The Brief: Esports is the term used to describe competitive visual gaming, an industry which has grown massively over the past couple years. The industry is very inclusive compared to other sports, anyone of any gender and almost all ages can play and compete, and it’s something everyone has potential to excel at and compete with the pros. To increase interest and understanding further we want to encourage more people to step into the world of competitive gaming by creating a gender inclusive organisation that allows to showcase the talent of people with diverse gender identities. Pushing out further into the diversity of the industry and showing that women and non-binary people are just as capable to compete in the same leagues and teams as men. The Organisation must be a friendly, fun, and confident brand which is diverse, inclusive and appeals to people of various genders. The branding should also make it look genuine and so that it could be seen working alongside other existing brands and teams. It needs to look welcoming enough to new players wanting to compete, but also look strong enough that existing players would feel comfortable enough being associated with a strong organisation backing them.
My Insight: Despite the industry being ‘mixed’ gender wise, it’s not an even split and is predominately male dominated on screen. Behind the scenes there are lots of women working hard, we just don’t see as much in tournaments as part of a team. Most pro teams consist of men, although anyone is capable to play on a professional team, but we more so see women play in a league or tournament made specifically to make a point that there is a team of women. Why isn’t there an open space in the Pro scene for mixed teams to compete?
My Solution: Esports is unique in the fact that it’s the only fully inclusive sport and anyone has the ability to compete. At a higher level we see a lot more men than women and the teams and leagues are always gender separated. Equinox is a professional Esports Organization that has mixed gendered Rosters, to bring some balance and equality into the world of competitive gaming. We want to show that women have the ability to compete alongside men and there should be an equal playing field.
