mmm regular Level Up content...delicious.  The aggregation is delightful

For those that have not read Convergence Culture by Mr. Jenkins I highly recommend it.  If you enjoyed the linked article you are likely to find the book most enlightening.

Having just survived a six hour marathon session of Dungeons and Dragons where I was the only white guy, I am resonating with the questions posed by this interview.  I know I surprise my friends and relatives when I described the diversity (3 African American, 1 Japanese, 1 Latino, and me) of our little play group.  Having been in the "fandom" of not only video games, but table and card gems also, I know for a fact that the field of this fandom may never have been limited to the sterotype of fat underage white kids in their parents basement.

Hopefully the reality of all this discussion is just the maturity of our adolescent hobbies into the pastimes of the next generation.  A flowering of gaming and gamers from the basement dwellers and underground enthusiasts to the big leagues and championships of tomorrow.

RE #2

LOL. I'm not even sure what they were carrying on about, but they seemed awfully serious...maybe even mirthless. Wow.

RE: #1

Wow! That has to be one of the best pieces I've read in a long time. A few things that struck a chord with me:

"Are there things that fan communities might do to become more racially diverse?"

That's an excellent question! I think there are, but judging by the reaction to your critique of RE5 trailer, "minority" gamers (not just race, but ideological minorities) are still expected to

know their place".

"Perhaps the most a particular fandom community might do in terms of diversity is recognize that freer flow, and not police their boundaries quite so vehemently when it comes to discussions of race, gender, sexuality, class, etc. vis-Ã -vis their favorite media products."

Double Amen! I don't understand why I'm a "racist" because I might, gasp, want my game avatar to have brown skin like me. Or even, actually have "ethnic" hair instead of Caucasian hair pasted onto a brown body (LOL @ Fallout 3 character creation!)

"But really, Wu-Tang Clan is pretty damn geeky if you ask me, especially The Rza. I mean. Wu-Tang Clan. Let's announce our geekstyle love of subcultual fandom in a more blatant way! "

True! LOL @ Bobby Digital!!

That was a damn good read. Thanks for that.