Dani Lalonders continues to encourage new voices in gaming
Veritable Joy Studios CEO says "I have to make sure things are better for the people who are coming after me"
Watching the games industry continue to lay off people and see studios struggle with funding; it's easy not to have a bright outlook on its future—a future for younger and overlooked people.
However, Dani Lalonders is not one of those people.
The CEO of Veritable Joy Studios (maker of ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area) is sticking in for the long run.
Among her goals, one remains etched in stone: To motivate younger, underrepresented people to get into game-making. When explaining why this means so much, the developer uses herself and her friends as an example.
She says, "I came into the industry in 2020. When I came in, I didn't really know anyone. I just decided to make a small VN (visual novel) with my friends…the point of ValiDate was to go against the grain of, you know, people of color are never romanceable in video games. You never are given a chance to play as them and romance other people of color nor just romance people of color in general."
The period in which Lalonders entered the gaming space was timely. The industry made a lot of promises and PR statements about increasing its diversity efforts in response to 2020's “racial reckoning”. The developer met many Black game developers, other professionals, and artists whom she would encourage to tailor their portfolios to work in gaming. This encouragement became a regular practice overall for her.
"I kind of just made it my mission to help more people get into games. I got into games as, you know, I started a studio, I made a game, but that's not everyone's avenue. I always tell people to look into game jams, do a game jam with two-three other people. Make a small little game in Twine. Just put your art out there, start perfecting your art, start figuring out what kind of art style you want to have and be known for in your work," Lalonders explains.
She notes that this is preferable and more logical than the dice roll of going the AAA route.
The developer says, "It shouldn't be that you need to go through 10 rounds of interviews just to get an intern role at a big AAA studio. It shouldn't be that. Especially nowadays, since they laid off people like crazy in the last few years, they don't hire juniors anymore. They barely have any more intern programs because studios claim there are no resources or funding to support internships. Which is not true."
To her point, major gaming firms have reported as per their last financial earnings in the millions of dollars. At the same time, the top earners have filed sales, bookings or revenue of a billion dollars or more.
Lalonders then pivoted to career longevity and what that means. The shelf life in gaming is, unfortunately, incredibly short for people trying to break in.
“When I first joined games, there are 10 other people who joined around the same time as me, now there's like two of us left. There's no long-term success. There is no long-term plan of action for people of color to have any kind of longevity. The resources that were promised to many of us have dissolved as studios get rid of their DEI initiatives."
Still, encouraging more peers to get into the field means encountering some concerns. For example, Lalonders cautions people about applying to gaming studios that have had a history/ or have been in the news for poor employee treatment. Even these roles from said companies often follow with a "we encourage everyone, including marginalized people, to apply" message. She raises an eyebrow.
Lalonders explains, "But you guys know what goes on in those companies? Why would you, in good faith, try to encourage someone to go there? Does that even make sense to you?"
These attitudes are part of a larger sentiment of what could be best described as walking on eggshells.
"I think some people are just very disingenuous when it comes to being honest about the realities of working on games. I feel no one wants to be honest about making games…no one wants to be honest because they're afraid of their employer and losing opportunities. I understand that too."
On the subject of gaining experience and expertise, Lalonders says that working in indie gaming is highly valuable. The space allows professionals to really experiment and see what the game development landscape can be.
"I always tell people, especially in terms of getting your name out there, especially if you're trying to get into games. I always tell people go indie first and experience what indie is. Because you need to understand the chaotic nature of indie games…You need to learn what it means to make games on a basic level (although nothing is basic about making a game in general), before you even think about taking that step towards AAA studios,” Lalonders explains.
Still, what does the games industry need to keep going? She has a very clear answer.
"For the industry to keep going, there must be more people who are willing to do the work like myself. There have to be people who want to do the work to help others get in the industry. There have to be people like Sean Alexander. There have to be people like Lisette Montgomery. There have to be people like Leigh Alexander. There have to be people like Ash Parrish. There has to be people like Gita Jackson."
She says, "There has to be people who are willing to take that step. Be that person, be known as that person who is saying these things about games for people of color. Especially Black people, especially Black women, to feel safe even to take that first step into the industry."
Equally important is providing an environment and space for marginalized people. It's a fact that has been proven repeatedly in gaming and, well, any industry. But especially for an industry that's subject to harassment from consumers, bad actors, and its very creators.
"I have a server that's the Black women in games discord server. The number of stories that I hear from other black women in the industry.” They’ve shared with LaLonders sentiments which include: “I feel really weird in my workplace because I'm the only one here. I don't feel safe. I don't feel like I can talk to my coworkers about certain things. But I feel like I can talk to you guys, and I'm very grateful we have the space. We need more spaces like this."
The developer adds, "I was generally surprised that we didn't have Black women in games discord. I was shocked, what do you mean, you didn't have that before?"
Understandably, she wants everyone in games to feel safe. Lalonders is no stranger to harassment as she's faced it online during ValiDate's development and after. However, that has not stopped her games career, nor diminished her goals or vision.
"I experienced a lot of racism very early in my career. I learned so much from it to the point where I'm just like this is nothing. You can't let people stop you because of how they are making you feel. I just wanted to quit, but I didn't because I realized this is more than me."
She continues, "But that will not change the work that you're doing and how important that work is to someone else. I have to make sure things are better for the people who are coming after me. I constantly have college students reaching out to me to talk to me about games. I have young game designers talking to me, asking me for advice."
She states that professional accomplishments are what people can brag about. This drives people to keep moving forward while naysayers talk.
"I can brag about the fact that I have a game…I put in the work and the effort. Anything that you put work and effort into is yours. It's yours to keep and yours to brag about, and that feels good because people will talk a lot of shit online. "But they don't have an inch of what you have nor do they understand how much you struggled to get it, and that is something to be proud of. Nobody can take that experience away from you."
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