Kickstarting the festive season, the latest interactive Google Doodle celebrates the life and accomplishments of self-taught engineer Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lawson, also known as ‘one of the fathers of modern gaming.’ Lawson, who passed away at 70, was one of the first prominent African American figures in the game industry. As chief hardware engineer for Fairchild Semiconductor, Lawson steered the development of the first home video gaming system with interchangeable game cartridges. Encouraged to experiment Lawson was born in Brooklyn in 1940. Encouraged by his parents to experiment, Lawson grew up
Ubisoft is hiring on pocitjobs.com Currently a Creative Director at Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest gaming developers, Richard Arroyo has spent almost a quarter of a century sharpening his professional tool kit. His experience ranges from computer animation design to business strategy and on-set direction, yet the US-born Montrealer insists he’s “still not done learning.” In this interview, Richard sheds light on his decades-long career, the ethos that got him where he is now, and advice he would give those looking to follow in his footsteps. What did your
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is on its way to our theaters, and as part of the movie’s promotion, Marvel has partnered with Xbox to inspire the next generation of gaming and tech leaders. According to an HBCU Connect survey, 95% of HBCU students and alumni are interested in a career in the gaming industry. Yet, only 2% of video gaming industry professionals are Black. The Marvel and Xbox partnership aims to narrow the gap between these two figures. Code your own Marvel game Fans around the world are being invited to
Black visionary Gianni O’Connor is on a mission to unleash the true power of technology. Through artificial intelligence, O’Connor is working to build a one-of-a-kind AI personality that will make it easier for users to converse with their game console – sound strange? We’re officially stepping into the future. Who is Gianni O’Connor? Gianni O’Connor’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2012 when he launched the music social media site Micsu (later Mozrt). The 29-year-old UK-based entrepreneur then founded the social trading app Trad3r and, most recently, Go Games. “I love being
How often do the words Disney World and Black tech appear in the same sentence? In celebration of its fourth annual conference, Blacks In Technology, LLC and the Blacks In Technology Foundation are inviting the Black tech community to Disney World. BITCon2022 (not to be confused with bitcoin) will see Black tech enthusiasts channel their inner kid while taking home useful gems and new connections. A Tech Conference for the Culture Industry giants like Google, Disney, and Spotify are sponsoring the three-day conference which will take place from October 26-28th. The convention
Soft drink company, Mountain Dew (MTN Dew), has expanded its commitment to Black entrepreneurship by creating a new Esports tournament that will see students compete for a $500,000 prize. Following MTN Dew’s ‘Real Change Opportunity Fund’ initiative in 2020, the soft drink company has joined forces with HBCU Esports League to reinforce their commitment to supporting the next generation of Black entrepreneurs. The tournament, launched last month, will run until October 28 and will be available for any gamers enrolled at an HBCU to register and join. Black representation in gaming The
Drake-backed betting platform, Players’ Lounge has raised $10.5 million in a Series A funding round, according to AfroTech. The funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners included Comcast Ventures, Samsung Next, Vice Ventures, WndrCo, Sharp Alpha Partners, True Capital, Myles Garrett, Josh Norman, and Breanna Stewart. The organization, founded by Austin Woolridge, allows gamers to place bets on matches they are playing against others. In solo, head-to-head competitions, tournament formats, and ongoing competitions, friends can win real money through the Players’ Lounge. For “all kinds of gamers” In an interview
In 2020, there was an outpouring of support for the Black community from the games industry, ranging from donations, and statements in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, to promotions of inclusion programs. And while some firms have undoubtedly taken these lessons on board to build a better workplace going forward, the discourse has quietly moved on; for some companies, the BLM movement was only performative. One of the most extensive studies of racial representation in games was a 2009 study that analyzed 150 of the most popular titles. Black characters comprised 10.7%
The gaming industry is set to reach $222 billion thanks in part to Gen Z consumers who are the biggest and most monetizable audience, according to a new report published by Data.ai. There are more than 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, and with a young demographic it’s scale and appeal is attracting luxury brands like Balenciaga, who became the first luxury brand to partner with Fortnite on four virtual outfits, or “skins”, alongside accessories, weaponry and a virtual Balenciaga destination in-game. And in November, luxury fashion brand Moncler followed with in-game
Level Ex is hiring on pocitjobs.com Todday Gaither has been working at Level Ex for 5 years—first as a Quality Assurance Tester and now as an Assistant Production Manager. The company focuses on creating video games for doctors that capture the challenges of practicing medicine: from puzzling diagnoses to rare surgical complications. Todday thanks his grandmother for pushing him to move to Chicago to pursue a career in technology. In this article, he tells us how he got into tech as an eager child who spent most of his time
