Celebrating experience and tackling ageism: 50 Over 50 industry list revealed
List conceived to "counter the trend of glossing over ageism," says Game Advocacy
In an effort to tackle the "rampant problem" ageism presents to the games industry, Game Advocacy has revealed its 50 Over 50 list.
Founded by former IGDA executive director Kate Edwards, Game Advocacy is a platform for the industry veteran to direct her "righteous rage" against practices such as crunch and discrimination.
The 50 Over 50 list aims to "help counter the trend of glossing over ageism and playing off the much trumpeted '30 Under 30' lists" and declares that ageism "must be openly confronted, discussed, and addressed".
"Ageism is a rampant problem in the game industry and within the broader technology sector, and it's becoming even more so as first generations of game creators reach their traditional 'retirement years'," said Game Advocacy.
"While sexism in the industry has garnered tremendous attention, and rightfully so in the wake of massive harassment episodes, trolling, and other incidents, the response to ageism has typically been tepid by comparison."
But the list is also about celebrating the experience and talent of veterans over 50 years old who are still heavily engaged -- in whatever capacity -- with the games industry.
Soliciting input from across the industry, Game Advocacy ended up with a total of 201 nominees; the list was then narrowed down to 50 game creators based on the number of nominations they received.
Included in the final list are people from all walks of the industry, such as writer Amy Henning, developer and speaker Shahid Ahmad, and educator Susan Gold.
Ageism has been highlighted previously, but rarely gets the attention that racism or sexism does, even when people are dying their hair just to look younger for potential employers, or taking junior positions despite their wealth of experience.