We chatted with members of Team Spark about representation and acceptance in the video gaming industry
Do you feel that LGBTQ representation is lacking in the video game industry?
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CREV: I think acceptance on Twitch is putting those things that make us different to the forefront and showing other people that we exist. Once I realized my true self and was able to come out through my community, more and more people started being able to be those representative people and showcase, like, hey, I'm here. And I'm this, or I'm that.
And it gives people a focal point to look at, and it builds a community off of that. But without those people heading those communities, there's going to be people who are not going to be able to find their true selves without having somebody that they feel safe with or somebody that they feel represented by.
KILCANNON: Hi, my name is kilcannon. I am the leader and founder of Team Spark. Spark, to me, is a community of misfits that are all content creators, primarily on Twitch. We really try to focus on this idea that there is no one pathway to success, and we're here to celebrate each other in our individual journeys as we each individually go through our trials and tribulations to become our more authentic selves.
SYNXIEC: Hi, my name is Synxiec. I am also a fellow team lead for Team Spark, who primarily plays RPGs, Metroidvanias, and adventure games. Well, the whole thing about acceptance is that you belong somewhere. And a lot of people that are marginalized often feel that they don't, when they are just, like, I just want to hang out and play video games like everyone else, kind of like with the whole male and female gender options or things like that.
It's one of those-- like, y'all, I don't want to have to have a revolution. I just wanted to push on button and play the game. But now, we have to have this whole thing, because every time I turn the game on, you're just like, this person shouldn't be here. That person shouldn't be here. This the type of person shouldn't be here or have a voice in the kind of games that we make.
And community is the only answer to that that we have. You belong here. Games are safe for you. You are welcome to play with us whenever you want to.
CREV: My name is Crev. I am a Twitch partner who focuses on "Final Fantasy 14" content, as well as indie titles and pretty much anything else that comes within the Square Enix and "Final Fantasy" realm. I think the thing that I love the most about gaming and streaming is the aspect of being able to share something that you love with other people. And it gave me an opportunity to meet people who are just like me, because I didn't have that around. I didn't have those people I could go next door to and play video games. So Twitch became kind of the friend circle I always wished I had.
KILCANNON: Do I believe there needs to be more representation of the LGBTQIA2+ community? In one word, yes. I mean, it's just a resounding yes. To expand on this a little bit, there are so many elements of what it takes to authentically represent the LGBTQIA2+ organization that it's not enough to sometimes just say, well, we've added this one type of queer character into this game. And we've now solved our obligation.
There are so many different stories to tell. There are so many different perspectives. There are so many interesting ways you can incorporate queer characters into your gaming that we don't yet see. And so we have vast amounts of communities, pieces of our community, that don't get that visibility yet. And so it's just a resounding yes, more, more, more, more, more.
SYNXIEC: The answer to that question is going to be yes, until we don't have that question anymore.
KILCANNON: I don't think there's ever going to be enough representation because a lot of times it's simply just, oh, we put a gay character in. We're done. No, like, let's see an asexual character. Let's see a questioning character. Let's see those other aspects of it. There's so many more like letters within our acronym that are not being represented. So yes, absolutely 100% yes on my side, too.
