Diversity in Games

🎮 Join content creators, game developers, gamers, and friends at the next Vancouver Creator Meetup on October 19! Get ready for a casual evening of games, sips and nibbles, and good conversation. Activities will include playable game demos, a Smash Bros free play theatre, photo booth, swag giveaways, pizza, snacks, and drinks for purchase. 🗓 October 19, 6-11pm 📍 Blackbird Interactive, 400-565 Great Northern Way ➡ RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gvFpCXY4 Vancouver Creator Meetups

🏃♀️ THE EVENT IS TOMORROW, RSVP TODAY, VERY LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN: https://lnkd.in/gZ6hziBx We are very excited to have Pierre-Luc Labbée 😎 share their stories at our Mental Health Roundtable event on October 16th! 👩💻 ABOUT PIERRE-LUC: Pierre-Luc Labbée (he/him) is the founder of rhum—humans and resources, a b-corp certified organization focusing on talent acquisition, human resources, and talent development in the creative world. Pierre-Luc is also a certified coach and university lecturer and describes himself as an eternal learner. Proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Pierre-Luc has always been an inclusivity advocate, ensuring every human being is treated with care and empathy. Pierre-Luc has been invited on different platforms to talk about his own experience with mental health issues, as well as his perception of how leaders today are more affected than ever.

We are so excited to have Carrie M. provide their wisdom and insight at our Mental Health Roundtable event on October 16th! 🏃♀️ RSVP TODAY, VERY LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN: https://lnkd.in/gZ6hziBx 👩💻 ABOUT CARRIE: Carrie Mah currently serves as a Staff UX Designer at Fortis Games, creating web tools for game, community and marketing teams. She is also the founder of Carrie M Designs, helping small businesses, game studios, and educational institutions improve their web experiences, educational content, visual concepts, marketing and product strategies. Starting her career in fintech and consulting, Carrie spent 10+ years working with startups, non-profits, and enterprises before pivoting into games. Carrie's mission is empowering creative misfits and builders using creative experiments, play, and curiosity. She values authentic connections, continuous growth, and feeds her curiosity through food, travel, hiking, bouldering, and pottery.

We are very excited to have Alberto García Acosta share their stories at our Mental Health Roundtable event on October 16th! 🏃♀️ RSVP TODAY, Tickets are free, but limited: https://lnkd.in/gZ6hziBx 👩💻 ABOUT ALBERTO: Games and languages are my two lifelong passions. Growing up in Mexico, in the English-only era of western video games, I could only dream of a time where I would be helping these incredible adventures reach new audiences around the world. As a Localization Specialist, my journey has been defined by an extensive involvement in translating/writing 2+ million words across 50+ games over 8 years of experience in the gaming industry, mainly for the Latin American market. While navigating the complexities of language and culture, it has become quite clear to me that it is the people behind the games and companies that matter the most, not the product itself, when working on any creative project, as well as the audience that gets to enjoy the finished experience. I firmly believe life is more enjoyable when you connect with the world around you. Languages and games help us connect. So I'd love to say that I simply help people enjoy life.

🏃♀️ RSVP TODAY, Tickets are free, but limited: https://lnkd.in/gZ6hziBx We are very excited to have Michael Synnett as another one of our roundtable speakers for the October 16th event! 👩💻 ABOUT MYKE: Myke Synnett is a seasoned IT professional with nearly a decade of experience in the game development industry of Vancouver, BC. Myke has a background in innovative problem-solving and technical development, his work has facilitated the creation of several critically acclaimed games, ranging from mobile games to AAA titles.   Myke began his career as a test engineer. Quickly discovering his love for hardware, systems, and managing technical processes, he decided to pivot to an IT focus. His career journey would lead him through a plethora of successes and failures, accompanied by a mental health journey of epic proportions.   With a welcoming and approachable attitude Myke promotes collaboration between all levels, from developers to artists, and executives to clerks, fostering an environment where individuals can thrive. His behind the scenes IT puppet-mastery ensures others can perform their duties at the highest level. As a mentor, he is dedicated to helping others navigate the joys and struggles of managing personal and professional mental health. Speaking to committees and employee groups, as well as hosting one-on-one mental health check ins for colleague and peers, Myke want’s everyone to know that “it’s okay to not be okay”.   In the last year Myke has moved into the public banking sector, where he continues to fulfil his passion for supporting others. Currently, Myke works as Support Specialist for a renowned national Banking firm in Alberta. Outside of work, he enjoys playing video games (of course!), running, collecting Uno card games, and exploring the city with his wife, Meagan.

We are so excited to have Divya Dias speaking at the upcoming Mental Health roundtable on October 16th! 👩💻 ABOUT DIVYA: Starting out in the industry in 2013, Divya has contributed to different games, including FarmVille 2 and New World. An Indian woman, she had to find her way across continents and cultures to create stories for the games she wanted to. She believes the most unique ideas live on the fringe of what is known and is a strong advocate of inclusion. Come listen to Divya and others from the games industry talk about their experience navigating mental health, burnout and more! 🏃♀️ RSVP TODAY, Tickets are free, but limited: https://lnkd.in/gZ6hziBx

Come join us on October 16th, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, for a thoughtful conversation on recognizing burnout, mental health at work, and being kind to yourself through turbulence. We have multiple diverse individuals sharing their stories and experience on these topics! Tickets are free, but limited! RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/dwXaeaGr

📣 LOOKING FOR SPEAKERS! We are hosting a virtual round table conversation on Mental Health in the Games Industry on October 16th, and would like to have diverse voices to share their experience and perspectives. We encourage people of all speaking experience to sign up, this is a safe platform to practice your public speaking in front of a judgement-free audience! If you'd like to sign up as a speaker please reach out to us at contact@diversityin.games

Past Saturday DIG hosted a relaxed networking event for Vancouver-based game developers of all levels. Our goal was to give our peers a moment of reprieve in this turbulent time that our industry has been going through. When planning the event we tried to avoid things that are normally associated with corporate networking mixers - boredom, stress, anxiety, and forced interactions, instead focusing on growing connections organically through activities and good vibes. We provided the guests with boardgames, networking bingo cards that could be used as ice-breakers (but also a competition with some prizes to win), food and drinks (bubble tea was a huge hit!), and good old video game soundtracks playing in the background. We also hosted a Quiet Room to give the guests an opportunity to take a break and re-charge. By the end of the day, we received an incredible amount of good feedback proving that not only this format was successful but also highly desired. We fully intend to do this again since the community welcomed the idea so warmly. Thank you to everyone who attended, we do hope you had an amazing time because we certainly did! Thank you to our volunteers and of course sponsors Simply Sweet Games, Scry Quest Interactive Development Inc.., and Northeastern University Vancouver for making this event possible. Until the next time! 😍

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to enjoy the Power Up! Networking event on the weekend! We hope you had fun, made some new connections and feel POWERED UP! 🧡 ✨