I was honored to receive the 2019 Rising Pixel Award – Boston, from the Bit Awards by Playcrafting! It was a wonderful event and I gave the speech below when accepting the award.
Thank you so much for having me here tonight! It means a great deal to me to know that this award is given by my peers in recognition for community leadership. Undoubtedly, I am standing here because of BostonFIG. We are a nonprofit company that dedicates ourselves to fostering the next generation of game creators, supported by our various programming: our annual festival, conference events, and educational programs. I’m co-founder and CEO of BostonFIG, which is is a 100% volunteer effort and labor of love. We started in 2012 with the Festival, showcasing indie games from all over New England, and now that event draws crowds of nearly 5000 attendees, and Indies from around the globe every fall. There is no way I could do all of what we do alone, and, in that way, I think this award is really for the entire BostonFIG team.
I’ve been organizing games communities in Boston for almost a decade now, which feels a little weird to say out loud. In that time, I’ve made some promises to my community. I’ve promised to prioritize accessibility, diversity, and representation, because I believe that we are better when there are different voices and new stories in games. These are topics that I think are especially important in this cultural moment in America right now.
For some reason, a lot of Boston community members have been at the center of controversy and the culture wars in games. I often think that this is because of how we strive to be a center of change. Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Change is messy, and uncertain, and sometimes painful. But change also gives birth to beautiful new growth.
I’ve changed a lot in ten years. I’ve made mistakes, learned hard lessons, made hard choices; and I’ve grown. Ten years ago, the games scene in Boston looked very different than it looks now. I’m proud to have been, and to continue being, a part of that change, and to continue supporting that growth in my community.
Thank you again to all my peers who nominated me, and to Playcrafting for hosting the Bit awards. If you’re a game maker, I hope you’ll submit your games to BostonFIG’s indie showcase starting February 15, and if you’re a game supporter I hope you’ll join us in Boston September 14 for our 8th annual Fest, or come to one of our many other events! Thank you and goodnight!