GAMING IN COLOR Documentary Explores Queer Gaming; Out on VOD, 5/19

Devolver Digital Films and MidBoss are proud to announce the digital VOD release of the entertaining and informative feature documentary, Gaming In Color, which explores the queer side of gaming. Directed by Philip Jones, the award-winning Gaming In Color takes a look at the queer gaming community, 'gaymer' culture, and the increasing acceptance of LGBTQ themes in video games. The film, which won Best Documentary at the Gen Con 2014 Film Festival, explores how the community culture is shifting and the industry is diversifying, helping with queer visibility and acceptance of an LGBTQ presence.

Ryan Paul is the cinematographer, film editor, and a producer for Gaming In Color. The film's producing company is MidBoss, which organizes the GX game convention (formerly GaymerX) and will also be releasing the upcoming queer-focused adventure game Read Only Memories. MidBoss CEO Matt Conn is featured in the cast and is also the executive producer of the film. Gaming In Color's digital VOD release is scheduled for May 19, 2015 via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, PlayStation, Xbox, and Vudu, with other major platforms coming soon. For additional information, visit www.gamingincolor.com.

"Gaming In Color crusades for a safer, more inclusive environment where we can play, create, and interact as gamers without fear or hatred. Now, more than ever, the video game community is rising up and coming together to create a more accepting culture where we can enjoy gaming while being our true selves," says Jones, the film's director. "The industry must work at this critical point in gaming history to open the pathways for new forms of self-expression from diverse people. It has never been more important that marginalized voices are heard and represented."

Gaming In Color (Documentary, 2015, 62 min.) -
The gaming community is far more colorful than one might expect. Gaming In Color shows the full spectrum of gamers who are picking up a controller to play. Directed by Philip Jones, the feature documentary explores the story of the queer gaming community, 'gaymer' culture and events, and the rise of LGBTQ themes in video games. More and more, popular mainstream and indie games are starting to feature queer characters, helping with visibility and acceptance. Although there's still a long road ahead and many aspects of gaming that need improvement, the video games universe continues to mature and diversify, both in its community culture as well as across the industry, by elevating the conversation to support inclusion, representation, and respect.

Most gamers can relate to the concept of seeking solace inside the environment of a video game. The search for sanctuary guides their escape into a virtual universe where they can be anything they want to be. For many, however, choosing to be true to themselves becomes an open invitation for hatred. This multiplies for those who belong to marginalized groups, including people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community.
A lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer/questioning gamer has a higher chance of being mistreated in a social game, where the climate can be toxic and violent. The power dynamics of a male-dominated geek society tips against them. Furthermore, diverse queer themes in game storylines and characters have been an anomaly in the mainstream video game industry. While Gaming In Color is entertaining and visually interesting, the film also serves to educate viewers on these issues, effectively rallying against homophobia and exclusion for a healthier and more diverse gaming community.

Gaming In Color features a queer-identified cast from across the gamer community including Colleen Macklin (Associate Professor at Parsons & game designer), George Skleres (Riot Games engineer), Matt Conn (MidBoss CEO & GaymerX/GX founder), Naomi Clark (game creator), Joey Stern (founding member of Geeks Out), Jessica Vazquez (journalist), Shane Cherry (NYC Gaymers event promoter), and Matthew Michael Brown (activist & reality TV star). Anne Clements, of Idiot Savant Pictures, served as a producer.

Remix artist and video game soundtrack composer 2 Mello (aka Matthew Hopkins) created the film's music, which incorporates a variety of game sounds. Footage from the inaugural GaymerX event, which is primarily focused on the gay gaming community and LGBTQ issues, is also featured in the film. The film was partially funded by a Kickstarter Campaign, which raised $51,158 from 1,026 backers.

The film has screened in nearly two dozen locations at festivals and events in the U.S. and abroad including:

• April 2014 - InFuse 51 release event (New York City, NY)
• May 2014 - MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing Colloquium (Cambridge, MA)
• June 2014 - Phoenix Comicon (Phoenix, AZ)
• June 2014 - Beit Ha'ir Urban Culture Museum during Tel Aviv Pride Week (Tel Aviv, Israel)
• July 2014 - Maven Summer Queer Youth Tech Camp (San Francisco, CA)
• July 2014 - Portland Indie Game Squad (Portland, OR)
• July 2014 - GaymerX2 (San Francisco, CA)
• August 2014 - Malmö Pride (Malmö, Sweden)
• August 2014 - Gen Con Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN) - Winner Best Documentary
• September 2014 - Incubate Festival (Tilburg, The Netherlands)
• September 2014 - Reeling32 LGBT International Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
• October 2014 - Queerness and Games Conference at UC Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
• November 2014 - Bent-Con (Los Angeles, CA)
• January 2015 - Games on Film/MAGFest (National Harbor, MD)
• February 2015 - Twitch (internet live stream to over 20,000 combined viewers)
• February 2015 - Gaming Expo East Kent (GEEK) (Margate, England)
• March 2015 - Melbourne Queer Film Festival (Melbourne, Australia)

The film and cover art were also seen onscreen in an episode of HBO's Looking. Upcoming screenings include the History of Gender in Games conference in Montreal, Canada on Friday, June 26, 2015.

Philip Jones, Director & Producer -
Philip Jones is a game developer, event coordinator, community manager, and now film director living in Fort Worth, TX. As an active queer gamer and activist, Jones has a deeply personal stake in this project. Jones believes diversity and positive representation of marginalized people in video games, both in industry development and community culture, are things that can be achieved through passion and hard work. Jones hopes that Gaming In Color will be used as an educational tool that succeeds in promoting these goals. This is Jones' first film. Apart from Gaming In Color, Jones works as an employee of MidBoss as both the lead scripter and assistant writer for upcoming cyberpunk adventure game Read Only Memories as well as the exhibitor director for the queer-focused game convention GX (formerly GaymerX). Jones also enjoys watching professional wrestling and being a real life bear cub.

Ryan Paul, Cinematographer, Film Editor & Producer -
Ryan Paul is an independent producer, editor, and documentarian, always looking for a new story to tell. A self-proclaimed gay geek, ex-Mormon, and Canadian-American, he adores geek culture, science fiction, film, games, and exploring new corners of the internet. Previous professional affiliations include AlleyWire, Here TV, and the University of Utah. Previous projects include developing a series of videos on New York Fashion Week for OUT.com, shooting, editing, and developing graphics for For and Against, and shooting, editing and post production for the Homotional Rescue PSA series. He lives with his husband in New York City, where they drink too much coffee and contemplate moving to Seattle.

Matt Conn, Cast & Executive Producer -
Matt Conn is best known for being the founder and CEO of MidBoss, the company that also puts on the GX game convention (formerly GaymerX) that seeks to create a safe space for LGBTQ identified gamers. He is also the producer for MidBoss' upcoming cyberpunk story adventure Read Only Memories, which seeks to include queer characters in a positive way through the narrative of an interactive experience. Read Only Memories is set to release on August 18, 2015. Conn is a major leader of the fight for queer inclusion in video games and directs all MidBoss projects from San Francisco, where he lives.

2 Mello (aka Matthew Hopkins), Composer -
Matthew "2 Mello" Hopkins is a remix artist and soundtrack composer who chews up samples and neat sounds to create his music. He is most well known for Chrono Jigga, a mashup album with Jay-Z's lyrics mixed with handcrafted beats sampling the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. After producing three albums as a solo artist, he was signed to the online, non-profit label Scrub Club Records. Recently, he began a career as an indie game composer and is now working on the soundtracks for Dawn Of Time, and MidBoss Games' title Read Only Memories. He has been featured in articles on Spin.com, Kotaku, The Verge, Polygon, and Destructoid. 2 Mello was thrilled to create the music for Gaming In Color so that he could "put a melody to the lives and passions of so many gaymers."

MidBoss -
MidBoss is a gaming, tech, and geek culture company based in San Francisco that focuses on alternative and LGBTQ lifestyles that encompass gaming culture. Under the MidBoss banner, projects like the GX convention (formerly GaymerX), Read Only Memories, GXdev, and Gaming In Color endeavor to create a better gaming community for queer geeks. The company's goal is to create a safe space for everyone who loves games, where they can enjoy and express themselves through games however they choose. Everyone games.

Devolver Digital -
Based in Austin, Texas, Devolver Digital distributes independent video games and guides indie filmmakers through digital distribution and film promotion. Devolver Digital's outspoken passion for independent games, developers, and fans has earned the company no minor measure of game industry notoriety. With its expansion into film, which was announced at South by Southwest 2013, the company applies that same fiercely creative devotion and digital content expertise to support and celebrate indie filmmakers and projects. Co-Founder and Partner Mike Wilson says his own experience as a filmmaker seeking distribution led him and his partners to expand Devolver Digital into film. That experience has guided the company's focus on "hand-crafted" strategic partnership and personal attention in distributing the titles on the label to a full range of digital and cable VOD platforms.

For more about the film, visit www.gamingincolor.com, www.devolverdigital.com/films/view/gaming-in-color, and follow on Twitter: twitter.com/GamingInColor.

Watch the trailer below!

To post a comment, you must register and login.