Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender games conference set for August

Known as GaymerX (formerly Gaymercon), the conference, set to take place in San Francisco between the third and fourth of August, is planned as a typical games related event, but with a focus on the LGBT community.

Funded by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $90,000, GaymerX, will feature booths, panels and the standard game release parties of other conferences and is expected to be supported by EA Games, Microsoft (via its Xbox branding), gay rights group GLAAD, anti LGBT suicide group The Trevor Project, LGBT professional network Dot429 and pro-sexual-equality campaigners, Straight But Not Narrow.

The organisers, Kayce Brown and Matt Conn, spoke with Mashable about the conference and said they hoped to help tackle homophobia in-gaming, as well as give gay geeks an event that was designed with them in mind.

So far over 2,000 tickets have been sold, though more will be available at the door, priced between $45 and $60. Red carpet VIP tickets are also available for $135.

The official site describes GaymerX as a “weekend of fun and socialising,” suggesting that, “until now, there has never been a safe space for queer geeks and their friends to come together, discuss queer theory in games as a community, and party as one.”

While gay characters aren't a common thread in gaming history, they've become more apparent in recent years, with the introduction of a “gay planet,” in Star Wars: The Old Republic and with options for same sex coupling in the Mass Effect series.

Kitguru Says: What do you guys think of these sorts of specific events? Do they help raise awareness and bring people together, or do you feel like the highlight and segregate groups from one another?

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