Saturday, February 26, 2022

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Celebrating Black History Month Innovators Who Changed the Gaming Industry

In honor of Black History Month, we take a look at some of the notable achievements from Black innovators in the video game industry. Whether it is in manufacturing or overall design, some of your favorite video games wouldn’t exist without their contributions.

Gerald “Jerry” Lawson Engineer Biggest impact: Considered the “father of the video game cartridge” for leading the development of the Fairchild Channel F – the precursor to modern-day video game cartridges which was later adopted by Atari and Nintendo. Lawson went on make history as the owner of Video Soft, the first black gaming development company.   Muriel Tramis Game Designer Biggest impact: Developed games La Bosse des Maths and Gobliins in the early part of her career; however, Tramis is most known for the games Méwilo and Freedom: Rebels in the Darkness. Alice “Wonderwoman” Washington Gaming Innovator Biggest impact: Key player in constructing coin-operated games and installing printed circuit boards (PCBs) within arcade game cabinets. Without her contributions, some of the most popular arcade games wouldn’t have been created.   Tanya DePass Innovator Biggest impact: Founder and director of I Need Diverse Games - a nonprofit that brings the gaming work and research of marginalized people to the forefront of the gaming world and advocates for positive intersectional portrayals of identity and culture within video games.    Chella Ramanan Founder Biggest impact: Co-founder of 3-Fold Games (which created Before I Forget) and POC in Play, an organization dedicated to the diversification of the gaming industry. Ed Smith Electronics Biggest impact: As part of APF Electronics, his team developed the personal computer, Imagination Machine which acted as a plug-in expansion module to the MP1000. This became the first combined home video game console and person computer. Author of Imagine That! Shawn Alexander Allen Developer Biggest impact: With Rockstar Games, worked on properties such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V, and Red Dead Redemption. Started his own company, NuChallenger, that created Treachery in Beatdown City. His work has been commissioned by the NYU Game Center and featured within the Museum of the Moving Image.    Neil Jones Artist and developer Biggest impact: The Detroit-based game developer worked on games, like Clique and Dot’s Home, which focused on social issues and systemic oppression pertaining to the Black community. His company, Aerial Knight, Published Never Yield featuring a black main character traversing through a futuristic version of Detroit. Ahmed and Khalil Abdullah Developer Biggest impact: These two ultimately carved out their own space in the gaming industry with their game development company Decoy Games. The multi-award winning company generates a unique gaming experience for its players, with games like Swimsanity!, and simultaneously pushes for innovation, diversity, equity, and inclusion within the industry.    -  www.Nerdist.com

Poll Results We asked and you answered. "What Olympic-inspired video game deserves the gold?"  The Winner - Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020