Pop Up Playground Pulls Out of PAX Australia Gaming Conference

By: Zain Nabi  |   July 4th, 2013   |   Games, News

An Australian gaming start-up Pop Up Playground has pulled out of the PAX Australia Gaming Conference that is scheduled after a couple of weeks. The decision has come on moral grounds with the start-up expressing concerns over mishandling of some serious issues by conference coordinator Penny Arcade.

 

Penny Arcade triggered a controversy in 2010 over a comic that mentioned rape and recently was found engaged in another similar issue. The panel members of Pop Up Playground chose to ignore the publicity and exposure they would have received in the gaming conference and instead decided to stand firm on their principles.

 

According to Pop Up Playground, the gaming culture should suit everyone and make them feel comfortable, but their panel argued that this was not the case with conference and its coordinator Penny Arcade. Pop Up Playground game mechanic Ben McKenzie told StartupSmart:

 

“We place our values above any kind of publicity we could get.  We had a discussion about doing the panel in the light of the social media controversy. Some of the panel members weren’t as deeply steeped in video game culture as I am, and they weren’t as aware of Penny Arcade’s history. But when they knew about it, they decided they didn’t really want to be involved with that.”

 

McKenzie also seemed a bit annoyed with the dull treatment the authorities have given to the complaints made to highlight this problem. He said:

 

“Our issue isn’t so much with the local team, but the panel’s inclusion and how it’s been apologised for shows us that they haven’t distanced themselves very far from long-standing issues Penny Arcade have, including transphobia, rejecting the idea of rape culture and not being responsible with triggering ideas.”

 

Earlier, an American video game developer The Fullbright Company also pulled out of the gaming conference for the same reason. McKenzie shared his thoughts on the company’s move and said:

 

“It’s fair to say it’s not a big deal for Popup Playground to pull out of PAX. It was a big PR opportunity, but perhaps the PAX attendees aren’t our core target market. It was a huge opportunity for Fullbright, but as a diverse person team with two women, they didn’t feel they could do it personally.”

 

Meanwhile, StartupSmart quoted a statement from PAX Australia representative Guy Blomberg:

 

“All of our decision-making and policies are meant to keep the show as open and welcoming as possible, and like our other US events, we have sessions and content that promotes healthy and safe discussions specifically about embracing people from all backgrounds.”

 

Pop Up Playground makes game in which people interact with each other. They are not computer games and instead involve physical participation of the players.

 

Photo: PopUpPlayground