Gameheads
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gameheads is an Oakland, California-based video game design education program for low-income youth and youth of color.
Technology writer Damon Packwood co-founded Gameheads in 2014 to improve diversity in the video games industry and other STEAM fields.[1] Packwood noticed that students in low-income neighborhoods had a lot of focus and interest for video games and DIY (do it yourself) culture, but that the emerging tech diversity movement had not yet extended to video games.[2][3] While youth of color spend more time playing video games, they make up less than 20% of industry employees.[3]
The Gameheads program was inspired in part by LittleBigPlanet, a game which gives players the ability to design their own levels. Packwood thought it would be interesting if students could use game design to share their experiences.[4]
The organization is based in Oakland, California.[5]