Although I knew I would want to revisit Lisa’s story again, I didn’t think it would be this soon. I’ve been keeping up with the comments on her blog, however, and I noticed that one of her classmates commented. I responded in thread, but I think that some of the points he brought up deserve more thought and analysis.
The person, calling themselves “Guildhall Student”, made the following argument:
It just takes a love, commitment, and talent to be in this industry. Its much like Music or Acting, honestly. You have to do lots of hard work to be discovered and only the best talent will make it and get the good jobs.
I first just want to take some time to talk about Guildhall Student’s comparison with the music and acting industries. I find it to be ironic that he mentions acting, with the recent debacle where it was reported that Jeff Robinov, the president of Warner Bros, said, “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead”. While this allegation is “untrue” according to the studio (link roundup), it is an accurate reflection of what is taught in film school according to one student. Acting is no more free from discriminatory practices than game design is, nor the music industry for that matter.
Below I will look at how privilege enters into the equation when deciding on, and attending, gamer college. Although Guildhall Student specifically addresses age, I’ve decided to leave it out of this post because I don’t have the time to do the research to back up my argument. Instead I will focus on family and financial matters, and how the status quo can privilege young single men and end up discouraging diversity. (more…)
