Inclusive gaming has been a topic of discussion for years now and with game content being designed for a specific audience, the stereotypes of gaming consumers have changed throughout the years. Instead of the stereotype of a white male who is straight, women, and even communities such as the LGBT have spoken up against the unfair treatment that women and other races face when dealing with the gaming industry. First off, diversity in gaming is significant because video games empower and influence on an emotional level in the lives of players. This gives players the ability to escape their real life and become the hero in any world they can imagine. In the article of Why Diversity Matters, it states that “Diversity is significant to the gaming industry because it goes beyond race, gender identity, but can impact the audience of gamers with disabilities.” With creatable avatars, the traditional white male who is skinny is often projected, but what about women, children in wheelchairs, old men and women, or people who are large in size or other disabilities. This is the foundation of creating a safe place for all players because accessibility and inclusivity are different parts of the same message. This will create the message that they can be accepted anywhere, both in real life and the gaming world. Creating a safe place means a variety in costumes, gender and sexuality respect, and not judging others for being different, but being entirely supported and celebrated. Supported and celebrated for who the individual is gives players the identity of knowing they matter despite being different.
The stereotype of who gamers are and the actual evidence gives a glimpse of the demographic the players are. In the U.S., 45 percent of gamers are women, according to the Entertainment Software Association 2018 Sales, Demographic, and Usage Data report. With this evidence, game developers have made steps to making women the main protagonist in games like Tomb Raider, Star Wars, and Horizon Zero Dawn to beloved indie games like Firewatch, and Night in the woods. While video game content are making shifts to give room for female representation, game developers and the video game industry remain male dominated. This has created a sense of self-imposed responsibility to encourage more women to join the ranks and has given confidence of other races than white males to become part of the beloved video game industry. POC has stepped up and aimed to tackle racial equality and inclusion movement by improving representation and to encourage people of colour to work in the industry. This program has become one of the greatest resources for people of colour and has brought attention to who people are represented in video games. A black man is usually the LA gang member, but POC wants to represent people from all over the world, such as the Caribbean, South Asia, and even people of Birmingham. All races and genders should have the equal playing ground to be represented in video games, but also be apart of creating the video games itself.
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