Create video games, get career guidance, et making connections to last a lifetime: These aspirations are all a reality for the students of Gameheads, a non-profit organization that provides education, resources and mentorship to young creators of the next generation of video games.
Despite progress in improving representation in the gaming industry, many pathways to a career in games remain inaccessible to youth of color and youth from low-income backgrounds due to a lack of funds. or relationships. Executive Director Damon Packwood co-founded Gameheads in his hometown of Oakland to help remedy this problem.
The Gameheads curriculum combines video game design and development, education and career guidance, industry exposure, and hands-on training. Over the course of a year, students learn all aspects of video game development: coding, design, project management and teamwork – invaluable skills not only for working in the video game industry, but also for a career in various fields. At the end of the program, students will have a finished game or prototype that they can include in their professional portfolio, and a mentor who can guide them through their journey in the gaming industry.
And the methods of Gameheads have proven themselves: many Gameheads students have subsequently received paid internships or jobs in renowned video game studios, and several projects created from Gameheads, such as the stealth platformer. Path – will be available for purchase in 2023.
Last year, Xbox Publishing – the team working with independent development studios to release first-party Xbox games – gave Gameheads $100,000 to help them invest in resources for trans, queer and other students of color. gender minorities. With these funds, Gameheads is expanding its services to reach even more young women, women and gender-broad youth. Because women of color and LGBTQIA+ people of color are vastly underrepresented in the gaming industry, Gameheads’ goal is to ensure that young people in these cohorts will have the support they need to thrive in their careers in the short and long term. .
Executive Director Damon Packwood explained that as part of Gameheads’ inclusion efforts, the team will hire a full-time program manager to focus on this new initiative and recruit a therapist who specializes in affirming care for trans and queer youth of color.
That’s just a small part of Gameheads’ deep and longstanding relationship with Xbox: the Xbox Publishing team alone currently includes Gameheads alumnus (Narrative Designer Casey Ramos) and longtime mentor and member of the Board of Directors (Design Director Marcus Montgomery). They see team collaboration as a perfect fit because of the focus on empowering students to achieve not only their career goals, but also their creative ambitions.
If you want to help Gameheads achieve its vision for a more inclusive gaming industry, visit the Gameheads Twitter and website for information on student games coming soon! Xbox gamers can also help out by donating their Rewards points to Gameheads.
