Quest for inclusion

Alumna, author and gaming advocate Annabel Ashalley- Anthony (Creative Writing with English Literature BA, 2012) is championing diversity in the video game industry.

“The first game I ever played was probably Diddy Kong Racing on Nintendo 64,” Annabel recounts, nostalgically.

“It just reminds me of spending time with my siblings and my cousins. Despite our differences – while you’re gaming, you’re all just gamers.”

This capability that video games have, to level the playing field and bring people from all backgrounds together, has stuck with Annabel and now informs much of the work she does. Today, she is Founder of Melanin Gamers (MG), an online gaming community that promotes inclusion and diversity in the gaming industry.

“I got into gaming because of the story. I really like reading, and gaming gave me a similar sort of feeling. Some of the narrative games are so rich!”

It was this passion for fiction which led Annabel to study Creative Writing

at Westminster. Now a published author, she credits much of her writing talent to what she learnt on the course.

“It really changed the way I wrote. I was taught that you can almost trigger inspiration, so you don’t have to wait to be inspired to write. Because of that, I can now write whenever – which is an invaluable skill. Not just with my creative writing, but with articles too – which I write for Melanin Gamers.” But gaming is not always fun and games!

“Online experiences can be very, very toxic,” Annabel says, referring to the darker side of gaming: the unregulated bullying or ‘trolling’, sustained by gamers’ anonymity, which has become a largely accepted – or at least expected – part of online gaming.

“Bullying is one of the reasons I started MG,” she adds. “When my brother was getting bullied online, he was told he should ‘just grow thick skin’. But why is it the victim who has to change, while the bully gets away with it forever?”

Four years on, and Melanin Gamers has over 4,000 members.

“It’s a safe space. It’s free to join, but you have to apply. So at least you know that whoever you’re playing with within the community is OK – not someone who is racist.

“I just want online to be fun, and for people to be held accountable.”

Fortunately, thanks to campaigning from communities like MG, the environment and perceptions of what games, gamers and gaming should look like is shifting. Ten years ago there were few iconic female characters beyond the highly sexualised Lara Croft, for example. But nowadays, more realistic representations are gradually being developed.

“There are some games that now do it really well,” says Annabel, who has put up with years of either no Black female characters or negative tropes and damaging stereotypes. In many games, she explains, a Black character’s race is pretty much the extent of their personality.

“Do developers think all Black people act in a certain way? It seems so strange to me. Which is why, when it’s done well, you just gravitate towards it.”

As an added bonus to the growing in-game diversity, Annabel, a keen cosplayer, is finally able to dress up as characters who she can relate to.

“It means so much to be able to do that – to finally be able to cosplay a character who looks like me.”

It’s one thing to achieve more diversity in the games – but how about behind the scenes?

“It’s getting better. Lots of initiatives have been set up to tackle the lack of diversity in the industry. But it’s still very much a ‘boys’ club’.

“We know there are women creating games, but they don’t get the promotion they deserve. They tend to be more ‘indie’ games, rather than the triple-A releases you will see plastered on billboards. So it is a twofold problem: there aren’t as many women as there should be, or people of colour, and where there are, they’re not being promoted as much.”

This is where Melanin Gamers is really making a difference. In addition to being a safe community, they are an active force for encouraging diversity in the industry from the ground up, as Annabel explains:

“Firstly, we do panel talks at conventions, colleges and schools on different subjects, from unconscious bias in the gaming industry to how content creation is a real job.

“We also do showcases – we interview industry insiders on our podcast and on our YouTube channel to promote the work they are doing.

“Thirdly, we host gaming tournaments and networking events, as safe spaces for people to come together, game and network.”

However, much of making the industry accessible is about changing how it is perceived and explaining that it offers viable career options.

When we were speaking, Annabel and the Melanin Gamers team had just finished hosting the finals of the Apex Legends 2022 Championships. The prize fund for which was a staggering $2m.

“There is a lot of money to be made in gaming – don’t let anyone tell you differently! There is more money in gaming than in the film and music industries combined. It just doesn’t get the respect, somehow.”

This is something Melanin Gamers are trying to change through their panel talks, and by speaking to parents.

“Any parent just wants a stable career for their child. Like a doctor or a lawyer. But gaming? That conversation gets shut down immediately.”

But there are thousands of career opportunities in the industry, Annabel explains: from writing to animating to marketing.

“It’s something that we have to keep talking about, so the industry will be open to all.”

So progress towards diversifying the industry, although slow, is being achieved. But not everyone is willing to embrace positive change.

Melanin Gamers’ latest campaign, The Watch, aims to tackle bullying in online multiplayer game Call of Duty, by improving the reporting mechanisms for unchecked racist behaviour.

“It’s gained a lot of traction and we’ve had some good feedback. But we’ve also had a lot of bad feedback,” Annabel admits. “Some players are not happy to be called out, and the trolls are doubling down because they feel like they are losing their space.”

And they are. Thanks to the tireless work of Melanin Gamers, with Annabel at the fore, the world of video games is becoming more inclusive so that everyone – regardless of race, gender or background – can reap the many benefits of gaming.