About the Session

In the fast-paced and competitive world of game development, it is easy to focus on acquiring the most skilled and experienced team members. Building a diverse team is more than just checking the right boxes. A team with a broad range of backgrounds brings a wealth of different perspectives and approaches to problem-solving, which is essential in creating games that are socially conscious and meaningful. Here, we discuss practical strategies for attracting and retaining diverse team members, and how to preserve the values of inclusion and equal opportunity within your team.

About the Session

While game designers often miss opportunities to create more robust worlds that engage the players from diverse cultural backgrounds, there has also been an increased recognition of the importance of inclusivity — and considering the demographics and cultures of our players. In this masterclass, industry veteran Kate Edwards will help attendees understand the complexities of game culturalization and present a practical framework for how creators can build better game worlds that account for a wider range of cultural and geopolitical considerations, and how your values as a company or individual creator will directly affect your game's ability to find a global audience.

About the Session

Releasing your game into the world can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, but it can also be daunting. When it comes to creating games with social impact, it is important to strike a balance between being feasible and commercially attractive to publishers and investors, while also being true to your vision for making a positive impact. In exploring ways to build interest and appreciation for socially impactful games, we navigate the roadblocks of finding the right partners who align with your goals to bring your socially conscious game to the masses and make a difference in the world.

About the Session

This masterclass provides game developers and indie studios with in-depth knowledge and practical skills in marketing and promoting their games, covering key topics such as understanding the target audience, creating a “player” persona, developing a marketing and social media strategy that reaches the target audience, building interest and appreciation for games with social impact, creating compelling stories that resonate with the target audience, and community management. Attendees will also learn about best practices and success stories of commercially successful and sustainable social impact games.

About the Session

What if games could be used to solve real-world problems? How would that change the way we think about gaming? As the gaming industry evolves, more game developers are recognizing the potential for their work to effect positive change in society. We delve into this growing trend by highlighting various global initiatives that use games to drive change by addressing issues of societal importance. From using games for education and awareness, to using games for civic empowerment, we will showcase different ways in which the gaming industry is making a positive impact on society and share opportunities for game creators to join the global movement of games for social good.