Explore the Indigenous Spotlight Series at G4C2021!

This year, G4C2021 will host an Indigenous Spotlight Series to explore the rapidly-growing Indigenous developer community. We are honored to have Miranda Due (Associate Producer at Treyarch) as a guest curator for this series. She has programmed a fantastic cross-section of Indigenous game developers and educators from around the world. Take a deep dive into this robust community and explore how indigenous creators and communities have used games to weave traditional knowledge, art, and history together to bring learning to life. Sessions include: Amelia Winger-Bearskin (Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, University of Florida) Wampum.Codes is an award-winning podcast featuring the voices of Indigenous people working at the cutting edge of creative technology. It is also an ethical framework that seeks to embed Indigenous values in the core of creative tech work. In this talk, Amelia Winger-Bearskin will discuss how these two projects intersect and situate modern development practices in the context of what she calls "antecedent technology." Naphtali Faulkner (ORIGAME Digital)  The question of how to handle political themes and stories within games has been heavily debated. In this talk, developer Naphtali Faulkner will explain some of the principles he followed when creating the critically acclaimed Umurangi Generation, an experience that has helped to create rich political discourse while also teaching players how to take photos in-game and outside. Miranda Due (Treyarch), Eleanore Falck (University of Wisconsin-Stout), Jeanette Bushnell (The N.D.N. Players Research Group), Kari Kēhau Noe (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa), Amber Taylor (ARA Journeys) A panel with creators from various Indigenous communities worldwide will describe their experience developing educational games and immersive experiences. The conversation will highlight how these creators are infusing teachings and methodologies from their communities into their work.  Santo Aveiro Ojeda (Brujería @ Werk), Maize Longboat (Producer / Writer / Game Designer), Phoebe Watson (Game Designer), Christian Miller (Silver Spook Games), Naphtali Faulkner (Origame Digital) Indigenous Futurisms is a movement that challenges the boundaries of what it means to be Indigenous in a digital age and how we can draw from our pasts to change the future. This panel will focus on how Indigenous creators see their work within Indigenous Futurisms and how this shapes their approach to game development. Daniel Kauwila Mahi (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), Kahentawaks Tiewishaw (The Initiative for Indigenous Futures / Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace) Outi Laiti (University of Helsinki, Indigenous studies), Allen Turner (DePaul University) Indigenous developers create worlds simultaneously rooted in the past and the future. Through mentorships, game workshops, game jams, and story design mutual aid continues to foster the next generation of world makers. This panel homes in on, action-oriented communal voices who have activated relationships across generations to invite people into the future. REGISTER NOW We understand that it can be fatiguing trying to catch all of your favorite speakers and sessions with a schedule as jam-packed as ours. Raffael Boccamazzo (more affectionately known as "Doctor B") is a doctor of clinical psychology and the clinical director of Take This, the first mental health nonprofit dedicated to serving the game industry and game community on mental health matters in games and IRL. Throughout the Festival, Dr. B will be hosting multiple Ask Me Anything sessions, so take a break from the usually scheduled programming to ask our experts generalized mental health questions in a supportive and compassionate space. Check them out now!  There's one week left to register for the 2021 Games for Change Workshop Week! The workshops offer a diverse range of learning experiences that explore unique subject matter, from impact design methodologies to the power of games in the classroom and more. Attendees will connect and collaborate with their peers while guided by expert facilitators from the Games for Change community. If you're a game developer, educator, intersectional expert, or just someone who wants to learn more about impact games, secure your spot today.  Copyright © 2021 Games for Change, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website www.gamesforchange.org or gamesforchange.org/festival/ You can opt out of this newsletter at any time. Our mailing address is: Games for Change P.O. Box 770699 Woodsite, New York 11377 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.