GYGO: D&D, Star Wars, Data, and Weed

Howdy, gaming lovelies! I hope you’re having a fabulous week filled with games! I’m coming down from the fun of my latest adventure in my D&D campaign and judging amazing games at a Games for Change-themed game jam at my local university. Last week’s gaming recap is full of more feel-good news, so let’s hop to it!

Fighting Outdated Mainstream Stereotypes with #DnDselfie

The sad stereotype of gamers as aging white male nerds living in their moms’ basements. It’s old, it’s tired, and, quite frankly, it’s lazy. Not so, thought Saturday Night Live. Last week, the skit “Employee of the Month” yet again aimed for laughs at our expense. Apparently, the writers missed this New York Times opinion piece on how all the cool kids are playing it. Of course, the internet had some thoughts on the skit and the wonderful #DnDselfie hashtag was born.

Game News from Star Wars Celebration

This past weekend, Star Wars fans from around the globe gathered in Chicago for the annual Star Wars Celebration. The big news in gaming was Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. The single-player game focuses on the story of a Jedi trying to survive after the fall of the order. Sounds amazing, right? And it’s being directed by Stig Asmussen, who led development of God of War III. Where do I sign up? But wait, from the looks of the official trailer, we might all be stuck playing as—wait for it—a white dude. What the heck?! I’m hoping this was just a rush job for the convention and that maybe, just maybe, a few character customization options will be tucked in. Because when even Walmart gets that girls want to be Jedi, it’s fine time that game studios realize it too.

84 Percent of People Working in the Games and Interactive Industry are Looking to Move Jobs in 2019

The recruitment firm Skillsearch Ltd. has released the finds from their annual Games and Interactive Salary & Satisfaction Survey. The company gathers salary data from across the globe and throughout all disciplines and levels of the games industry. Not surprising, salary isn’t as important as key points, like company culture, working on exciting projects and the ever-elusive work/life balance.

Weedcraft Inc.’s Strange Problem

Weedcraft Inc., or how to make running a business simulator fun by making it about weed, is a game about becoming your very own weed tycoon. On face value, I can think of a few ways this could run problematic (harmful racial stereotypes, mocking addiction), but the actual problem the game ran into was unexpected: digital marketing efforts fueled a series of ad-review requests and age restrictions.

Other News You Can Use

• Steve Jackson Games offers partial refunds after gamers raise concerns 
• Millionaire wants to stage a Fortnite-style real-life battle royale on private island
• Watch Dogs 3 to be set in London
• Love The Sims so much you want to wear it? The Sims announced a collaboration with fashion house MOSCHINO.