Press Kit

Description

GaymerX is the first ever LGBTQ-focused gaming convention. For its fourth year, the event will take place under the name “GaymerX • Year Four” (GX4), celebrating a space where all can join in discussion, play, and community without fear of harassment or discomfort for being who and what they are. GX4 will take place in Santa Clara, California at the Santa Clara Convention Center & Hyatt on September 30th – October 2nd 2016.

The event is broken up into three main attractions:

Talks covering fandom, industry, diversity and everything in between, from respected members of the gaming community including Tim Cain, (Producer, Lead Programmer and Designer of Fallout), Karin and Patrick Weekes (Editor and Writer from Bioware), and many more.

Special Events such as dances, concerts, cosplay contests, fancy parties, featuring special guests like Kitty Powers (Kitty Powers: Matchmaker), voice actor Dave Fennoy (World of Warcraft, Bayonetta, DOTA2) 2 Mello (Composer), and Wynton “Prog” Smith  (Smash Bros commentator), as well as a host of DJs, dancers, entertainers, comedians, and many more!

Gaming Rooms including 8-player Smash Brothers, a dedicated tabletop room where you can play hundreds of specially selected board-games, an arcade full of unique indie games and fan favorites, and even our own fully-functional Pokemon League, including gyms, leaders, and badges!

For more information about GaymerX • Year Four, including our guest of honor list, visit gaymerx.com

Mission Statement

GaymerX seeks to making the gaming world safer and more inclusive to marginalized people, especially those in the gender and sexuality spectrum. This is implemented in three major ways:.

Making Progress Fun is a big factor in the way that GaymerX does things. When people are genuinely excited and engaged by a concept or a technique they are far more likely to learn it and put it into practice. Gaming, socializing, and partying can be effective avenues to test out social conditions that favor inclusiveness and conflict resolution.

Creating Better Practices for safety and inclusiveness in physical and online gaming spaces. This can mean rules and enforcement, but more-so helpful guidelines and tools for people to interact with one another, as well as exposure to rarely discussed social concepts and issues that help people relate and empathize with one another.

The GX Convention is a yearly event where all of GaymerX’s work can be put into practice. It is a physical space where people can meet and interact in a different way than they would at a mainstream gaming event. When people know that the event’s audience, volunteers, staff, vendors, and guests are all supportive of their identity and open to discuss conflicts, it creates a unique positive atmosphere of comfort and inclusiveness.

History

GaymerX was founded in 2012 by Matt Conn via Kickstarter. The campaign was set to be funded at $25,000 but quickly soared over $90,000, causing the event to expand to a much larger venue than originally intended. 4 years and 5 events later, including GaymerX Australia, GaymerX has become an international event.