industry increased by 38%. However, women only constitute 16% of the total number of people working in the industry. The positive trend needs to continue.
Equality is one of the success factors in the Swedish games industry. In the high-performance gaming industry, Swedish studios can compete for international top quality competence by offering a functional daily life for new parents where paternity leave is encouraged. The question of diversity is obvious in an international work environment that recruits competence from all over the world. Diversity at the work place is needed to create games for a diverse audience. A lot of the Swedish successes are played by women and men both young and old. Games have become a hobby for everyone.
Our many years of work with equality and diversity have now spawned the initiative Diversi. Diversi combines many of the positive forces for equality and diversity from both gaming organizations and game educations to the industry. By offering a platform for cooperation and the exchange of experiences, Diversi strengthens the different projects that are online from different parts of the country and companies. One of the realizations to come out of this is that actions taken in the interests of equality often work as an action taken for diversity, and vice versa.
Diversi came into fruition in 2013 as an initiative by Dataspelsbranschen (Swedish Games Industry) and the research company Praxikon with support from the Vinnova (Swedish Innovation Agency) project Genuslabbet. Today, Diversi is a grass roots movement with support from all facets of the gaming world: students, gamers, game developers, teachers, researchers, journalists, event organizers and many others.
In addition to the long-term work, Divesi has started a petition for diversity and equality, against hate, threats and sexism. In just a few days, hundreds of people connected to games in Sweden have signed and taken a stand. Sign the petition: diversi.nu/petition
Working with games means that you will be able to develop products that are entertaining, evokes emotions in the player and most of the time brings joy to many people. Sexism, threats and hate is the complete opposite of this, and have no place in our industry.
Signed
ANDERS FRANK, forskare, Försvarshögskolan; ANN-SOFIE SYDOW, utbildningsledare, The Game Assembly; ANTON WESTBERGH, vd, Coffee Stain Studios; BIRGITTA LUNDVIK, vd, Hansoft; BRJANN SIGURGEIRSSON, vd, Image & Form; CHRISTOFER SUNDBERG, grundare och creative director, Avalanche Studios; DANIEL HASSELBERG, vd, MAG Interactive; DANIEL KAPLAN, affärsutvecklare, Mojang; DANIEL ÖHBERG, vd, Fragnet; DAVID POLFELDT, vd, Ubisoft Massive; DAVID ROSÉN, vd, Pieces Interactive; DENNIS GUSTAFSSON, medgrundare, Mediocre; EIRIK PEDERSEN, vd, Game-Hosting; ERIK ROBERTSON, grundare, Redikod; FREDRIK OLOFSSON, vd, Sensavis;FREDRIK WESTER, vd, Paradox Interactive; HÅKAN LARSSON, Furuboda Kompetens Center; HANS SVENSSON, prefekt, institutionen för speldesign, Uppsala universitet; JOHAN HÖGLUND, vd, Raketspel;JOHAN WESTIN, game director, Level Eight; KARL MAGNUS TROEDSSON, vd, Dice; KLAUS LYNGELED, grundare, Zoink; LINNEA AGNE, projektledare, PlaygroundSquad; LINUS FELDT, grundare och vd, Filimundus; MAGNUS ALM, CMO, Palringo; MAGNUS BJÖRKMAN, vd, Tension Graphics AB; MARTIN EKDAL, co-founder, Simplygon;MARTIN WAHLUND, vd, Fatshark; MARTIN WALFISZ, vd & Grundare, Planeto; MATTI LARSSON, vd/creative director, Zordix; MATTIAS MIKSCHE, vd, Stardoll; MATTIAS NYGREN, vd, The Station; MATTIAS OHLSSON, Pixelbite; MIKAEL NERMARK, COO, Starbreeze; OLA DE FREITAS, vd, Goo Technologies; OLA HOLMDAHL, vd, Tarsier Studios;OSKAR BURMAN, vd, Rovio Sverige; PER STRÖMBÄCK, talesperson, Dataspelsbranschen; PER-ARNE LUNDBERG, SVP, The Game Incubator;PETER LEVIN, vd, Forestlight; PIM HOLFVE, vd, Expansive Worlds;RICKARD FRISEGÅRD, vd, Stunlock Studios; SEBASTIAN KNUTSSON, grundare, King; SIGBRITT KARLSSON, rektor, Högskolan i Skövde;STAFFAN BJÖRK, professor, Göteborgs universitet; STEFAN HOLGERSSON, verksamhetsledare, Stiftelsen Teknikdalen; STEFAN ÖSTERGÅRDE, vd, Fuffr; TOM LÖYCHE, studierektor, Future Games;TOM OLSSON, vd, Bläck Studios; TOMMY PALM, styrelseledamot, Spelplan-ASGD
Translation by Johan Toresson (Gameport)
Proof-reading and fixes by Vic Bassey (The Square)
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Antonio Obeid is a Lebanese student attending Futuregames Warsaw remotely, due to difficult times.
