This panel went quite well. In pre-discussion, we created a handout with tons of resources and information, and we also printed up a bunch of copies of the Feminist Gamer Bingo sheet. Yes, a panel with not just one but two handouts!
The discussion ranged far and wide, including important developments in the past year or so, recommendations for games that get it right, video games, tabletop games, the social contract and more. Here were some of the specific points that stuck with me:
- How if we buy problematic stuff, we’re complicit; but if we don’t, we’re not considered a market. That’s putting it very starkly — there’s clearly a lot of middle ground there — but this “buy bad stuff or don’t exist” situation is a problem for a lot of gamers, especially where the dominant companies are still doing such a poor job of being inclusive.
- We want acceptable $60 games, not just indie games (said about so-called AAA video games, but this kinda applies to tabletop RPGs, too!). There are a lot of small-scale games out there that are very inclusive, but it’d be nice if inclusivity wasn’t restricted so much.
- Ways of finding and forming good gaming groups. We didn’t talk about this a great deal, but it’s a topic I care a lot about, so the discussion got me going. I still plan to discuss how to find gaming groups and how to craft a good social contract here — eventually.
- How misogyny can influence kids really young, but how young kids also seem to be getting less misogynist. Signs of danger, signs of hope.
All that, plus I managed to sell three copies of Blade & Crown! A great panel.