ADE for Game Communities: Enculturing Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADE) In Games Research and Creation

The GI Anti-racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADE) Committee was established in late 2020 in response to a challenge from the GI student membership issued to GI faculty members and administration to consider how academics can better support, make visible, and incorporate the knowledge and voices of equity-deserving groups into their research. At the GI specifically, this meant research with immersive and interactive technologies—areas that are historically, and continue to be, hostile to these groups.  Although GI members have always considered how equity, diversity, and inclusion can be imbued into research, the role of the Committee was to establish—in a more formal manner—policies, practices, and education for GI members, associates, partners, and colleagues.

The inaugural Chair of the ADE Committee, Dr. Gerald Voorhees (Communication Arts), alongside other committee members, used surveys, conversations, and check-in meetings to diagnose what would best serve the GI community, and what areas of research, training, and mentorship would benefit from restructuring interventions. Upon consultation, the ADE Committee members strategized that education and training could be areas of impact with immediate engagement and positive effect for the community. As such, Dr. Voorhees and fellow Committee member Dr. Daniel Harley (Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business) put together the ADE for Games Communities Speakers and Workshops Series—a knowledge mobilization project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), entitled “ADE for Game Communities: Enculturing Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADE) in Games Research and Creation.”

The main project objective was to host a series of lecture, panels, and workshops at the GI, with satellite co-hosts: Concordia University, Montréal, QC; University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB; and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI. The series featured 15 events over the course of 2023 spotlighting the voices of individuals from equity-deserving groups (including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous individuals, people of colour, women-identified individuals, LGBTA2S+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and people from other under-represented communities) who shared their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives towards advancing ADE principles in games research. The ADE Speaker Series was successfully held in a hybrid format and was widely attended by both the GI community and audience members from across the globe. The series was attended by at least 644 attendees (students, faculty, and industry professionals) from 38 countries (5 continents) and featured 29 scholars from equity-deserving groups.

After the series concluded, the goal was to curate and mobilize a body of knowledge for both academic and non-academic audiences with the fundamental understanding, critical questions, and practical skills to address current challenges across the games industry. The materials collected immediately by the project are publicly available on the GI website, and Drs. Voorhees and Harley are working on an academic volume inspired by the discussions during the events.

As part of GI’s core mission of fostering an inclusive ecosystem of research, education, knowledge dissemination, outreach and collaboration on interactive immersive technologies and experiences, GI staff worked closely with Drs. Voorhees and Harley to not only manage the organization and logistics for all events but, more importantly, identify how novel hybrid technologies could best support the project. A special consideration was given to how to engage both in-person and virtual audiences, so that these different audiences felt equally immersed and involved with the material and knowledge presented. With the help of Executive Director, Dr. Neil Randall’s CFI funded “Storyboard Lab”—a modular lab consisting of multiple CISCO boards (interactive all-in-one collaboration screens) providing a connection between in-person and remote participants—the events were facilitated in a creative and an inclusive way to support the speakers’ research, industry knowledge, and community practices.

For example, to honour the Indigenous tradition of “talking circles” during the “A Discussion on Indigenous Research and Epistemology” panel, GI staff organized the hybrid event spaces in a circular shape—including the CISCO boards—so that the virtual audience was both incorporated, and able to view all presenters and attendees equally. This specific space configuration required careful consideration, consultation with Indigenous individuals, and complex technical rehearsals to ensure audio and visual quality was not compromised. This event featured some of the highest number of attendees, and the most globally diverse audience (12 countries from 3 continents).

For example, to honour the Indigenous tradition of “talking circles” during the “A Discussion on Indigenous Research and Epistemology” panel, GI staff organized the hybrid event spaces in a circular shape—including the CISCO boards—so that the virtual audience was both incorporated, and able to view all presenters and attendees equally. This specific space configuration required careful consideration, consultation with Indigenous individuals, and complex technical rehearsals to ensure audio and visual quality was not compromised. This event featured some of the highest number of attendees, and the most globally diverse audience (12 countries from 3 continents).

By highlighting historically marginalized voices, the GI assisted with addressing some of the current issues in gaming communities. The knowledge produced during these sessions was transformed and made accessible to the public via the GI website. These web pages offer recordings of the full sessions, shortened video highlights, and a written summation of the lectures with key terms and takeaways. Dr. Voorhees was also featured on the GI Podcast in the episode “Equity in Games Research and Design with Dr. Gerald Voorhees” where he shared his thoughts on the project overall, the knowledge it produced, and the next steps for future knowledge mobilization.