Vacations Hawaii’s Post

This #Juneteenth, explore some organizations and a past G4C festival session that explore Black history and the continuous fight for social awareness. Today, we would like to highlight just a few organizations making a significant impact, including Kinfolk Tech, Black Girls Code, Black Voices in Gaming, and Black In Gaming, which are driving positive change by empowering Black talent and voices in the gaming ecosystem. We also want to spotlight a past festival session, “Black Games: African Diasporic Work and Social Impact,” featuring Lindsay Grace, Allan Cudicio, Carl Varnado, Aaron Trammell, and Nyambura M. Waruingi. Learn the importance of culturally relevant African diasporic representation in games, the challenges of funding and access for developers, and the need to balance social impact with profitability in the gaming industry. 🌍 🎮 Watch the full Talk: https://lnkd.in/eTrmKbgd

June was a pretty interesting month for us down at the center. As we push into the heat of the summer we get to kick off some of my favorite programing, CAMPS. Kids love gaming, that much we know is true simply by the numbers (97% game 3 hours+ per week). It's awesome that we get a chance to teach them proper gaming habits in the home of the CHSAA finals each year. With warmups and stretching in the morning, 1 hour up 1 hour down mentality through the day, and games that are built to teach them teamwork and problem solving it feels like laying the foundation of those next players. It brings kids together and helps them make friends with other gamers, which I can't see that as anything but the best thing possible for them. Also had a great opportunity this month to head out to the Eyewear Artwalk event at the McNichols Center in Denver. This event was highlighting eyewear tech and developments in that industry. Eyewear in gaming has always been somewhat of an abstract concept as many players simply eschew it. I will say after my time out there and some of the new developments in gaming lens' I'm on board. The way the new lens' sharpen the picture pixel by pixel that you see before you while gaming is very impressive. Expect to see some further developments on this in the upcoming months, I'm wearing them now in fact............ Add all that on top of the Birthdays, Bachelor party, Denver Parks and Rec visits (40-60 kids!), keyboard meetup, SSBU, Melee, Brawl, CS2, OSU, Rare Air Regional, and our regulars coming out and it was a solid month. Currently working on LAN events for CS2, OW2, CoD, LoL, RL, Halo, AoE4, TF2, SSBU, Melee, Brawl, RoA2, and another week of camps. We're actually working on LAN's for more titles than there are in the Esports World Cup (not nearly at the same level, but players need to start somewhere to get there)! Speaking of the EWC, loved the T1 win, good to see them round into form. The dominance of Falcons in Warzone was also impressive. Looking forward to the next few weeks of competition. GL HF for a great July

I join all of you in celebration of Juneteenth! Scientific Games doesn't only post about Juneteenth, we have made it a company holiday. If you are like me and want to learn more, I recommend the podcast 1619 for a history lesson through the lens of a Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines "the long shadow of American slavery." I also found this article to be helpful: https://lnkd.in/e62amK9P

❓𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿? 🎙 Michal Korek, a Product Owner at Ten Square Games, shares the industry's best practices on how to price special offers based on players' previous spending history. 👉 Discover his full answer and more insights in Balancy's webinar: https://lnkd.in/d6BNUNAb

Creating a positive online gaming environment is essential for player satisfaction and community health. Here's why it matters and how to achieve it: - A positive atmosphere leads to better engagement and enjoyment. - Addressing negative behaviors creates a more inclusive space. - Both must collaborate to foster a supportive environment. - Games like FFXIV and Animal Crossing highlight the impact of positive communities. Explore the full article to learn more about fostering positivity in gaming: https://lnkd.in/gakeKdzC

Reflecting on a Landmark Year at ICRG "Our ultimate goal is to assist the industry to minimize harm to players." - Arthur Paikowsky, ICRG President. As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on a year of progress and collaboration. In an insightful interview, Arthur Paikowsky highlights ICRG’s achievements: - 34 active research studies addressing critical issues like sports wagering behavior. - Expanded educational initiatives, including three conferences and five webinars. - Growing industry support from key stakeholders like DraftKings, Entain, MGM, and NASCAR. In 2025, ICRG aims to fund $2M in new research and continue delivering impactful insights to enhance responsible gaming efforts. Discover more about our vision and how we’re shaping the future of gaming. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eGnwukbK

It's 2024, are any presidential candidates genuinely including gaming/esports into their platforms? 1. Two thirds of Americans (i.e. over 200M people) play video games regularly. 2. Nearly 50 percent of Americans who play video games are women. 3. Black and Latino Americans over-index as consumers of video games. 4. Video games aren't being used to reimagine education in America. 5. America lacks the legal infrastructure to compete in the global gaming economy. This seems like an easy path to economic recovery and innovative leadership.

Have you considered the innovation opportunities of gamification aspects in your organization? This post is very thought provoking for MANY reasons. #thinkingcap

If you play The NYT Mini Crossword, check this out!

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗨𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗦𝗥𝗕’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 🎮 Melanin Gamers, a change-maker organization and The Watch, a digital community protecting and promoting diversity and inclusion in the video game industry, are calling on the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to reform their current rating system to confront the prevalent #toxicity and #racism pervasive in many online gaming communities.    In today's predominantly online gaming landscape - including Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Games (MOBA) and Browser Games - user experiences are profoundly shaped by the virtual communities they interact with, often exposing players to harmful behaviors. Yet the ESRB only rates the story portions of these games, leaving out the communities gamers interact with.  By advocating for the ESRB to embrace a more comprehensive approach to its rating system, we can transform gaming culture, inform parents about potential toxicity within their children's gaming communities, and cultivate an ecosystem rooted in inclusivity, empathy, and mutual respect.    Please join us in signing this petition today! https://lnkd.in/gMb6AmkV