Matt Conn grew up in rural Vermont, where he felt like an outcast among members of the Gay/Straight Alliance because he is a gamer, but also an outcast among gamers because he is gay. "An alien even to the aliens," he called it.
It took moving thousands of miles west to San Francisco before finding a more accepting environment — or rather, creating one of his own. Last year, he decided to make a change and help others like himself find camaraderie.
Along with cofounder Kayce Brown, Conn harnessed the power of gaming as a tool to raise awareness and curb anti-gay bullying and formed the world's first convention catering to LGBT gamers. Now, the two-day event, GaymerX, is coming to San Francisco Aug. 3 to 4.
The inaugural convention will feature gaming panels, booths, a cosplay competition, concerts and parties. Big-name supporters include EA, Xbox, GLAAD, The Trevor Project, dot429 and Straight But Not Narrow.
Conn and Brown first developed the idea last year as a Kickstarter project (watch their video below). The campaign hit its $25,000 goal in just three days last August, finishing with more than $91,000 in pledges.
"It's not easy growing up a gay geek gamer," says Conn, now 25. "I was bullied a lot. I thought I was one-of-a-kind in a bad way. Being a gay geek is kind of doubly hard to deal with."
In high school, Conn's mother lost her battle with cancer, and Conn found solace in role-playing games like Second Life. After moving to San Francisco, he created the Facebook group SF Gaymers, which eventually evolved into a GaymerConnect, a social site promoting advocacy. Those segued into forming the convention, GaymerX.
Conn refers to GaymerX as his "vehicle to bring awareness to the marginalized queer community," many of whom are gamers who feel left out by the historically male-centric culture, he says.
"We want to bring these dialogues to the mainstream," Conn told Mashable. "We're doing pretty much everything a normal convention would do. When we first started, we had no idea if the Kickstarter was going to work."
So far, Conn says they have sold more than 2,000 tickets. EA has a booth and Xbox Live released a supportive video. A documentary recorded at the convention, Gaming In Color, will focus on the attendees.
According to DFC Intelligence, a market-research firm, the gaming industry was worth almost $80 billion in 2012. But gay communities remain unrepresented, which Conn says reflects a fear of backlash from the gaming community. Among thousands of titles, only a handful include gay characters.
The convention, of course, has its opponents. The extremist Westboro Baptist Church has promised to protest the convention.
Yet Conn and Brown remain undeterred.
"There's a lot of bullying and homophobia in the gaming community," Conn says. "Part of our mission is to help that change."
Tickets are $45 or $60 at the door. VIP tickets include T-shirts, grab bags and access to a red carpet party for $135.
What do you think of GaymerX? Do you agree that the gay community is underrepresented in gaming? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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