Day 3: Gaming
Please note this event is taking place online by invitation only. Select events will be live-streamed to Counterpoints Arts’ Facebook and Youtube; see below for links where available. All times listed are in GMT/UTC.
| 9:30 – 10:30 |
Coffee Hour |
| SESSION 1 | PRESENTATIONS |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | Game Showcase Get a taste of Kind Words, a BAFTA-winning game by studio Popcannibal about writing anonymous letters of comfort and encouragement to real people – and sending requests for the same. It’s about nurturing one’s mental health, and all to a beautiful lo-fi soundtrack. |
| Daily Reflections / Day Overview — Iain Dodgeon, Shay Thompson feat. Mohammed Ali | |
| 10:50 – 11:40 | Amal/Hope: Putting Lived experience at the Heart of Game Development — Malath Abbas Indie games developer Malath Abbas, discusses the process of creating his upcoming game, Hope. Depicting the experiences of refugees settling in the UK, he explores the challenges of drawing from real life. |
| Building Code Coven: a bootcamp for marginalized developers — Tara Mustapha Tara Mustapha shares her journey building Code Coven, an online community for marginalized developers. Learn about the opportunities to get involved and how to move from being a gamer to a games developer. |
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| Changing the Landscape of Who Creates Games: What’s Happening Now — Shay Thompson, August Aiden Black, Tara Mustapha and Malath Abbas Our panel comes together to discuss the wider games industry landscape, exploring the opportunities and challenges for bringing more diverse stories, characters and communities into interactive entertainment. From indie to the big studio, it’s a chance to find out more about how to be a part of shaping this exciting time in games. |
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| 11:40 – 11:50 | Game Play Live TEA BREAK — The Night Fisherman with Antony de Fault Grab a cup of tea and watch/play along with this 10 minute game, The Night Fisherman, developed by FarFew Giants. Experience a poignant tale, which beautifully presents the struggles of a refugee. Access the game for free on Steam. |
| 11:50 – 12:30 | Mental Health and Games: the good, the bad and is there an ugly? — Naomi Mwasambili Naomi’s work (Chauna) as a clinician and games developer has led her to build games helping improve the mental health of marginalised young people. She shares her challenges and learnings, including the importance of ensuring games like hers are evidenced-based. |
| How Soundscapes Shape Perceptions — James Cook From designing medieval soundscapes for games to creating interactive historical audio tours, James will explore the role of audio design in perpetuating misconceptions and prejudices about the past which carry on into the present; and what historians can do to help bring about change. |
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| Building diversity within larger games studios — Kurston Timothy Ubisoft’s Kurston Timothy discusses the mission of The Black Game Pros, a community founded to generate and foster more representation and diversity in the broader video game industry. |
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| The Depiction of Poverty in Games — Erica Lynn Rosenthal Erica, Director of Research at the Norman Lear Center, shares their latest work exploring the visual representation of poverty in video games and its impact on players. |
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| 12:30 – 12:35 | Morning Wrap Up — Shay Thompson |
| 12:35 – 13:30 | LUNCH BREAK Inc. Lets Play live play through of some extraordinary games |
| SESSION 2 | WORKSHOPS (happening concurrently in different rooms) |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | The Power of a Voice: The Making of Tell Me Why — August Aiden Black August Aiden Black is the voice actor of Tyler Ronan, the main protagonist in the acclaimed interactive adventure video game, Tell My Why. He will discuss how his experience as a trans man helped shape the first video game from a major developer featuring a lead transgender character. |
| Activating Real World Impact — Nikolaj Moller and Maria Sayans UN Live and ustwo games talk through their experience of collaboration on Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. Sharing practicalities and advice, they will discuss how to form similar partnerships on projects with the potential to bring about real-world impact. This workshop will include a playthrough. |
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| Writing diverse voices and lived experiences into game narratives — Corey Brotherson Drawing from his experience as a professional writer working across diverse media including ITV and Playstation, Corey will share his learnings on writing diverse and engaging characters in games and how to avoid common pitfalls. |
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| Using games to inoculate against fake news — Jon Roozenbeek From Fake News to conspiracy theories, the gamification of truth was the launchpad for this innovative series of games from University of Cambridge. Learn more about how the team put behavioural research into practice to help the public spot misinformation. |
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| 14:30 – 15:30 | BREAK |
| SESSION 3 | NETWORKING |
| 15:30 – 16:15 | Speed Networking |
| 16:15 – 16:55 | Informal Break Out Spaces |
| 16:55 – 17:00 | Wrap Up — Shay Thompson‘s final reflections for the day |
| EVENING | PUBLIC EVENT |
| 17:00 – 18:00 EVENT INFO LINK TO TWITCH LIVE |
GAME TIME HAPPY HOUR — Black Girl Gamers X Counterpoints Arts Livestream on Twitch Join gamers, comedians and artists over on Twitch as they compete in our live streamed ‘Game Time Happy Hour’ hosted by Black Girl Gamers. Hosted by InDeeDee (Black Girl Gamers) and featuring contestants Evan Narcisse (Narrative Designer, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales), Stephanie Ijoma (Founder, NNESAGA) and Mo Omar (Comedian). They’ll be competing for the crown of “Tastiest Cake” in the bonkers game of Cake Bash, while chatting about the games they’ve grown up with and are excited by now; together with the value of gaming communities, and reflections on what’s happening around diverse representation in the gaming world. Black Girl Gamers is an online safe space and platform that heightens the visibility of Black Women in Gaming and advocates for Diversity & Inclusion. |
