Posted on Jul 4, 2022
These Latino gamers are blazing a path for the next generation of game designers
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Growing up in Mexico City, Fernando Reyes Medina was involved in video games "every step of the way."
As a teen, Medina — now an award-winning game designer at 343 Industries, the Microsoft studio that creates Halo games — and his friends would rent an Xbox for 50 cents an hour at internet cafes to play Halo 2 split-screen. After connecting to Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online multiplayer gaming service, he saw how gaming served as a tool to connect people from across the world. As a result, his passion for Halo and gaming grew into a career ambition.
But with few visible Latino gaming figures to draw inspiration from and limited gaming-related pipelines in Mexico, Medina's dream of working for the Halo franchise seemed increasingly out of reach.
“I didn’t understand how difficult the path was going to be,” he told NBC News. “I was just like, this is the thing I want to do and I just don’t see myself doing anything else.”
As a teen, Medina — now an award-winning game designer at 343 Industries, the Microsoft studio that creates Halo games — and his friends would rent an Xbox for 50 cents an hour at internet cafes to play Halo 2 split-screen. After connecting to Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online multiplayer gaming service, he saw how gaming served as a tool to connect people from across the world. As a result, his passion for Halo and gaming grew into a career ambition.
But with few visible Latino gaming figures to draw inspiration from and limited gaming-related pipelines in Mexico, Medina's dream of working for the Halo franchise seemed increasingly out of reach.
“I didn’t understand how difficult the path was going to be,” he told NBC News. “I was just like, this is the thing I want to do and I just don’t see myself doing anything else.”
These Latino gamers are blazing a path for the next generation of game designers
Posted from nbcnews.com
Video Games
Mexico City
Microsoft
Xbox
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Like Peña, Medina noticed the lack of Latino representation and visibility across the industry. He helped co-found Latinx in Gaming, an organization dedicated to help other Latinos break into the industry and gain access to education, competition and networking opportunities through career fairs with recruiters and friendly social events.
“The door shouldn’t exist, but while it exists, we’re going to teach you how to open it,” Medina, who serves as the organization’s Latin America director, said. “It’s just basically try to offer all the resources that we wanted to have when we were starting our careers and that would have made it easier for us to to succeed and to be where we are today.”
For those interested in a gaming-related career, Medina recommends finding a part-time job or internship earlier in one's college education to boost the chances of finding a full-time position post-college."
..."Like Peña, Medina noticed the lack of Latino representation and visibility across the industry. He helped co-found Latinx in Gaming, an organization dedicated to help other Latinos break into the industry and gain access to education, competition and networking opportunities through career fairs with recruiters and friendly social events.
“The door shouldn’t exist, but while it exists, we’re going to teach you how to open it,” Medina, who serves as the organization’s Latin America director, said. “It’s just basically try to offer all the resources that we wanted to have when we were starting our careers and that would have made it easier for us to to succeed and to be where we are today.”
For those interested in a gaming-related career, Medina recommends finding a part-time job or internship earlier in one's college education to boost the chances of finding a full-time position post-college."
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