GX Australia was so amazing and important

I've been at GX for the past few days. This con was such a great experience and I wanted to get some thoughts down about it.

So for those who don't know, GaymerX is a convention for queer / lgbti gamers, and it's run for three years in the US. GX Australia was the first time it's run in Australia. Pretty much every social media outlet I've got has been filled with gushing about how amazing it was, but yeah I wanna try and explain why it's been so important to me and I think to a lot of people.

So first up I should explain that I'm genderfluid. One reason it was so great is that it was somewhere that I could be comfortable presenting how I want in a public place without worrying about judgement or scary moments from randos, since often it's like I can't really do this. The entire atmosphere and vibe was entirely one of acceptance and mutual respect of each others differences.

Let's talk about who was exhibiting on the show floor. If you're not familiar with PAX I'll summarise my impression of the show floor there: huge elaborate booths from motherboard manufacturers showing esports. GX on the other hand: lots of local indie devs who wanna show you their game. None of the bullshit side of the gaming world. Which was really nice. I'm super hype about Objects in Space in which I flailed around in the dark and got blown up.

Panels too. The panel schedule was packed full of really interesting discussions of topics in gaming and I honestly could have spent all day going to panels. But yeah everything I went to was a really insightful and interesting discussion. Particular one that sticks in my head is The evolution of LGBT issues in games over the years which ended up being a really interesting discussion about being LGBT in the industry back in the 90s as compared to today, and how this was reflected in the games. I also found out how it is super easy to make Twine games and now I wanna try that.

At the closing ceremony they were asking people to talk about what they liked about the con and the one thing I heard over and over was how happy everyone was to find a space where they fit and are accepted. I think that's why it's so important, since for queer geeks the mainstream gaming scene is sometimes not that accepting and yeah GX is a good place.

If I bring in the comparison to PAX again, the thing about PAX is it is kinda this insane huge thing that wants to be everything to everyone. The atmosphere there is this crazy crowded insane place which can be a bit exhausting. GX is this lovely nice relaxed place where people are friendly to be each other.

Also this is a con where the passes have a space for name and pronouns. Which is a fantastic idea.

So yeah thank you everyone for making GX Australia be a space people like me can feel comfortable and safe and I hope it happens again in the future!