News — GAMING

At his first gaming competition, 11-year-old Jamaican Dominic Darby became one of 17 winners out of the more than 3,000 people who participated in the XPRIZE Connect Code Games competition last year. This was his first attempt at creating his own video game. In addition to his win in the junior division, he was named “Best in Class”.

The St. Catherine native also took home $1,000 after entering the California-based competition with 70 participants also from Jamaica. The more than 3,000 competitors were aged between 10 and 18 and the winners were announced at a virtual event held last month.

The competition was put together in partnership with video game developer E-Line Media and supported by Endless Network, which aims to enhance lives through technology.

Darby is not new to coding. The 11-year-old first encountered MIT’s Scratch coding software at the age of six after attending a summer program held at the University of West Indies, his mother Shellian Darby said. Also, his coding knowledge is largely self-taught from watching YouTube tutorials and reading books about coding which is practically one of his hobbies, Darby’s mother added.

For his winning game entitled “How To Fall”, Darby used the MIT Scratch coding software to create a game character that moves through multiple levels while getting away from obstacles, according to jamaicans.com. After months of trials and errors, Darby finished his first-ever game and entered the XPRIZE Connect Code Games: A Global Game-Making Challenge, facing off with pros and rookies alike.

The Wolmer’s Preparatory School student said he never expected to win. “When I realized I won, I felt good and I wanted to tell everyone, but I couldn’t at the time. This is my first time entering an international competition and to win it feels amazing,” he was quoted by The Gleaner.

When he is not studying or coding, Darby, like every kid his age, enjoys playing video games particularly Roblox and Minecraft. He hopes to be a computer science engineer soon.

A Black woman is poised to change the gaming industry this week as the first to enter the male-dominated space of owning a collegiate esports and gaming company aimed to catapult Black college students beyond consumers and competitors into creators and career professionals.

After more than 20 years of running a successful celebrity events and experiential marketing firm, Atlanta-based entrepreneur Keshia Walker kicks off the Black Collegiate Gaming Association (BCGA) to introduce Black college students to the gaming/esports industry. The company will partner with leading historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to offer a 360-degree approach to learning about, and gaining access, to the burgeoning technology industry.

BCGA's programming incorporates: virtual and on-campus curriculums; inter-collegiate video gaming competitions; internships and post-graduation job opportunities; team-building and leadership training; professional development and networking events; scholarships and mentorships; and, on-campus esports and gaming labs. Participating schools can also build competitive esports teams to challenge each other in tournaments for scholarships, cash and other prizes.

Walker has already secured 16 HBCUs as charter members, including Jackson State University, North Carolina A&T, Texas Southern University and her own alma mater, Florida A&M University. In addition, Intel, GameStop, Nacon Gaming, and Hitmarker have all signed on as corporate partners. Walker says this is just the beginning of how she plans to leverage BCGA to diversify both the pro-competitive gaming and corporations in the industry.

"Gaming is a $159B industry and 73 percent (73%) of African Americans ages 13 years or older identify themselves as gamers. Yet, only 3 percent of those working in the gaming industry are Black and a mere 1 percent are professional gamers. Those numbers just don't add up," said Keshia Walker, founder and chairman, of BCGA.

"There is a huge opportunity to diversify the gaming industry to be more reflective of its customer base while exposing young people to promising career opportunities. BCGA is here to open doors and literally change the game of gaming."

BCGA will launch its programming next month with "Military Play," an online three-day esports and gaming virtual tournament. Players will compete in Madden 21, Rocket League and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The Veterans Day weekend competition will honor all those who serve and have served in the military. Winners will receive cash and prizes.

Further, BCGA will make history this spring by hosting the first ever multi-city "Black College Con" and "Women Got Game" summits. "Black College Con" is scheduled to kick off in Atlanta and take place during HBCU conference tournaments in February and March; while "Women Got Game" will take place in March during Women's History Month. Both innovative conferences will be centered around: dialogue relevant to Blacks and women of color in the gaming industry; esports competitions; and connecting Black and female college students of color with multicultural industry leaders for advice, mentoring, education, internships and career opportunities in gaming and esports.