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[The Albatross]

David Ortiz (not the baseball player) was the lead producer for the Madden series for a generation of those games. Prior to being a Producer at EA he worked at Microsoft and Sony in executive producer roles.

He was a very likable guy and ran a good community program back in the day, but many consider the Madden's that he produced to be some of the worst games in the series. Today I believe he's working at a VR software company.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

T-Ray Isaac. Responsible for this little guy (not that Bethesda would ever give any credit to Interplay or Black Isle's efforts).

 

[jwhit28]

There are people who still don't realize that The Rock is black despite the fact that he was in the Nation of Domination.

Owen Hart was in the nation too. Rocks dad was a well known wrestler though.

 

[LionPride]

Hint, there ain't a lot. Reggie really being the only one outside of dude OP posted and he ain't even well known.

We ain't exactly in the industry in a capacity that matters to people, even those who play games.

 

[Adam_Roman]

Lol triforce

It's kinda depressing that this guy can be counted as a black person of note in the gaming community. We need more diverse public facing people in gaming (especially if they are in technical roles).

I don't doubt that developers have a diverse team, it's just that they are all behind the scenes.

Solid GOLD. I feel like Triforce will start becoming a lot more noteworthy going forward because he's trying to get his YouTube going, and with the money people donated to get him new equipment, I have no doubts he'll be making high quality content when he heads back home.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

While I understand the value of minority visibility (and indeed devote a lot of attention to African-American cultural history myself), maybe consider out of respect whether the people you name in this thread have shown any interest in being singled out as such.

I don't really understand your point. You don't think it's worth recognising and celebrating minority figureheads within the industry?

 

[Oresama]

Miguel Percy-Fauntleroy Rossington IV

Haha awesome!

Love the FGC. Most diverse gaming community to this day imo.

Wish the industry as a whole was as diverse...

 

[DC1]

Is this concern trolling or something?



Oh shit, is that the African dude from Living Single?

Hi Trump! Welcome to NeoGAF.

 

[Tenacious-D]

Mike Pondsmith is a boss. This guy has touched a lot of great properties in both the tabletop and video gaming industries (even assisting on the original Ultima), and even spent time teaching game design at digipen.

His voice is incredible. Hopefully he does some VA for Cyperpunk 2077.

 

[LionPride]

It's pretty sad that we gotta go to VAs and YouTube personalities because again, we ain't out there in a capacity people care about

 

[Glass Shark]

Honestly, the first people that came to mind for me were Evan Narcisse, N'Gai Croal, and Austin Walker. It's shameful to the industry that I can't name more than that off the top of my head.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Hi Trump! Welcome to NeoGAF.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

There are people who still don't realize that The Rock is black despite the fact that he was in the Nation of Domination.

I think it's a slight case of prejudice. People have a stereotypical view of what a black person looks like when actually, we come in all kinds of shades. Just as you have tanned or olive skin white people, you can have light skinned black people but people don't get that.

Legit had people call me out for trying to call Beyoncé a black woman.

 

[awilliams213]

Mike Pondsmith no doubt the man has been around for most of gaming. It's crazy he went from creating pen and paper Cyberpunk 2020 to working on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game. Also major props to CD Projekt RED for having him do the intro to the game announcement.

 

[Metzhara]

I'm pretty sure we'll see more diversity in future generations. Consider this:
If the people we know are entering "retirement years" (all racial backgrounds), they had started in an era where it was most certainly driven by the white consumer. It's not insane to consider this group had more economic diversity so they were bound to produce more engineers, artists, etc, in conjunction with the other struggles and civil rights being hashed out, leaving a majority of the industry being white driven. No one in the industry is at fault of this, it's just simply how history fell for them.
The generations we have coming up are much more diverse. Those raised in the late 80's to 90's saw, more so than previous generations, a more accepting and cultural mix. I have personally seen an increase in the dynamics of the industry from the inside change over the past few years and it's quite interesting and exciting. From artists to engineers, it's good to see. I would say that in the engineering discipline I don't see as many blacks of any nationality, but I do hope each community (all people) increase the need for STEM which will lead to diversity across all cultures. It is up to us to question the industry, sure, but know that we need to make sure that there is a want as well from the populations we wish to bring in.
Believe me when I tell you there is no shortage of artists in any culture. There's a reason they are always starving. I sometimes feel "EVERYONE" is an artist at some point in their lives. I know that everyone is at the very least a critic.

 

[QuixoticNeutral]

Since my earlier remark was clearly unwelcome and has sidetracked this thread enough already, I'll dump a quick note of clarification and get out of here.

I took it to mean, a black person who is influential in the gaming industry might want to just be known as "an influential person in the gaming industry", rather than "an influential black person in the gaming industry".

Close enough, and clearer than how I put it.

It's a matter of courtesy more than anything. If someone's work or public persona embraces certain markers of group identity that are important to them, like Austin Walker does in some of his writing or the Fullbright developers do for LGBT visibility, please, I encourage you to draw attention to it. That's because there is a safe presumption of consent. It would be really silly to complain about pointing out the blackness of civil rights activists, for instance, or anyone else who overtly works towards diversity and inclusion in their respective industries.

Just be aware that this isn't always the case, and presumptively bringing somebody's race into a conversation is something that many do consider rude. (And yes, I know this is an academic discussion anyway when none of these public figures are looking over our shoulders and reading this discussion, with the possible exception of Derek Smart.)

That supposes that they believe themselves to be immune to the challenges other people of color have had and ignorant to their past and present. I'd be very disappointed if any of them would be of such a mind. I'd be a slap in the face to those colored bodies that paved the way for them to have any opportunity at all.

You are free to be disappointed—and plenty of black writers have rattled sabres with each other over this very point for the past fifty years and beyond—but you don't get to make that decision for anyone else.

Anyway, carry on. This is just a video game forum, and I don't mean to be a scold.

 

[Messofanego]

Legit had people call me out for trying to call Beyoncé a black woman.

The Day Beyonce Turned Black: https://youtu.be/ociMBfkDG1w

 

[War Machine]

Very true. I know lots of black people working in the industry in the uk, from coding, production etc to marketing and publishing. None of them are gaming "celebrities" though, which is how you get mentioned in this thread. In general you can name very few people from industry, usually they are studio heads/senior producers or voice actors.

What people do you know?

 

[Vigilant Gambit]

Since my earlier remark was clearly unwelcome and has sidetracked this thread enough already, I'll dump a quick note of clarification and get out of here.



Close enough, and clearer than how I put it.

It's a matter of courtesy more than anything. If someone's work or public persona embraces certain markers of group identity that are important to them, like Austin Walker does in some of his writing or the Fullbright developers do for LGBT visibility, please, I encourage you to draw attention to it. That's because there is a safe presumption of consent. It would be really silly to complain about pointing out the blackness of civil rights activists, for instance, or anyone else who overtly works towards diversity and inclusion in their respective industries.

Just be aware that this isn't always the case, and presumptively bringing somebody's race into a conversation is something that many do consider rude. (And yes, I know this is an academic discussion anyway when none of these public figures are looking over our shoulders and reading this discussion, with the possible exception of Derek Smart.)



You are free to be disappointed—and plenty of black writers have rattled sabres with each other over this very point for the past fifty years and beyond—but you don't get to make that decision for anyone else.

Anyway, carry on. This is just a video game forum, and I don't mean to be a scold.

I think your line of thinking is similar to mine in the case of the vast majority of the people being brought up in this thread. It's like, "oh, this guy is black, and somehow related to games. See, he counts!"

What people do you know?

Dude, no. I work in the industry in the US, and I wouldn't want to be on this list.

Rather, I would, but not in the context of the bar literally being a black guy with a job/thin ties to/strong online presence in the game industry.

There's Jerry Lawson, Reggie Fils-Aime, and (barely, IMO) Jace Hall. If the list is supposed to be influential black people in the game industry, nobody else should be on it.

Like... one dude ITT literally googled "black video game developer" and Criterion (developers of the FPS Black) showed up. The fact that he had to google "black video game developer" in the first place speaks volumes.

 

[Timeaisis]

Reggie is haitian. Dunno if both of his parents were, so he's at least partially black.

 

[gingerbeardman]

Same, is QuixoticNeutral literally saying that people don't want to be outed as being black?...

"does dad know?"

 

[Iced Arcade]

Keith david

 

[jett]

N'gai Croal is a cool guy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/N'Gai_Croal

I totally forgot this dude existed. I liked reading his stuff, too bad he left the industry.

Miguel Percy-Fauntleroy Rossington IV

YES!

Mike "Mike Ross" Ross is definitely in there.

 

[PuppetMaster]

I totally forgot this dude existed. I liked reading his stuff, too bad he left the industry.



YES!

Mike "Mike Ross" Ross is definitely in there.

Ngai didnt leave. He started Hit Detection. They basically review games for publishers. That is where Jeff Green works at now.

 

[War Machine]

Dude, no. I work in the industry in the US, and I wouldn't want to be on this list.

Rather, I would, but not in the context of the bar literally being a black guy with a job/thin ties to/strong online presence in the game industry.

There's Jerry Lawson, Reggie Fils-Aime, and (barely, IMO) Jace Hall. If the list is supposed to be influential black people in the game industry, nobody else should be on it.

Like... one dude ITT literally googled "black video game developer" and Criterion (developers of the FPS Black) showed up. The fact that he had to google "black video game developer" in the first place speaks volumes.

I already acknowledged that Reggie is the only person who could be considered "influential." I'm asking because I'm interested in finding every Black person working in development regardless of their influence.

Here's the third result when you google "black video game developers": http://www.blackgamedevs.com/

 

[Vigilant Gambit]

I already acknowledged that Reggie is the only person who could be considered "influential." I'm asking because I'm interested in finding every Black person working in development regardless of their influence.

Here's the third result when you google "black video game developers": http://www.blackgamedevs.com/

I don't know how I feel about this.

 

[Cyriades]

REDinFamy

 

[jett]

Ngai didnt leave. He started Hit Detection. They basically review games for publishers. That is where Jeff Green works at now.

Well that's neat.

 

[lawnchair]

I don't understand how anyone could not realize Reggie is black?

i dunno. i have white friends whose skin is darker than reggie's, i can see some people making the mistake ..

 

[Mista Koo]

I think it's a slight case of prejudice. People have a stereotypical view of what a black person looks like when actually, we come in all kinds of shades. Just as you have tanned or olive skin white people, you can have light skinned black people but people don't get that.

Legit had people call me out for trying to call Beyoncé a black woman.

To be fair the skin color is why they are referred to as black or even "scientifically" as negroid. White people aren't called blancoid.

 

[Lime]

On the media side of things, some of the more prominent people are

• Evan Narcisse (Kotaku, ios9)
• Tanya DePass (Fresh out of Tokens, INDG)
• Justin Clark (Slate, Gamespot, Paste)
• Gita Jackson (Kotaku, Paste)
• Austin Waker (Waypoint, Paste)
• the SpawnOnMe guys
• Shareef Jackson (Gaming Looks Good)
• Tariq Moosa (Freelance)
• Samantha Blackmon (Not Your Mama's Gamer, also a professor)
• Latoya Peterson (made the amazing Girl Gamers mini-series recently)

 

[hodgy100]

My mate and co-worker Naajir is an awesome level designer

 

[Lime]

Shawn Alexander Allen and Catt Small are two developers I'd like to mention as well with some amazing games, entrepreneurship, and GDC lectures.

Small works with Code Liberation and also started the Black Game Devs repository that was posted in this thread. Allen used to work in AAA for Rockstar and then went indie to make Treachery in Beatdown City. Both had a GDC lecture about writing good characters last year and Allen did another one yesterday @ GDC.

Both are mentioned in this recent Waypoint article: Black Skin Is Still A Radical Concept in Video Games

 

[Tajbong]

What about Hoop Gawd?
Hoop Gawd at E3

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Thread stays struggling, but people are learning so that's really cool.

 

[Unreal Champ]

You guys are posting a lot of actors / voice actors. I was hoping this topic would be about black people who actually work in the industry like programmers, 3D artist, directors, producers etc etc. It seems only the first post and Reggie were going the right direction. Even though Reggie is black he isn't African American, he is Haitian.

 

[i-Jest]

Aundréa L. Hopkins - Singer of "Somnus", the theme song of Final Fantasy XV.

I have a new appreciation for that song now.

 

[Mexen]

Fuck. Why are there seemingly so few of us black people in gaming?

EDIT also this. I was excited to see who had done what to contribute to how games work and stuff. Kudoz to the VAs though. Respect, fam.

You guys are posting a lot of actors / voice actors. I was hoping this topic would be about black people who actually work in the industry like programmers, 3D artist, directors, producers etc etc. It seems only the first post and Reggie were going the right direction. Even though Reggie is black he isn't African American, he is Haitian.

 

[Lime]

You guys are posting a lot of actors / voice actors. I was hoping this topic would be about black people who actually work in the industry like programmers, 3D artist, directors, producers etc etc. It seems only the first post and Reggie were going the right direction. Even though Reggie is black he isn't African American, he is Haitian.

->

You can find hundreds of Black game developers on the Black Game Devs Twitter account


https://twitter.com/blackgamedev

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Fuck. Why are there seemingly so few of us black people in gaming?

Here is one theory:

Another attendee noted that one of the reasons stereotypes in gaming and a lack of black developers may exist is because of early console and PC distribution.

"First iterations of PCs and consoles like the PlayStation were missed in poorer, urban communities," he said. "The developers inspired by those first iterations were white. They're the ones making games now, and it shows in what they create."

 

[Dremark]

Owen Hart was in the nation too. Rocks dad was a well known wrestler though.

I was going to point Owen out but you beat me to it. Anyway Rock is half black and half Samoan and not only was his father well a well known wrestler, his grandfather was too.

Back on topic, Tom and Tony Cannon, the founders of Evo are both black. They've also worked in game development on Stonehearth and Rising Thunder before selling Radiant Entertainment which they founded to Riot games a few years back. They also created GGPO prior to that.

 

[DemWalls]

I remembered one of the creators of the Elder Scrolls series not being white, didn't remember the name, thought he was black though. Turns out his name is Vijay Lakshman, so pretty obviously he's not "black" in the sense of "of African descent". Still interesting to know that such a huge series was created by a "diverse" team.

His voice is incredible. Hopefully he does some VA for Cyperpunk 2077.

I recentely learned that he also has some experience in voice acting, and supposedly he's pretty good at it. Let's hope they have him voice someone (or something). Some kind of "guide" to the game would be perfect.

 

[Mexen]

Here is one theory:

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dangansona]

It's pretty sad that we gotta go to VAs and YouTube personalities because again, we ain't out there in a capacity people care about

Well at some point what positions are we looking for then? How many people in the games industry do we really know at the end of the day if we are excluding VAs, Marketing, and press/personalities?

I know it's largely a white industry at the moment but I think when it comes down to it we only know of 20-30 developers by name (since that seems to be the only position deemed significant by some people in this thread) out of the thousands of people who have worked in this industry over the years. And yes, a lot of those 20-30 brand name developers are white.

But I guess we knew this thread was going to be depressing from the start.

 

[kewlmyc]

Lmao

You guys can't be serious

I knew he was mixed, but that's about it. Not sure which ethnic groups though.

 

[Heart of Black]

Shawn Alexander Allen and Catt Small are two developers I'd like to mention as well with some amazing games, entrepreneurship, and GDC lectures.

Small works with Code Liberation and also started the Black Game Devs repository that was posted in this thread. Allen used to work in AAA for Rockstar and then went indie to make Treachery in Beatdown City. Both had a GDC lecture about writing good characters last year and Allen did another one yesterday @ GDC.

Both are mentioned in this recent Waypoint article: Black Skin Is Still A Radical Concept in Video Games

Yo.

This is probably the best picture I've seen of me at a GDC.

Not to toot my own horn, by I weirdly know a lot of people in the games industry, and besides these talks, I also help out with discussions about culture and business, and more (behind the scenes). I first recommended Hotline Miami to SUDA 51, and he told Spike Chunsoft to release it in Japan.

I also encourage a lot of folk to keep making in the space. This is a large part of who I am - I just want to see black and brown folks survive in this alienating industry.

Also follow the people in this picture because they are all rad as fuck, and are making waves in games, too

@EthanRedd Ethan Redd
@JarrydHuntley Jarryd Huntley
@_Teejay5 Tj Hughes

 

[Vital Tundra]

HOLD UP!


Reggie is BLACK?????

 

[Onemic]

HOLD UP!


Reggie is BLACK?????

ya, just look at his hair.

Also his last name is Haitian.

 

[Lime]

Sorry for the bump, but I figured this might be of interest to some in this thread: In 4 days, on June 24 the 2017 Game Devs of Color Expo will take place in New York City.

In this day-long event at the historic Schomburg Center, we will hold panels, talks, and an arcade. Hear discussions about the game development process, representation in games, and experiences within the games industry as people from different backgrounds, then try out incredible games made by people of color.

Get your tickets here: http://gamedevsofcolorexpo.com/tickets/