CHICAGO — Wicker Park resident Clementina Salucci took up gaming as an adult, drawn to the community it offered her — but disappointed in the hobby’s lack of accessibility and diversity.
When Jonny Saldana, of Avondale, reached out to Salucci about starting an accessible gaming nonprofit in Chicago, Salucci was compelled to join.
Saldana started a similar group in North Carolina in 2020 called Charlotte Gaymers Network; when he moved to Chicago, he wanted to make a gaming community in his new home built around connection, rather than competition, he said. So, Salucci and Saldana co-founded Gotham Gaming in August.
Gotham Gaming seeks to “break down systemic barriers” for marginalized communities through gaming and advocacy efforts, according to its mission statement. Charlotte Gaymers Network, which shares a similar mission to Gotham Gaming, seeks to connect and provide a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ gamers, according to its website.
“Especially after the pandemic, people were craving community again,” Salucci said. “I feel that, coming from the eSports world, which is exciting and high energy, it is something that often lacks intimacy.”
Salucci said gaming culture is often gatekept through skill level and identity. Saldana said he doesn’t see gaming as a “means to an end” like in traditional eSports environments, which are competitive video-gaming leagues.
“What we’re trying to do again is building a place where everyone’s welcome, not just the pros,” Salucci said.
Saldana said Gotham Gaming will have monthly social events, including its flagship Gamer Gathering series, the first of which will serve as the nonprofit’s official launch party at 7 p.m. Friday at Kinowerks, 5645 N. Ravenswood Ave. in Ravenswood. Entry is free, though donations are suggested.
Some of the nonprofit’s social events will continue to be free for attendees. Last month, it held an event featuring five gaming stations through a partnership with Twitch Community MeetUps.
The ability to offer gaming technology, including PlayStations and Nintendo Switches, adds to the inclusivity of Gotham Gaming, said Jefember Villela, the lead organizer for the event and Twitch Community MeetUps in the Chicago area.
“They welcomed anyone who wanted to try, and even if they were shy at first, they were very vocal in saying, ‘This is here for you. This is open to you,’” Villela said.
Although Gotham Gaming is headquartered in Avondale and connects people throughout the city, it does not have a brick-and-mortar space, Saldana said.
Besides social events, the nonprofit raises money for its five main projects: Saturn, Blue Shell, Save Point, Paperclip and Horizon. Each helps causes ranging from providing STEM classes to students to providing mutual aid to community members. Project Horizon currently partners with Lurie Children’s Hospital to bring gaming to patients.
“The gaming industry as a whole has been basically dominated by white straight men for so long,” Saldana said. “It’s just now opening up into this, into this new world of creating stories and spaces where everybody can feel welcome.”
Gotham Gaming’s leaders plan to offer corporate sponsorship programs and an individual giving program, and they are applying to grants to raise funds for these projects, Saldana said.
“We want to use gaming to fuel real change here in our community,” Saldana said.
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