Q & A:

Who are you and why should I trust you?

Great question! We’re a group of students, freelancers, and studio devs who felt a space like this was 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 two years old, has 250+ members, and raised $5,700.00+ USD in the Gender Constellation Bundle, a rev-share bundle for gender-/sex-marginalized devs.

As a space, GDG was started by Maddie McQuinn (@CymechDraws | she/her), a gay robot who likes to draw and write. Her freelance clients include Strange Scaffold, Sixpence Games, and various indie devs doing VR work, action RPGs, and more. She believes strongly in trans-inclusive feminism, the importance of labor organizing, and the need to uplift BIPOC, disabled, and queer devs.

The group is also managed in large part by Future Ruins (@_futureruins | they/he), a queer Venezuelan artist with five years experience in environmental art and level design at One More Multiverse, Gato Studio, and other indie projects. Ruins has exhibited at the Oyoun Cultural Center in Berlin, has taught 3D modeling at college level, and manages La Madriguera, a Spanish-speaking community for LGBT+ devs. Ruins believes that games can exist as a tool to archive diverse cultural experiences, and that the only way to make that possible is through unions, workers' collectives, and anti-racist/queer policies.

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. 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!

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 are cool and welcome! We're currently not open to sex games, though we're interested in partnering with or boosting spaces that are. We allow the sharing of SFW assets from NSFW games. Explicit NSFW content, shock art, 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 sometimes have movie or game events on Sundays. If COVID-19 is less of a problem, in-person meetups will probably be a thing, too!

Why did you make this group?

I did this because I (Maddie) was looking for a dev discord for gender-diverse people and was unable to find one. Before starting GDG, I was brought onto the board of advisors of a gender and games-related nonprofit. I was offered the role of community management and online outreach. Despite this, I was unable to reach agreement with organizers on matters of trans inclusivity.

I turned down the position, then spent a week looking through tons of discords on disboard, discord.me, and elsewhere for a group with this intent. After being unable to find one, I decided to make it myself. So, here we are! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can’t promise I’m perfect, but I try to do my best to address community matters and create an inclusive environment. My dream is to grow a space where game dev (and creative work, in general) is less exhausting, mysterious, and isolating. Though no one space can be the perfect fix, my hope is that this one can help, and lend support to gender-/sex-marginalized people when needed.

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.