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005: A transgender employee of EA Sports
May. 10th, 2012 05:40 pmI know I said my next game post would probably be about Minecraft (and that's coming, I promise). I also know that this is not my usual format for my 100 Things posts, but hey, it's related to my topic and interesting to me so you all are just going to deal with it!
Anyway.
I have never been a sports gamer. (No, not even for footie games. Weird, I know.) I've found the format for many of them - yearly titles with at most incremental improvements to a time-worn format - kind of annoying, to be honest with you. (I feel the same way about first person shooters on the same cycle.)
And EA itself has gone in weird directions - I felt their absorption of Maxis was done improperly at best, and they've fully embraced a community of gamers that I feel doesn't include me.
But I have to say, their support of Kelly Worrall is good news. It's more than just good PR for them - it's a legitimately good thing they're doing, supporting a woman who hasn't always had the fortune of being able to be herself.
The gamer community (much like, say, the footie fan community) has never been known for being open and tolerant. We've had issues with how we treat others who don't look or think like ourselves, and it's something we're often struggling with. We're loud and obnoxious and loyal to our views and sometimes a little brash and hurtful. We're still establishing our identity as a group of fans of a particular medium, and the growing pains often show.
But I think and hope this - showing that even the big, often-considered-evil companies can do good things to people who really need them - will be a turning point for us. I hope that this little community of nerds will wake up and notice that there are all kinds of people out there, people who are passionate about the art and science and entertainment involved in great games, and that all people who love games should be welcome to play, to compete, and to enjoy.
Anyway.
I have never been a sports gamer. (No, not even for footie games. Weird, I know.) I've found the format for many of them - yearly titles with at most incremental improvements to a time-worn format - kind of annoying, to be honest with you. (I feel the same way about first person shooters on the same cycle.)
And EA itself has gone in weird directions - I felt their absorption of Maxis was done improperly at best, and they've fully embraced a community of gamers that I feel doesn't include me.
But I have to say, their support of Kelly Worrall is good news. It's more than just good PR for them - it's a legitimately good thing they're doing, supporting a woman who hasn't always had the fortune of being able to be herself.
The gamer community (much like, say, the footie fan community) has never been known for being open and tolerant. We've had issues with how we treat others who don't look or think like ourselves, and it's something we're often struggling with. We're loud and obnoxious and loyal to our views and sometimes a little brash and hurtful. We're still establishing our identity as a group of fans of a particular medium, and the growing pains often show.
But I think and hope this - showing that even the big, often-considered-evil companies can do good things to people who really need them - will be a turning point for us. I hope that this little community of nerds will wake up and notice that there are all kinds of people out there, people who are passionate about the art and science and entertainment involved in great games, and that all people who love games should be welcome to play, to compete, and to enjoy.