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FREE - Roundtables
Accessible Communication and Managing a Neuro-diverse Studio
With approximately 1 in 4 people in the games industry considered neurodivergent (UKIE Survey, 2022), almost every studio will have several employees whose needs and communication styles differ from the typical. That means all managers, producers, and studio heads need to be prepared to accommodate the needs of all their staff by being aware of the best methods and strategies to create a neuro-inclusive work environment. Drawing on his 9 years of experience of managing a majority neuro-divergent studio, as well being a founder of the IGDA Neurodivergent in Games SIG, running Playing Attention (which supports ADHD individuals in the games industry), and being part of the Limit Break committee (supporting accessibility), Adam will take you through some of the ways you can make your studio more inclusive, more accessible, and how you can improve communication with all of your employees, clients, and contractors, helping your studio become a more accommodating place for people to work and play.
Session Takeaway
- Simple things to be aware of when communicating to employees that will make your studio more neuro-inclusive
- Tactics for effective communication within your studio
- Key things to look out for that could help you catch and clear up misunderstandings faster
Develop: FTUE (First Time User Experience)
A relaxed and informal roundtable designed to help you get the most out of your time at the conference. A diverse panel of friendly and experienced devs from across the whole industry spectrum want to help anyone who feels shy, awkward, a little out of place, on the outside, or just unable to really squeeze all the goodness out of this amazing show. You'll feel positive, empowered and fully equipped to have an absolutely smashing time, with tips on how to be productive, tools to network, and commitments from volunteers to be your safety net should things get a little too much! Finally, should you feel like it would help, we'll match people up with Show Mentors to ensure however long you're in Brighton, you go back to your studio feeling invigorated and inspired!
Session Takeaway
- Shared experiences that will give you some ideas on best practise plus do's and dont's for networking at every event.
- Recommendations for talks to attend and delegates to meet, plus practical help to do so!
- Knowledge of safe and quiet spaces to help manage your experience at the show
- Introductions to helpers who you can approach throughout your visit if you need a friendly face!
LGBQTIA+ Roundtable
An open talk to look at how the year has been for the LGBTQIA+ Community.
This year has had good days alongside the bad days, we think it is important for us to discuss how we have been throughout the year and celebrate our achievements, no matter how big or small.
With all the unfortunate redundancies in the past year having a major affect on so many lives, it is important for our community to have a safe space to openly discuss how the past year have impacted their lives, plus how the gaming industry can help more LGBTQIA+ people
Session Takeaway
- An understanding of the concerns of LGBTQ+ individuals working in the games industry
- Techniques shared from first-hand experiences of celebrating diversity in workplaces
- Tips and tricks for pushing for better in-game representation from within the industry
Narrative Design - Mistakes Were Made
Join us for a roundtable discussion with a varied bunch of narrative designers, indie, AA, and AAA, to talk about mistakes made and what we can learn from those mistakes.
Session Takeaway
- Gain valuable insights from 5 experienced narrative designers
- Learn of at least 5 mistakes to avoid
- Gain an understanding of what solutions might be applied if you encounter similar narrative design problems
You Are Not an Imposter: Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
We’ve both had quite severe imposter syndrome for many years, and have taken time to reflect on how it has affected our mental state. Recently we realised that I hadn’t felt that way for quite a few months! Through the use of tricks that have been accumulated over the years we have unknowingly developed similar-but-different strategies for overcoming it. We now use, share, and want to continue to share those skills to help others who are in similar positions to help them get past their own blockers and reach their full potential.
We will explain the techniques and skills that we now use to deal with imposter syndrome as well as how this has enabled us to have far healthier mental states – as well as looking to hear from attendees about any techniques that they’ve developed themselves.
This is a very widespread challenge throughout our industry, and we believe that by creating space for the open conversations and sharing advice around how to live with imposter syndrome, we can all be of help to a lot of people.
If we can get past it, anyone can.
Session Takeaway
- Ways to recognise imposter syndrome.
- Practical tips and advice to overcome it
- Advice on how to live with it.
- Support in how to begin feeling empowered by it.
