Gen Con | Gen Con Indy 2025

BIPOC Lounge

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Posted by dalthius

Evening all!

An e-mail just went out about the BIPOC lounge at GenCon. It is somewhat unclear, but is this open to everyone? If I am reading it correctly, I think it’s open to “anyone that wants to support” BIPOC authors/creators….which I hope is everyone. This industry should be completely inclusive, unless you are a jerk…

Posted by mbeauparland

I hope it's open to all as well. I can't say that I support BIPOC creatives specifically, rather I support creatives that create things I'm interested in. I look at the hundreds of games in my basement and I couldn't tell you the race, gender, or even the names, of most of the creators. But exposure to new ideas and fresh takes on existing ones is almost always a good thing and I'm interested in finding that next great thing I never knew existed....

Posted by dpuck1998

Totally agree, I hope GenCon isn't supporting divisiveness by only allowing specific groups into certain areas.

Posted by quarex

"This year Gen Con, in partnership with Rose Gauntlet Entertainment, will be providing a lounge area for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals and attendees. Attendees will find games created by BIPOC designers, a BIPOC creators’ game library, BIPOC art, scheduled events, giveaways, refreshments and a space to meet with fellow members of the community. Aspiring BIPOC professionals will find a space to meet other professionals, sign up for one-on-one meetings, obtain resources on companies hoping to work with and mentor BIPOC creators, etc."

Might as well close this thread now if that sounds unclear and people want to get mad about it

Posted by mr. bubbles quarex

 quarex wrote:
"This year Gen Con, in partnership with Rose Gauntlet Entertainment, will be providing a lounge area for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals and attendees. Attendees will find games created by BIPOC designers, a BIPOC creators’ game library, BIPOC art, scheduled events, giveaways, refreshments and a space to meet with fellow members of the community. Aspiring BIPOC professionals will find a space to meet other professionals, sign up for one-on-one meetings, obtain resources on companies hoping to work with and mentor BIPOC creators, etc."
Might as well close this thread now if that sounds unclear and people want to get mad about it

this is a discussion board no need to close it because ppl disagrees

To me it sounds like everyone can come it unless your white club which is crap, you can't preech everyone being equal then have a club blocking a specific group because there not a certain color. I am really tired of being treated like I some villian because I am white and because some bad people in the past were white( all colors have bad people and good people no more no less).

Also who cares what color a creator of a game is, last I checked color don't make us any different on creative skills. People keep pushing true equality then do the opposite by starting/supporting groups like this, equality takes

- ALL races included
- skin color is no different then hair color
- no finger pointing

Honestly I think it's not racism that is a problem it's something deeper down it just so happens it effects a lot of minority's. The culprit is money the more you have the better your treated despite color or race.

Posted by armadilloal

I couldn't think of a better example to illustrate WHY BIPOC need a space to get away from people like you if I tried.

Posted by inari

I read that as EVERYONE is welcome to visit the lounge. That BIPOC designers / creators are being featured and EVERYONE can come see their work. Its a place to spotlight, not a place to segregate.

Posted by dalthius quarex

I don't think shutting down conversation is ever a good idea. And as far as I can tell, no one here (except maybe one person) is "mad about it".

Posted by dalthius inari

 inari wrote:
I read that as EVERYONE is welcome to visit the lounge. That BIPOC designers / creators are being featured and EVERYONE can come see their work. Its a place to spotlight, not a place to segregate.

That was my initial thought, and it is my hope that is the intent. I hope that reality meets intent and that non-BIPOC folks are not shunned in this space.

Posted by squirecam dalthius

#10

 dalthius wrote:

That was my initial thought, and it is my hope that is the intent. I hope that reality meets intent and that non-BIPOC folks are not shunned in this space.

A private lounge.....oh the horror. Seriously, who cares. If this is a private area meant to network with other such professionals then get over it. I doubt that anyone complaining planned to spend ANY time in there to network with BIPOC members. And if you did have such desires, you would know why its setup this way in the first place.

Posted by dragongears dalthius

#11

 dalthius wrote:

That was my initial thought, and it is my hope that is the intent. I hope that reality meets intent and that non-BIPOC folks are not shunned in this space.

It's a good thing white people don't have a history of entering a space and making it their own.

Posted by mikeboozer

#12

Okay folks. It's pretty obvious that this topic has the potential to get divisive very fast.

Let's please keep it civil.

Mike

Posted by pshep999

#13

Why can’t we just leave politics and agenda out of this all?????? Between this thread and and the Satine and Jamison crap, why can’t we focus on having fun and gaming??????? I come to these forums to get updates and positive feedback and info, not current politics and agendas or racial stress or who might have done what to who, or who is or isn’t invited to a room! WHO CARES! We are here to game and ESCAPE. Gaming is a way to escape all the crap that society and politics is pressuring us with. And now it’s invading GenCon and this forum. Absolutely pathetic and sad. If you want to worry about any of this stuff stay home and watch the news or go watch protestors in person. Stay away from GenCon where we are here to escape that crud.

Posted by dalthius squirecam

#14

 squirecam wrote:

 dalthius wrote:

That was my initial thought, and it is my hope that is the intent. I hope that reality meets intent and that non-BIPOC folks are not shunned in this space.

I'm going to go with you have not read the release, but are passionate about the overall topic and decided to interject. Totally fair, but I'd recommend you read the release. My original question was simply to gauge the intent, mostly out of curiosity. I'm not a fan of excluding folks as that works against the inclusivity that GenCon and many other organizations espouse. My original question has essentially been answered, and I look forward to visiting the BIPOC lounge.

Posted by kevinrg mikeboozer

#15

 mikeboozer wrote:
Okay folks. It's pretty obvious that this topic has the potential to get divisive very fast.

Posted by dalthius pshep999

#16

 pshep999 wrote:
Why can’t we just leave politics and agenda out of this all?????? Between this thread and and the Satine and Jamison crap, why can’t we focus on having fun and gaming??????? I come to these forums to get updates and positive feedback and info, not current politics and agendas or racial stress or who might have done what to who, or who is or isn’t invited to a room! WHO CARES! We are here to game and ESCAPE. Gaming is a way to escape all the crap that society and politics is pressuring us with. And now it’s invading GenCon and this forum. Absolutely pathetic and sad. If you want to worry about any of this stuff stay home and watch the news or go watch protestors in person. Stay away from GenCon where we are here to escape that crud.

I so wish I knew how to insert memes into this! We will never escape societal impacts, but we can discuss them. Ignorance is overcome by education, education comes from discussion; which why you will always find topics like this in a forum. The difference is the approach. There's zero reason to be antagonistic, especially when it's obvious that someone (like you!) has a valid contribution to the discussion. Your point is certainly valid!

Posted by dalthius mikeboozer

#17

 mikeboozer wrote:
Okay folks. It's pretty obvious that this topic has the potential to get divisive very fast.
Let's please keep it civil.
Mike

100% agree!

Posted by lanogironu mr. bubbles

#18

 mr. bubbles wrote:

this is a discussion board no need to close it because ppl disagrees To me it sounds like everyone can come it unless your white club which is crap, you can't preech everyone being equal then have a club blocking a specific group because there not a certain color. I am really tired of being treated like I some villian because I am white and because some bad people in the past were white( all colors have bad people and good people no more no less).
Also who cares what color a creator of a game is, last I checked color don't make us any different on creative skills. People keep pushing true equality then do the opposite by starting/supporting groups like this, equality takes
- ALL races included
- skin color is no different then hair color
- no finger pointing
Honestly I think it's not racism that is a problem it's something deeper down it just so happens it effects a lot of minority's. The culprit is money the more you have the better your treated despite color or race.

If you believed in equality, you would be fine with a section meant to showcase BIPOC creators.
If you're mad it, you're not for equality, you're for self-inclusion and are upset at the literal illusion (you as an obviously white dude will definitely be allowed to explore the lounge) of being left out of something I guarantee you never had any interest in to begin with. It's clear you didn't read the release or put more than 30 seconds of thought into it before getting upset, which is sad. It clearly states people are invited to explore the lounge, nothing is keeping you out for being white except your own attitude.

Also who cares what color a creator of a game is

A lot of people do. Particularly underrepresented minorities that for decades have been limited in the field. Do you throw a fit when you see a "veteran owned" business advertised - because I see those all the time.

skin color is no different then hair color

It's not. You can't change skin color with a $5 box from the grocery store. It's laughable and insulting to people of color to even suggest this. In a perfect altruistic wonderful world maybe that will be the case, but that is not the world we live in.

I am really tired of being treated like I some villian because I am white and because some bad people in the past were white

If anyone villainized you specifically for being white and nothing else (which I highly doubt) that is their fault, not yours. Not being the focus of attention to a BIPOC lounge is not treating you like a villain. I do believe however, you may have been villainized for comments like this post and the attitude you present - which is your fault.

Posted by boute001

#19

So just curious, there never was an official answer to the original question. I would be interested to walk through and see the tables/etc in that area. Would I be allowed or is it exclusive for people of color? (yet again, there are a lot of inferences listed above from non-GENCON personal, I would rather get a definitive answer from GENCON rather than the peanut gallery). Thanks!

Posted by selene314

#20

If the intent for this space was to show off BIPOC creations to the community as a whole, then it needs a different name. "Showcase" or "gallery", perhaps, instead of "lounge".

I for one hadn't even opened the email with that subject line because it so clearly wasn't intended for me. Others will have stopped after the first sentence, which clearly states that this is "a lounge area for BIPOC professionals and attendees."

My impression is that the lounge is for BIPOC networking. No one will stop white people from entering, but many of the conversations going on inside will be ones we don't have anything to add to.

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