Everyone has a starting point right?  This is ours.  We will go on this journey together as Alice Liguori (She/They) joins us as we dive into how They Play Games came about and why it is important within not only the games industry but the wider gaming world.

About Alice:

During the weekdays I'm lead marketing manager at games studio Auroch Digital, and in the evenings and on weekends you can find me on twitch, playing games like Elden ring, the sims, Skyrim, and cute indie games - usually of the puzzle variety. 

I'm vegan, bisexual, and i'm pretty sure i'm non-binary too! i'm still on a big ol' gender journey and learning more and more about myself every day. that's why i'm so excited for They Play Games - it's a space that's been so desperately needed for such a long time! 

We know that sometimes even though we are gender non conforming, we sometimes have other identities we connect with aswell.  This can cause us to have a flurry of thoughts and emotions flowing through us.  

Join Ladell (They/Them) and Sarah Taylor (They/Them) from Splash Damage discuss intersectional Identities and also mental health.

About Sarah Taylor:

Sarah is a graphic designer who has been working in the games industry for 6 years. As a mixed race, non-binary person they're passionate about improving marginalised people's access to and experiences in the games industry, so they're often involved with D&I initiatives and supporting organisations like Limit Break Mentorship and Black Twitch UK.

Sarah's Twitter and Sarah's Linkedin 

Ladell's Twitter and Ladell's Linkedin

I am so excited to share my talk with Cinzia Musio (She/They) where we took a deep dive into EDI and the games industry especially regarding non binary identity and how they got into the games industry.  

So many powerful points were main in this talk that I literally cannot think of what else to say without spoiling! 

About Cinzia Musio:

Cinzia Musio is an award-winning Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant in the UK, with an approach focusing on intersectionality. They work across the industry with helping build awareness and education, and using data to drive a culture of inclusion, knowledge sharing, and allyship. Cinzia is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant for Code Coven, a Training Consultant and Researcher for Limit Break, helps manage the UK Games Industry Slack, is a BAFTA member among other things. When not at work, Cinzia can be found cross-stitching or cuddling cats. 

Cinzia's Website

Normally when thinking of Trans folk within workspaces, it is met with negativity but here we like to spread all the positive joys we have experienced so far within a Triple A workspace!

Join me and Sam (They/Them) gush over some heart warming stories and also some tips on how studios can become more trans-friendly.

About Sam Luangkhot:

Sam is a Southeast Asian game dev who specializes in Community Management and Production. They love dogs, playing Pokemon GO, and learning new languages. 

Sam's Website
Sam's Twitter
Sam's Linkedin

This episode Ladell is maybe too excited to speak to Anne (She/They) about Esports and changing the narrative.  Esports is known to be quite a male dominated space and we want to change the narrative on that.  Join us as we have an in depth discussion about how Esports currently looks and how we would like it changed.

About Anne (She/They):

Anne is a Community Operations Lead at Community Gaming.  She continues to work hard to support grassroots tournaments and communities in any way she can.  She is also an amazing Esports broadcaster for various tournaments for games such as Overwatch 2 and Valorant.  

Lastly, Anne hosts a podcast called Pushing Buttons which is about Esports broadcasting! 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anniepoo_

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/anniepoo 

New Month

New Podcast episode!

Today Ladell is joined by Winona Sharpe (they/she) who is the Release Manager at Double Eleven in the UK. 

This isn't the first time they have met though, they met originally through Limit Break during their mentorship in 2021! 

Join them as Ladell gushes over Winona telling us about how they entered the Game Industry and also some tips.

About Winona (They/She)

An American-born Latinx, Winona studied English Literature and Medieval History at university. They also enjoy heavy metal, vampires, writing, and board games. 🦇

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WinonaSharpen 

A topic that is ever more pressing giving the state of the world today, is how can we be safe? 

Ladell and Furgie (any) dive into some of the ways Gender non-conforming people battle with this question daily and some of the things we encounter in our lives.  This can be a triggering topic so make sure to grab a blanket, and also take a moment for yourself afterwards.

About Furgie (any)

Furgie, queer muslim non-binary immigrant from Pakistan, works in tech, loves fashion, food and science, works in tech. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/furgieofficial

Welcome back for another podcast, this time with the fantastic JJ Fox (They/Them)!

Ladell spills the beans on TheyPlayGames 100 List, which is open for you all to nominate now!

We discuss the impact of gender non conforming people within games and how it has affected us as an industry

About JJ

JJ is a an indie game developer and Safe In Our World Ambassador who's work aims to combat stigmas surrounding neurodiversity.  

Hymble Ventures is now in alpha testing on itch.io

Hymble Ventures twitter: https://twitter.com/HymbleVentures

As we enter pride month, we decided to discuss an important topic for all.  We open up the floor to discuss challenging stereotypes with Rik Pixel (any) who is a producer and a content creator.  

It is important to note we should be doing this all year round, and not just for the month of June (which is why I empower people through this podcast)

About Rik Pixel

"The name's Rik, and I'm a producer in the games industry! I stream on Twitch 4 days a week.  In my community we are a LGBTQA+ friendly space. This means that everyone here from all walks of life are included and accepted exactly for who they are. Any hate speech towards anyone or their identity is discouraged, and not tolerated in any way.  Love is love, and everyone is free to express themselves how they wish in this community!"

Rik Twitter: https://twitter.com/RikPixel
Rik Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/RikPixel/
Rik Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/rikpixel/about 

An amazing Freelance writer (and Editor in Chief) and a podcaster meet on a hot day in June 👀, laughter ensues.

Was I in awe talking to Ty? Yes, yes I was.  

About Ty Galiz-Rowe (He/They)

Ty (he/they) is the Editor-in-Chief of Uppercut, the internet’s foremost monster fucker, and an all-star himbo. His love for games criticism and developing a space for diverse writers is matched only by his love of Battle Chef Brigade. He spends most of his time on his Switch and being too online. 

Currently, they are running a kickstarter to help fund uppercut for next year! Support them for pride!

If you make it to the end, you will hear me getting distracted by a bee 🐝

🐝 Email: ty@uppercutcrit.com 

🐝 Uppercrut: https://uppercutcrit.com/  

🐝 Twitter: https://twitter.com/uppercutcrit 

🐝 Twitter: https://twitter.com/owoathkeeper  

🐝 How to pitch: https://uppercutcrit.com/write-for-us/  

A podcaster is always on time, never late 🙄

This, like all my episodes to be fair, was a delightful episode to record and I had so much fun while learning!

Neurodiversity is a topic that was once shunned, like gender, and is now getting the attention and love it so desperately needs.  We still face the stigmas around it however I was able to sit down with Phoebe, (She/Her), and discuss how they both interlink with each other.

About Phoebe (She/Her)

Phoebe is a neurodivergent transwoman with a strong interest in neuro and gender diversity in the workplace. Once they were was diagnosed with autism and came out as trans, they became hyper-fixated on learning about neurodiverse experiences, gender diverse experiences, and the experiences of people who intersect the two. 

Phoebe also currently work as an Unreal and AI Programmer at Dragon's Lake Entertainment. 

Phoebe has an amazing side project, Take A Mo, that aims to provide support for gender diverse and neurodiverse people at work.

To find more infomation about Take A Mo follow:

🧠 Website: www.takeamo.co.uk

🧠 Instagram: www.instagram.com/phoebeattakeamo

Welcome back everyone and today we are cozying up with Nic (They/Them) on survival methods...

but in true Ladell style, we go off topic 😁

About Nic (They/them)

They are a small, nonbinary variety streamer who enjoys playing puzzles, platformers, and horror games.  

They strive to create a warm, inclusive environment for people to relax and be goofy in. They love cats, coffee, and coding.

You can find them:

✨Twitter: https://twitter.com/nict0rii 

✨Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nictorii 

It's been a while friends but I'm back!

I had to take some time off for me but I come back with a great episode with a friend 💚

Today I am joined with Owen Trett (They/Them) From Poncle, the makers of Vampire Survivors, to talk about Performativity within gaming spaces. 

About Owen

Owen is the video editor for poncle, currently creating trailers for the award-winning Vampire Survivors! They are relatively new to the industry, with just over two years of experience since joining in 2021, but in that time they have created trailers for games such as Little Orpheus, Zool and Mars Horizon 2. They also create video content for Limit Break, a mentorship program that strives to create opportunities to marginalized groups entering the video games industry.

Links

🔗 Owen Trett's Twitter https://twitter.com/Owen_Trett

🔗 Poncle's Twitter https://twitter.com/poncle_games

🔗 Limit Break - https://www.limitbreak.co.uk/

🔗 They Play Podcast - https://www.theyplaypodcast.com/

Happy Black History Month over here in the UK!

I spoke with Leon (They/Them) about Imposter Syndrome and how it can appear in queer black folks. 

This was a deep conversation for both of us but we hide it underneath our laughter.  All raw and unedited 👀

About Leon:

Leon is a Black, Queer and Non-binary streamer and scriptwriter with an interest in advocacy and highlighting intersectionality and inclusion. They currently are working on a DND liveplay series 'The Last Ascension', and variety content on their Twitch, aswell as other projects...

Twitter🔗: https://twitter.com/ChochyPlays 

Instagram 🔗: https://www.instagram.com/chochy1000/ 

Twitch 🔗: https://www.twitch.tv/chochyplays