The Importance of Inclusive Gaming

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The Importance of Inclusive Gaming admin Thu, 10/26/2023 - 19:54

"By nature, humans are storytellers," says Lee Hibbard, a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. "And since people have been people, we have found ways to entertain ourselves."

Hibbard studies how people talk about their identities and share them with others. Much of this comes down to storytelling, he explains. Humans love to share stories because it's how we relate to each other and find common ground. In video games, role-playing, and tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), storytelling comes to life in an interactive way that movies, TV shows, and books just don't match.

"Games are such a huge marker of identity formation, especially for young people, because they give you the chance to pick up and play with things and try stuff out for fun," Hibbard says. "It's a lower stakes opportunity to experiment with yourself and with other people, and it's a cool way to learn about yourself."

Interest in these kinds of games has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic, with one study reporting that online searches for D&D have increased by 85% since 2020. Beyond playing the games themselves, fans spend millions of hours a year on Twitch and YouTube watching players adventure in these fantasy worlds. Rising interest and a growing gamer base spur discussion about the importance of inclusion in such spaces, Hibbard says.

In the following Q&A, Hibbard discusses why inclusive gaming is so important and how it can help people in marginalized communities claim space in the real world.

Read the full article on the Ivan Allen College website.

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The Importance of Inclusive Gaming

Summary sentence

Interest in role-playing games has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic. A growing gamer base spurs discussion about why inclusive gaming is important and how it can help people claim space in the real world.

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Thu, 10/26/2023 - 12:00

michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu

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Michael Pearson

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

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gaming

Inclusive gaming

video games

dungeons and dragons

storytelling

table top games

Diversity and Inclusion

LGBTQIA

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Society and Culture

storytelling

The Importance of Inclusive Gaming

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