Gordon Bellamy on inclusivity in games: "When you're able to find yourself... it has great meaning"

During our time at San Diego Comic Con Malaga, we had the luxury to speak with one of the most influential figures in sports video games. Our very own David Caballero had the opportunity to host a panel with Gordon Bellamy, perhaps known best for his time on the Madden NFL series from EA Sports, in a lengthy conversation and interview that you can see below with localised subtitles.

In that discussion, the conversation shifted to inclusion in video games and how important it is to deliver broad diversity in titles, and how even minor changes and additions can go a long way.

"I think today it's very common that everyone wants to be able to see themselves in games," Bellamy began. "Everyone wants to be a default player, right? And most games have customisation of clothes, of looks, of everything, so that whether it's like you or like you imagine yourself to be in this universe, that's a very normal behavior. And so I think back then I recognised that more people want to be able to see themselves in the game."

As a point of reference, Bellamy then provided a great example as to how simple inclusive changes can go a very long distance.

"So true story, like at the same time I was also... I'm left-handed, is anyone here left-handed? Is it just me? Okay, you're with me. So it starts with scissors if you're left-handed, where they don't even tell you that the scissors are not left-handed and you sit there and you go, 'I can't scissor, wah', right? And so once you have a pair of left-handed scissors, it's a magical moment, you understand, because you're like, oh, scissors. Well, it's the same feeling with games, right? When you're able to find yourself and just be from the start all that you are, it has great meaning.

"And so back then we not only had black players, but we had create-a-player. So in that case, we actually co-opted a game called Track and Field. We turned that into create-a-player, right, so that you yourself could be in the game because we had the players, like you could be a star player on your favorite team. But what if you wanted to be you? What if you wanted to be your brother, your sister, your mom, your dad, right? Which at the time was very progressive because people were like, 'what do you mean? It's in the game. It's in the game', right? We were like, yeah, and it'd be great if we could also be in the game."

Don't miss the interview for more on what FIFA games borrowed from Madden titles of the 90s, and more. And for extra on diversity and inclusion in video games, don't miss our recent conversation with South of Midnight's lead actress Adriyan Rae, where she explained how "these stories are wanted, needed, and necessary".