Making representation in games more than just a profitability play
Black-owned indie game and animation studio JumpButton (JBS) is a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Their diverse and inclusive storytelling team is driving a range of startlingly original IPs that give center stage to those who are historically excluded or marginalized, while they spearhead the charge to more than double the amount of Black, brown and queer representation in the industry at large (which currently hovers at a pitiful 4%).
In a session sponsored by the ESA, the JumpButton Studio team took the stage at GamesBeat Next 2023 to talk about their mission, what “diversity” actually encompasses, why it’s more than just a profitability play (even though it’s profitable) — and why innovative representation is the future of the gaming industry.
“Because of our team and our focus and how inclusive we are, we’re able to bring a lens and a difference of thought to everything we build and everything we make, which becomes very valuable,” said Nicodemus Madehdou, CEO at JumpButton Studio.
In part, that’s because games flattened to a single perspective make for a significantly less compelling experience — and one that is essentially leaving money on the table, said Jay-Ann Lopez, CEO and founder at Black Girl Gamers and COO at JumpButton.
“I really think, at times, that the industry is so remiss and so comfortable in where they are that they forget that it’s a completely other market that they could be talking to,” she explained. “If we compare to TV and film, having the ‘Black Panther’ effect, how many movies started coming after that? How much profitability came out of that?”
JumpButton’s diverse development teams can make better products that hit a wider market, even when they’re working on partnered IPs, said
Read more on venturebeat.com
