Unlike mostly everyone in attendance at this years GaymerX2 in San Francisco, held at the Intercontinental Hotel and spanning three of its floors; I don’t consider myself: a gaymer, gamer, or even, a video game enthusiast. I’ve probably become friends with more people who love video games than the actual hours I’ve clocked playing one. Yet GaymerX2’s mission made the convention, geared exclusively towards the LGBTQ community and its allies, sound like it had more to offer than angry nerds and busty booth babes.
Launching in 2013 through Kickstarter funding, the conventions sophomore outing wanted not only tounite gay gamers again, but create a safe space for all minorities who feel invisible in: video games,board games, and cosplay. They lined up an impressive roster of guest speakers: WWE’s Darren Young,Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian, and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Zach Weinersmith. Arranged panels, discussing topics such as: coming out in the gaming industry, empowering women and queer creative voices, and being fat and queer in gaming.
It was a Sefon skit waiting to happening, GaymerX2 has EVERYTHING. With a wide breadth of offerings throughout the 3-day event, none of which hinging a big title “unveiling”, like E3 -it seemed like the only real requirement to attend GaymerX was to simply not be a homophobic dickhead. And like that, GaymerX had accidentally created a non self conscious place for me and my vague grasp of 90s Nintendo knowledge too.
So what’s up with the tagline and hashtag: “Everyone Games”? It’s the first banner to greet to you, once you figure out the Vegas casino- like maze of the Intercontinental layout; it elicits a, “no shit” response. If there is one impression I’ve gathered from living and working with a diverse group of people who’d consider themselves avid gamers, this has always seemed to be the implication. After all, isn’t that appeal of video games? Who you are in real, day-to-day life has zero to do with who you are as a lowly Italian plumber, trying to save a Princess and defeat a sado-masochistic dinosaur named Bowser. And yes, okay – my reference is extremely dated since video games are predominantly set-up to be played multiplayer and online; opening yourself up to people who take advantage of internet anonymity hate. But I suspect that, for similar reasons I’d infrequently picked up a game controller over the years, people get into gaming in the first place because they want a way to feel included in their geekdom. Want more proof “Everyone Games”? Next time you’re in a waiting room or standing in line, just take a peek over your shoulder at your neighbors iPhone, that old man is probably swiping at.
Which begs the second question then, why in San Francisco? A well-known, fiercely tech-competitive market, and widely recognized for welcoming the LGBTQ community with open arms; a lot of the vibe at GaymerX was still riding on the high off of Pride Weekend two weeks prior. Wouldn’t this community and its supporters serve itself better if GaymerX were in a city where open -mindedness wasn’t as embraced? The answer probably came down to one of safety, but for those seeking to attend and didn’t.
So what was it like roaming the halls of GaymerX2 from an outside-looking-in perspective? My biggesttakeaway was similar to my reaction of their hashtag, confused; the convention as whole felt disjointed.Maybe it was having it spread somewhat perplexing over three floors, or having a cosplay contest in aconference room that looked better suited for a dentists convention; something about GaymerX felt like it needed to be stuck back in the oven for a few more minutes. It wasn’t quite done yet.
This isn’t to say I expected perfection or Comic -Con level razzle-dazzle, honestly, I had no expectations or preconceived notions. After I stuck on my gender-identifying nametag (I went with “she” since they didn’t offer baked goods pronouns -my usual preference) and took a preliminary tour around the vendor shanty-town, eavesdropping for any harrowing tales of discrimination while gaming queer. I didn’t hear any but I did meet someone whose friends with a woman that voices one of the Moons on Sailor Moon.
By and large, the crowd of GaymerX was one costumed, happy family – if not a little subdued one. Which was why The GayGamer.net Drag Ball was a refreshing example of the conventions purported slogan,and the event with the most energy. The highlight of the Drag Ball, though all acts had a very clear and deep love of games, was local queen Sprinkles Topping. Nothing will ever be able to wipe the image of her, dressed as Princess Peach, having a four-way with: Mario, Luigi, and Bowser to a Britney Spears song -and I don’t want it to. Watching Effervescent Jackson strut around as Marge Simpson to Beyonce or Chaka Corn’s heartfelt Mega Man spoof, I felt included -even if the Zelda reference went over slightly over my head.
I understood what GaymerX was striving to stand for, why it was important among those there, and yes, I got this all from one hilariously entertaining Drag Ball. Though sadly, at time of writing, news had broke that NIS America had pulled funding from the convention, leaving them in a vulnerable position. Already dogged by rumors of GaymerX’s future before the convention even had kicked off, it’s easy to see why their message was so cloudy when their future was still unclear. I am happy to report that Devolver Digital and several other niche and indie game publishers have pledged $3,000 each to CEO and event-founder Matt Conn to cover outstanding bills from this years convention.
So the next time you slip on your headphones, ready to blast Nazi soldiers with strangers you’ve never met before in an online chat-room or whatever, just remember – and this goes for all humans as general rule of thumb: think about what you say, before you say it.
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