“I see these digital spaces,” says Byrne, “as one of the few things where Indigenous people can make something, where they can express themselves, and know that no one’s going to be able to go in and spray-paint all over this. “Ironically, playing as an Orc felt like the most accurate experience,” she says, “because we were constantly defending land against extreme odds.” She recalls a favorite moment: In a massive, player-coordinated event, she snuck into an enemy castle and, thanks to her poison-crafting skill, successfully assassinated the enemy king. LaPensée, for example, doesn’t mind if her games don’t always “compute” for non-Indigenous players, because, she says, “My audience first and foremost is Indigenous players.” And no matter if their games are explicitly educational, or implicitly so through what they depict, all four developers want to prioritize games and game creation that actively seeks to hire, educate, and/or fund other Indigenous developers and artists. All Marvel Comics characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks & Copyright © 1941-2018 Marvel Characters, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Save this story for later. Historically, there were two common games: 1) Games of chance, including the moccasin, hand, and stick game; and 2) Games of skill, including ball, target, and shooting games for the development of hunting skills. Both players explore their respective environments, unaware of one another’s existence until the moment that their worlds collide and the formal cooperative game begins. “It was the first time I’ve actually heard real Indigenous languages being spoken in video games,” Longboat says. MODERN KICKBALLS – All Indigenous people in North America had some type of kick balls used for racing, hackey sack (foot bag) types of games, and sling ball types of games. Connecting both Game Theory and Native Studies, I analyze how digital games incorporate identity, culture, and relationships in diverse and intellectual ways and provide new spaces for Indigenous agency and semiotics. By Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Danielle Daniel Video games have historically misappropriated or stereotyped Indigenous cultures – this still happens today, but there are more and more video games created by, for, and about Indigenous peoples. What made you decide you wanted to make a video game? Even though she faces the cruelty of a nun, Margaret holds on to her desire to read. I was all proud of it. They’ve all thought about what they could pursue with bigger budgets and more AAA-type support. Given these barriers, Byrne’s work outside her own game development focuses on the importance of giving people — especially young people — a place to create that’s entirely their own, both by helping kids learn to create games without having to travel, and by providing opportunities to build digital spaces where they are empowered to tell their own stories. Terra Nova’s story and gameplay mechanics are meant to give players “a first contact experience where they don’t really know what the outcome could be,” using science fiction to cut through the endless misconceptions, stereotypes, and distorted history tied to the concept of first contact in popular culture, and let players experience it in a new, more accurate way. Why does she dress in such colourful clothes? Sila and The Land is a story written by three Indigenous women from their own very unique perspectives — First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Byrne also says that non-Indigenous studios — especially larger ones — can help improve representation in the industry by actively looking for, funding, and supporting Indigenous projects and creatives, rather than deciding for themselves which stories to tell. As Jonesy heads out to explore life after high school, he finds himself discovering and dreaming. “Why not just put out a call saying, ‘Hey, we’re looking to support this sort of work under our banner — to take on a producer role or publisher role, and to help make the industry more accessible to you’?”, Too often, LaPensée says, studios bring Indigenous people onboard with the stated aim of improving representation, but fail because they don’t give them a meaningful say. “In terms of communicating Indigenous scenarios,” Longboat says, “video games can be a great way for people to not embody Indigenous experience, but to experience Indigenous experiences — in a way that’s not appropriative.”, Byrne agrees. 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