Our Hearts Go Out to Orlando

GaymerX attendees and fans,

This is a tragic and pivotal time for the queer community, after beloved members of our community were senselessly taken from us in Orlando. This unspeakable hate crime against our friends and family, gay & queer people of color at a gay Latinx event, shows just how at risk we still are every day in this country and why our fight is far from over.

For the rest of June, GaymerX will be donating $20 of all GaymerX Year Four (GX4) 3-day ticket sales to Pulse Victims Fund, Orlando Youth Alliance and Zebra Youth to a minimum of $1,500

Moving forward, we will be reviewing our security procedures with our team and Santa Clara Hyatt & Convention Center to ensure the continued safety of attendees and volunteers at our events.
GaymerX and its community stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ people of  Orlando and all of the people who now give support in the wake of this tragedy. We will continue to gather, we will continue to fight to build our community together as a family.

 

GaymerX

STRETCH GOALS!! ʕ•`ᴥ•´ʔ

Since GaymerX is run by our community, we wanted to give you all a chance to help us make it awesome!

We’ve added several stretch goals to help us do more! We really need your help to reach out to your friends, the ones who are gonna get that last minute day-of ticket, and make sure they get their tickets and back this campaign ASAP! Getting your tickets NOW makes it a lot easier for us to potentially expand and open up more tickets!

SPEAKING OF TICKETS, we are also opening up more early bird tickets! Some of you noticed and messaged us about how quickly they sold out. It seems like we’re going to be selling out sooner than usual this year!!

Below are the stretch goals we’re looking to reach! Once the campaign is complete, we will also be able to put ticket sales towards these goals as well, so the more tickets we sell the closer we get as well! ୧ʕ•̀ᴥ•́ʔ୨

It really isn’t a lot to raise so please keep spreading the word and also giving us your feedback because at the end of the day that’s gonna be a big factor in what we do!!

GaymerX Year Four is a GO!!

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Please please please make sure to get your tickets and hotel rooms ASAP because they are going a lot faster than previous years! We will do everything we can to accommodate everyone who wants to go!

 

Get tickets here: http://gx4.eventbrite.com/

 

Get hotel rooms here: http://resweb.passkey.com/go/GaymerX16

 

As you may know, GaymerX has always been a project made for and by the community and your input is what drives the directions we move in. So we wanted to take this time to ask you some questions about what you’d like to see at our event!

 

Please fill out this form: GaymerX Year Four Suggestion Box!

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GaymerX is 5 weeks away! Hotel Blocks Close in 2! GX Australia?!?!

If you haven’t got a hotel room for GX3, they end in just 13 days, so you need to do it now before its too late!

Come join our amazing list of Bosses of Honor, play games brought to you by MAGfest, join panels with industry leaders, and meet gaymers from across the world, only at GX3!

ALSO:

Our friends down under have launched a campaign for GX Australia – we’re lending them the name and we’re so excited to be there in Sydney in February for the very first ever LGBTQ geek convention in the country.

You can join us, or support the campaign on the Kickstarter here!

Thank you all for helping us get this far and please hit us up at [email protected] or @gaymerx on twitter if you have questions, thoughts or concerns!

If You Don’t Get Your Tickets How Are You Gonna Hug Dad Bowser??

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GX3 Volunteer Application Deadline Extended!

Greetings Future Sprites!

The GaymerX Sprite Castle is abuzz with GX3 preparations and we’re working hard to make sure it’s ready for the big event. But, we can’t make GX3 a success without help from as many Sprites as possible.  After much planning and consideration, we’ve decided to give a special Sprite Blue 1-UP to our Volunteer Application Deadline! It matches our snazzy Sprite shirts, after all.

That's totally a Sprite 1-Up Mushroom. Nothing mini here. Nope.
That’s totally a Sprite 1-Up Mushroom. Nothing mini here. Nope.

Our new deadline for applying to be a Sprite at GX3 is now Thursday, October 15th at 11:59 PM PST.  You can read up on what it’s like to be a Sprite here and here.  When you’re ready, you can fill out an application online here!

As always, you can reach Soraya Een Hajji and Brian Kunde with any questions via email at [email protected].

See you in San Jose!

-Soraya Een Hajji and Brian Kunde, Volunteer Co-Directors

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GX3 Panel Submissions Are Closing Soon!

Greetings Gaymers!

Do you have a great idea for a panel? A workshop? Some other awesome piece of programming you want to put together for GX3: Everyone Games? Perhaps you’d love to share your knowledge, expertise, and experience as a speaker or moderator for one of our panels?  Maybe there’s a neat tabletop game you want to run? Great!

Don't wait too long to grab that Event Submission bubble!

We want remind everyone that submissions for  GX3 events and panelists will close as of 12:01 AM PS on Tuesday, September 1stMake sure you submit your event and/or apply to be a speaker before it’s too late!

For  questions regarding panels, speakers, and general programming you can contact our GX3 Panels Team via email. For all inquires on tabletop/RPG events, contact our Tabletop Coordinator Tim Mottishaw.

See you in San Jose!


-Brian Kunde, Volunteer Co-Director

Get Your Grub On in San Jose

I don’t know about you con goers, but I have always felt that a good convention runs on the power of food. Now that might just be the foodie in me talking but I mean who doesn’t like a good meal. And when you are in a new area why not be a little adventurous and step outside of the same old tired food you always get? Which is why I have put together this list of rather saliva inducing deliciousness.

 

Back A Yard, San Jose

Back A Yard, Caribbean, .5 miles

[80 N Market St San Jose, CA 95113]

Tofoo Com Chay, Vietnamese/Vegetarian/Vegan, .7 miles

[388 E Santa Clara St San Jose, CA 95113]

The City Fish, Seafood/Fish & Chips/Sandwiches, .4 miles

[30 E Santa Clara St Ste 140 San Jose, CA 95113]

Vegetarian House, Asian Fusion/Vegetarian/Vegan, .9 miles

[520 E Santa Clara St San Jose, CA 95112]

Paper Plane, San Jose

Paper Plane, American/Cocktail Bar, .3 miles

[72 S 1st St San Jose, CA 95113]

Good Karma Artisan Ales & Cafe, Pubs/Vegetarian/Vegan, .4 miles

[37 S 1st St San Jose, CA 95113]

Pho Cong Ly, Vietnamese, .7 miles

[460 E William St San Jose, CA 95112]

Nemea Greek Taverna, Greek/Mediterranean, .3 miles

[96 S 1st St San Jose, CA 95113]

Punjab Cafe, Indian, .7 milesFoodClub

[322 E Santa Clara St San Jose, CA 95112]

San Pedro Square Bistro & Wine, American/Wine Bar, .5 miles

[20 N Almaden Ave San Jose, CA 95112]

Now I’m not saying there is a GX3 “Food Club” [mostly because we’re not allowed to talk about it], but if you all happen to want to do some group gatherings take to twitter and use #GX3GrubTime to send up the rainbow flare. We’ll see how many of us can flood a business at a time, it will be like a fun little experiment. Think of it as the next item on our gay agenda.

 

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FOR SCIENCE!

~Kayla

Let’s Talk: Sitting Down with the Maven 5

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Sounding like the name of a superhero group, the MAVEN 5 are pretty much just that. They are a group of super LGBTQ youth who are taking on Washington. Or at least they hope to with your help. See these kids have the drive and passion to actually tackle something as large and sinister as the 2nd Annual LGBTQ Tech Summit but they need the help of every member of the community to get there.  Now while these super heroes aren’t wearing masks they are still a little mysterious to us, that’s why this modern day Lois Lane hunted down the story and got the once in a lifetime scoop of an interview with two of the group’s members.

What got you interested in technology?

Humaira – “My father. He introduced my siblings and I to the Xbox 360, the nintendo gamecube and DS, the PS3. Everyone in my family has always been into tech, really. When my dad started taking computer science courses, he suggested we do the same. Even though it was really hard at first, the more I did it the more I realized how big the possibilities were when it came to what I could build as I gained more computer science knowledge.”

How did you get involved with Maven?

Kiernynn – “I went to their very first LGBTQ+ youth tech camp in San Francisco. I met some really cool people there, had some crazy new experiences and felt closer to an actual job in tech than I ever had before. It was also when I met Matt, Toni, and Phillip. I came back for the second year, and that’s when Monica informed me I was on of five being nominated for the Summit. I guess Monica likes me. :)”

For all the other LGBTQ youth out there interested in getting into a tech field, what advice do you have for them?

mz1xzfqotbjybqzfbbz4Humaira – “Be resourceful. You can’t be a coder and not be resourceful. This could mean scouring the internet for answers to a problem you have, finding someone experienced in tech to teach you, or asking for advice on stack overflow. There isn’t going to be someone there to hold your hand all the time, and you need to know how to figure stuff out for yourself, or at least know how to research online and ask the right questions. All the knowledge is out there on the internet and at your fingertips, you just have to realize it’s right there. Also, don’t give up too easily.”

Kiernynn – “Just do it. Think of the Shia Lebouf meme and take it to heart. Your best in is actually participating in some form of technology whether you like robots and participate in battle bots or you leave a comment on a youtube video. You’d be surprised who talks to you and what they’ve done in their lives. I’m not sure I’m the best person to tell you how to get a job because I’m still working on that, but if you’re interested in technology, use it and play around with it. You have to be a consumer first.”

Why do you feel its important for LGBTQ youth to attend the tech summit?

Humaira – “Youth make up a huge part of our LGBTQ community! If the goal is to bring together people in the LGBTQ tech community to think of ways to solve problems members of our community face, then as youth, our problems and opinions need to be heard too. ”

What do you hope to achieve by attending?

Kiernynn – “The goal is more freedom, more equality, and more (as cheesy as it sounds) love and understanding. We want to create romance between minorities and the majority that leads to a healthy marriage and three kids. I honestly don’t know what the issues are that we’re tackling and what, exactly, they want us to do to solve them, but I think as long as I keep my goal in mind and act with my goal in mind, I can end up doing some good at this Summit. It’s not going to solves everyone’s problemS (I doubt it will even do noticeable change in an average community) but we’re there! We’re in D.C., we’re in a Summit specifically designed for our input, and that’s something at least. Who knows, maybe we can have a third recognized gender soon?”

Is there a plan to continue over what you learn from the tech summit into other Maven activities?

Humaira – “Most definitely! I’ll be attending Maven’s tech camp next year, and I plan on volunteering to feukir6grdtuhpatrkiahelp teach one of their programming class. I’ll have more experience after working on the projects after the summit, so that will definitely help. Also, the other members of the “Maven 5” and I are working on a LGBTQ themed game together that we plan on submitting to Maven’s national game jam, though we’ll continue working on it even after game jam.”

What is the biggest thing that you all would like to see come out of this tech summit?

Kiernynn – “The big things I would like to see come out of this are all government-based. I’ve come to terms with knowing others’ opinions of me and my family and my friends are not going to change in a couple of days or even a couple of years or even at all. My goals are all focused on limiting what those people can do with their opinions and not changing the actual opinions themselves. As a youth, I would like to focus on what I can do for other youth who don’t necessarily have the opportunity to do something like go to a tech summit and tell the government how to lessen oppression like I do. At my school, I’ve been focusing more recently on getting gender neutral bathrooms in every school in every district in San Diego County and getting mandatory sensitivity training in every school in every district of San Diego county.”

Humaira – “Honestly? I’d like for people at the summit who have the power to change things to listen. Really listen when the issues are brought up. Try to empathize with the real people who face these problems every day, and use that as motivation to help them. The White House can hold all the summits and events in the world, but at the end of the day, if people up the chain aren’t really listening and are just using this event to show the world that ‘Hey, we support the LGBTQ community!’ without actually trying to help, then it’s all for naught.”

As you can see these super youths are ready to go to bat for the community. If you’d like to help send them and their team to Washington then go check out their IndieGoGo page now to donate. Or if you’d like to donate your time to the organization you can find the information for that here on their website.

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Ready and waiting with a cape in the wings

~Kayla

Indie Spotlight: Game Dev Tycoon

When it comes to taste in games mine tend to be very diverse. I’m also that weird person who likes Game-Dev-5metagames. You know like playing a game about making games. If you happen to be in the same pixelized boat as me then prepare to be recommended a great game! Game Dev Tycoon is an indie game created by Greenhart Games. Its not a new game since its debut was 2012 but it’s still a very good game. Many of you all in the community are developers, some dabble while others pursue it as a career. For both sides of that spectrum there is fun to be had in this game.

Now this game does go into some crazy meta levels people. I’m talking plays off of all the big companies, there systems, and even their choices. This thing is kind of on it’s A game when it comes to throwing things like that at you. And its not above poking fun at some of the companies either. The game spans the life, so far, of what we consider video games. You start your company right at the start of it and try to ride it out to be one of the big hitters come the end of the game. Like in life sometimes you fail horribly and become so in debt it hurts, other times you manage to squeak by. However there is that occasionally play through where you just happen to make the right decisions and the lines of code align to give you an incredible fake game company. Don’t you wish life were that easy sometimes?

game-dev-tycoon-17968Graphics aren’t really up there with this game but its art style is kind of funky enough to fit with what the creators were going for. The stylized look helps you really get in the mood as you navigate what systems to license and what kind of games to make. I have to admit I played with the sound off most of the time just because if it’s not critical to the game I tend to avoid the in game music. Mostly because if it’s not critical it tends to be a short snip looped forever and I like to play long hauls of those kind of games. No sense driving myself insane while doing it. As such I can’t really speak on the sound effects or the game music.

BUT I can tell you I had alot of fun playing it and trying to spot all of the references and digs at companies. I even kept playing it after the official “end” of the game. Which really is just the game tallying up where you are and giving you a ranking. You can still keep playing after that to continue your company it just won’t count towards your rank. Boy did I continue with it though, I wanted to see how futuristic I could get my company. I encourage you all to play it well past the official ending of the game to find out for yourself.

In the end I give this game a solid 4 out of 5. Its a good game with lots of video game references for all those nerds out there. Plus you get the awesome bonus of seeing how running a video game company would feel like without the risk of massive amounts of personal debt. Who could argue with that?

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Taking on the pixels one by one

~Kayla

Calling All Panelists!

As time has chugged on by since my last post about panel submissions I figured I’d pop back in here and give you all an update. Right now our roster is filling out nicely with all kinds of fun panels for you to check out during the conventions. However some panels are in need of additional panelists.

Ellen McLain and John Patrick Lowrie
Ellen McLain and John Patrick Lowrie

Many of you have submitted great ideas, and we love the passion we have seen and some of you have been asking for help on finding panelists. This is perfectly fine! That’s the reason the Panel Advisory Board was made, to help make sure that panels are the best they can possibly be.

So if you would like to be a panelist but don’t have an idea to submit or just haven’t gotten around to it yet take a look at the subjects below that we are currently looking for experts in!

  • Kickstarter and/or Patreon
  • Mental health
  • Game Design
  • Comics/Webcomics
  • Story Writing
  • Game Production

If any of these subjects catch your eye and you’d like to be a panelists please send an email to [email protected] with the 10449472_796264883764077_524681859996439312_nsubject heading “Submitting Panelist for [Topic]”. And even if you don’t see a subject you’d like to be a panelist on and still don’t know what panel you’d like to submit, drop us an email with your background and credentials and we will work to find you a place!

This year we are working really hard to both ensure the panels submitted are the best they can be as well as to create some fun ones just for you so panelists are always needed. We will make sure every panel-less panelist finds a loving table to reside at.

While we are on the subject of finding people I’d also like to put out a call for any and all art professionals out there in the internet ether. We are setting up a table for portfolio reviews and would like to get as many art professionals as possible to volunteer to go over portfolios. Each art professional wouldn’t have to review for more then a 2-3 hour block at a time and with enough art professionals you might not even have to do it more than once a day! If you’d be interested in volunteering for such a thing please send an email to [email protected] with the subject heading “Volunteer Art Professional” along with a little bit of your background and credentials.

To nicely wrap things up I’ll remind everyone that the deadline for panel submissions closes September 1st. So if you do have an idea you want to get in there for review please remember to do so before then as no late submissions will be accepted. If you have any questions involving panels please don’t hesitate to email that to [email protected]!

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On the look out for panelists in need!

~Kayla