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GAME DEV GALAXY
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Discord group for gender-/sex-marginalized game devs making digital, analog, or experimental games. Different professions, skill levels, and styles welcome!
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Hi! If you're reading this, you're probably wondering what the space is about.
We – GDG – are a community discord where gender-/sex-marginalized game developers can get advice on dev, share projects, resources, and job posts, and otherwise just hang out and talk. We welcome and support cis women, trans women, trans men, nonbinary people, intersex people, and gender non-conforming people, regardless of body type, ethnicity, race, disability, plurality, or LGBT+ status.
If you belong to one of the aforementioned groups and are involved in game dev (whether a student, freelancer, hobbyist, and/or full-time professional), click below for an invite!
Q & A:
Who are you?
We’re a group of students, freelancers, and studio and indie devs who feel a space like this is sorely needed. Game Dev Galaxy's first members met on a server for queer indie artists, and from there, spun into a game-focused group. GDG is four years old, has 350+ members, and raised $5,700.00+ USD in the Gender Constellation Bundle, a rev-share bundle for gender-/sex-marginalized devs.
We strive to keep GDG a safe, positive place, and take concerns around inclusivity and intersectionality seriously. We reject fascism, white supremacy, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and similar ideologies in all forms. We also strongly support labor organizing, unionization, and cooperatives. Basically, we believe games are a medium that benefits from marginalized voices, and in particular those of gender-/sex-marginalized devs. If this is you, feel free to join us!
Cy McQuinn || she/her || @CymechDraws || GDG Founder
Strange entity who believes in the power of friendship. She specializes in 2D art, does comics and concept art, and writes sci-fi fantasy with nonhuman characters. Cy likes chatting, community organizing, and is currently a member of the Cartoonist Cooperative.
FUTURE RUINS || they/he || @futureruins
Environment art menace and union organizer. Fan of rocks, weird horror, and cooking savory food from around the world. Ruins' main passion is 3D modeling, but he enjoys 2D digital work and coding as well. Loves to seek out interesting art and stories no matter the form. [img. credit: @Camberdraws]
Jack Carrillo Concordia || he/him || @SpookybotGG
Trash shipper who's obsessed with yuri manga, and currently edits manga. Jack is a narrative designer, writer, and editor with experience in mobile games and journalism. He loves rhythm games and tactical RPGs, as well as VNs that never fail to make him cry.
Ghost || ???/??? || @machineblxxd / @bloodmachine
Neon static cyborg, gamedev, artist, writer. Weird fictions, weirder dreams. Freelancing for environment and level design, narrative design, game writing, and fiction editing. [img. credit: @DavidAltmejd]
Ellis Devereux || they/them || @ellisdex
Nonbinary social media cryptid, game writer, and designer, hopeful ghost, curiosity machine. Ellis loves games of all shapes and sizes as long as they tug at the heartstrings and spends most of their time rotating fictional characters in their mind or thinking about games studies.
Val Knight || she/her || valknight.xyz
Fairy/Steel type. This Pokémon makes computers do weird things, and enjoys helping other people do the same. She can be most commonly found near handheld game consoles, movie theatres, or playing silly board games with her friends. Goes by V, Val, or Vallerie, depending on the vibe / character limit.
Megan || they/them || @megkendev
Systems designer and deep dish pizza enthusiast, with some illustration and creative writing on the side. Big fan of games that will make them cry, especially tactical and JRPGs, and analog games of all sorts. Prone to random lore drops.
I'm a gender non-conforming woman or man, a transmasc person, a trans guy, a male intersex person, an amab nonbinary person, or more than one of those identities. Am I welcome?
Yes. Our definition of “marginalized genders” includes identities that are male, masc, or people who "pass" as either. This includes gender non-conforming men and women, trans men, transmasculine people, amab nonbinary people, male intersex people, and people who find themselves at the intersection of such identities. We believe gender-/sex-marginalized people are not necessarily “more like” cis women than cis men. Basically, our goal is to make space for anyone in game dev who finds themselves on the receiving end of gender-based discrimination.
I'm a perisex cis man of color, and don't ID as "gender non-conforming". Would I be welcome?
Depends. We recognize that there are expressions of masculinity that are normative in certain cultures, but punished or considered 'non-normative' under white and/or capitalist societies. We acknowledge that cis men of color may suffer from sexism, even if they are not necessarily 'gender non-conforming'. We believe "cis man" is not a coherent category, and is informed by race and other cultural dynamics.
If you feel you’ve been punished for expressing your gender in a way that is normative to your culture, we take your assertion in good faith. Therefore, if a space geared towards supporting marginalized genders and sexes would be helpful to you, then we welcome you.
I’m not a gender-/sex-marginalized person. Can I get an invite?
GDG is is not open to allies at this time. If you're questioning or not sure if the label applies, we won’t ask too many questions. Nonetheless, we ask that members respect the space's intent. If you’re an ally and want to post a job, we welcome your support. DM or email and we’ll get back to you!
What art or games do you allow?
Lots of stuff! Horror games, “wholesome” games, experimental games, and individual game assets and tools are welcome! GDG is an 18+ server, and we allow NSFW creative works and sex games. Shock art, illegal sexual content, and NFT/crypto/metaverse games are not allowed.
What do you do as a community?
Mostly just hang out and talk games. We share what we’re working on, or things that might be useful (eg. job posts or other resources). We don’t allow job posts from people offering low-paid or unpaid work. We have weekly hangouts, and a monthly game or movie night. We sometimes do in-person meetups at GDC and other big developer events, too!
Who cares?! I’m reading ‘cause I’m a troll!! I'm gonna go wild like it's 2014. Let me in!!!
OK!! But we should warn you that when you arrive, you can’t generate invites. They're once-per-person. There’s also pretty much always a mod online, mostly because we have bad sleep schedules. But sure! Try us – we could always use a laugh.
This seems like a lot of work. How can I help support you?
We appreciate tips! 100% of donations go towards boosting the server and/or cost of hosting this page. No funds gathered through Ko-fi are used for personal purposes.