The struggle with trying to utilise multiple skill sets | Black Voices Progress Report
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This interview is part of GamesIndustry.biz's Black Voices Progress Report, offering insight into the different experiences Black professionals have in the games sector. You can read more about the project and check out the other entries on this page .
"I would love to feel like I'm a part of the gaming industry, but it's starting to feel as if you have to be on a list somewhere, as if it's a matter of where you live and who you know."
Junae Benne is a freelancer in games, struggling with a typical freelance problem – many freelancers have different skills, and often need to use different ones to earn money, which often makes it difficult to brand yourself. The gaming industry places a lot of value on deep expertise in a field, which can feel as if you have to pick a specialisation and stick with it – something Benne just doesn't want to do.
Following a degree in Media Communications and Broadcast Journalism from Northern Illinois University, Benne served as a contract community manager for studio SynapticSwitch, now SynaptixGames, before producing a weekly gaming news format for an online publication out of Colorado.
"I moved to Colorado and I was working for a video game marketing company. They used to put on conventions and they had like this little YouTube channel that I used to write for, even though I would have liked to do on-camera work, given my broadcast journalism experience," Benne says.
"People can't grasp that I am 15 different things because I just became what people needed me to be"
"I was learning about marketing, learning about community, learning about putting on events, while writing and interviewing people, where my background is and what I'm great at."
A fighting game enthusiast, Benne would eventually combine all of these skills to open her own gaming lounge strictly for fighting games.
"I learned how to build a community because fighting game players don't trust you. They
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