Status Active Country United States | Location(s) San Francisco, CA Inaugurated GaymerX - August 2013 | |
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GaymerX or GX is a fan-facing, LGBT-oriented gaming and geek culture, or gaymer, convention, with panels primarily focused on LGBT issues and debates in the gaming industry, founded by Matt Conn.
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Origin of GaymerX
GaymerX was founded by Matt Conn, a "gay man and lifelong gamer" who felt larger gaming conventions like E3 were, at the time, unwelcoming places for LGBT gamers. The first instance of GaymerX was financed through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, and occurred on August 3rd and 4th, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. Organizers have said the event is about uniting gay gamers, not creating a division among gamers, as they want to create a "safe place" for LGBT gamers.
The planned convention began with significant news coverage of its initial Kickstarter launch, but the event achieved more widespread attention after the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, known widely as a hate group that pickets espousing homophobic statements, announced that they would protest the convention.
GaymerX began with a Kickstarter project launched on August 1, 2012, which was covered by sites such as Examiner and GamePolitics.com. The convention raised over $14,000 in its first two days, exceeded its goal of $25,000 as early as August 6, and ended with over $90,000. Throughout the fundraising campaign, organizers added new support levels, in addition to existing support levels that include admission to the event and voice acting from Ellen McLain. At a session during the convention, McLain took part as assistant to a marriage proposal to help an attendee propose to his boyfriend by voicing a version of the song Still Alive with reworked lyrics.
GaymerX2 was held at the InterContinental Hotel between July 11–13, 2014 in downtown San Francisco. It featured Darren Young, the first openly gay wrestler in the WWE, who revealed that he would be a playable character in the upcoming WWE 2K15.
GXDev: Everyone Creates
GXDev: Everyone Creates, was a game jam and hackathon that happened over January 9th through 11th in 2015 and featured over 40 developers who produced over 10 games featuring queer content and themes, including one about "dating butts", and one about polyamory.