91:. She has been a fan of tabletop and video games from her early childhood. She has recalled that "games were another way to flex my imagination. I loved reading, and I treated it as an extension of being able to read and go to these different places – in games you can literally visit another world... It was an escape, it was relaxing, it was formative"; she stated that she learned Black and queer characters were only given "incidental" roles and that "people who look like me" were not "full character...who get to save the world".
33:
231:. In 2020, I Need Diverse Games ceased its scholarship program after the pandemic. The foundation lost its charity status and its website shut down in 2024. The organization also runs seminars on diversity at other games industry events, and highlights the work of underrepresented people.
216:, when it was one of several used in anti-Gamergate tweets. Tweets using the hashtag were primarily those sharing positive messages about a desire for increased diversity and broader representation in video games.
117:(2018), an anthology of essays from games industry professionals and players who felt marginalized by the industry. Additionally, she is a 2020 Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellow at
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game. DePass has said she is "sick of games where I don't get to be the hero". Despite pre-dating the controversy, the hashtag became particularly popular during the
109:, and provides diversity consultation services to game development studios and organizations. She is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and
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and fundraising campaigns. One of the organization's initiatives is to provide financial support and passes to video game conferences such as the
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was devoted to "Black
Excellence in Gaming", with the committee awarding two dozen black people in the industry specifically, including DePass.
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Evans, Sarah Beth; Janish, Elyse (2015). "#INeedDiverseGames: How the Queer
Backlash to GamerGate Enables Nonbinary Coalition".
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named DePass one of their 4 "Gamers of the Year" for 2020. She was also named one of the inaugural Future Class at
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561:"Black Streamers Are Grateful For New Twitch Viewers, But Heartbroken It Took Police Violence To Make It Happen"
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DePass founded a non-profit using the name I Need
Diverse Games in August 2016. The organization, based in
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79:. She is the founder of the non-profit organization I Need Diverse Games, which she established in 2016.
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DePass has written articles on topics of diversity, feminism, and race, for publications including
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1087:"Dungeons & Dragons Launches The Black Dice Society, a Creepy Ravenloft Streaming Show"
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https://pressreality.com/2021/06/17/tina-charles-tells-tanya-depasss-story-in-game-changer/
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176:
983:"How tabletop RPG actual play shows are inspiring a new generation of fans — and products"
8:
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In 2014, DePass used the hashtag #INeedDiverseGames while responding to a statement from
1060:"Into the Mother Lands interview: Twitch invests in an RPG show led by people of color"
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claiming that it would not be feasible to animate female characters for the upcoming
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768:"I Need Diverse Games works to give minorities and women a louder voice in gaming"
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727:"WNBA Star Tina Charles Uses New Film 'Game Changer' to Incite Change in Gaming"
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Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in the film
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314:"'I need diverse games!' How an angry tweet became a life-changing moment"
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957:"'It's cool now': why Dungeons & Dragons is casting its spell again"
161:, for which DePass was the special features editor, was nominated for a
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509:"The frustrating, enduring debate over video games, violence, and guns"
106:
457:"N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy Receiving Fantasy RPG Adaptation"
143:
Online, DePass goes by the username
Cypheroftyr. She is a streamer on
281:
535:"For Streamers Dealing With Stalkers, Twitch's Solutions Fall Short"
613:"One of tabletop gaming's biggest awards celebrates Black creators"
50:
132:'s Broken Earth trilogy (2020). Her work has been featured in the
665:"The Game Awards Announces The Future Class and Tribute Painting"
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1113:"D&D: The Black Dice Society Arrive In Ravenloft On April 1"
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actual play show on the official
Wizards of the Coast channels.
482:"Tanya DePass on Bringing The Fifth Season to the Gaming Table"
171:
1009:"Rivals of Waterdeep is Dungeons & Dragons' Flagship Show"
1142:
1035:"A New Twitch Series Will Take You INTO THE MOTHER LANDS"
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Twitch channel. She is also the creative director of the
155:—the stream raised over $ 140,000 USD in a single day.
147:, where she has faced harassment. In 2020, during the
258:. The show began in 2018 in Chicago as an official
151:, DePass ran a charity stream to raise funds for
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746:https://tribecafilm.com/films/game-changer-2021}
942:"Get more from I Need Diverse Games on Patreon"
407:Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins
115:Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins
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860:
357:Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play
75:, is an American journalist, activist and
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16:American journalist, activist and streamer
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381:"Tanya DePass's schedule for OrcaCon2020"
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71:(born 1973), also known by her username
1204:21st-century American women journalists
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587:"Here are the 2019 Hugo Award nominees"
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262:production, broadcast on the official
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637:Totilo, Stephen (December 30, 2020).
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274:. In 2021, DePass became a player in
254:livestream, which features a cast of
190:. The short documentary premiered at
1184:20th-century African-American people
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863:"20 women in gaming you should know"
792:Porter, Justin (February 25, 2017).
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533:Grayson, Nathan (January 29, 2019).
455:Patterson, Adreon (August 5, 2019).
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1239:American Twitch (service) streamers
1189:21st-century African-American women
1179:20th-century African-American women
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1085:Hoffer, Christian (April 1, 2021).
1007:Hoffer, Christian (June 21, 2020).
955:Stuart, Keith (November 29, 2019).
861:Spiegelman, Karen (March 2, 2020).
820:QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking
359:. DK Publishing. pp. 336–337.
124:DePass is the co-developer for the
87:DePass grew up in a poor family in
13:
1219:African-American women journalists
1033:Knox, Kelly (September 29, 2020).
981:Farough, Amanda (March 17, 2020).
892:"How You Can Support Black Gamers"
663:Mass, Hunter (December 10, 2020).
312:MacDonald, Keza (April 14, 2022).
14:
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1209:21st-century American journalists
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585:Liptak, Andrew (April 2, 2019).
559:Grayson, Nathan (June 4, 2020).
186:, directed by basketball player
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611:Hall, Charlie (July 30, 2020).
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507:Romano, Aja (August 26, 2019).
163:Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine
1111:Baird, Scott (April 1, 2021).
917:"I Need Diverse Games Patreon"
639:"The Gamers Of The Year, 2020"
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1:
1229:American activist journalists
794:"A Fresh Narrative in Gaming"
409:. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
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214:Gamergate harassment campaign
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1224:African-American journalists
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890:Notis, Ari (June 2, 2020).
405:DePass, Tanya, ed. (2018).
43:1973 (age 50–51)
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1199:African-American activists
229:Game Developers Conference
134:Victoria and Albert Museum
113:. DePass is the editor of
1234:Journalists from Illinois
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30:
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435:Annenberg Innovation Lab
1214:Activists from Chicago
1194:Actual play performers
355:Marie, Meagan (2018).
286:Dungeons & Dragons
277:The Black Dice Society
264:Dungeons & Dragons
242:Dungeons & Dragons
165:in 2019. In 2020, the
840:10.14321/qed.2.2.0125
832:10.14321/qed.2.2.0125
272:Into the Mother Lands
149:George Floyd protests
461:Comic Book Resources
260:Wizards of the Coast
198:I Need Diverse Games
177:The Game Awards 2020
25:Tanya Colleen DePass
270:actual play series
248:Rivals of Waterdeep
138:Design/Play/Disrupt
798:The New York Times
488:. January 24, 2023
1066:. October 9, 2020
416:978-1-138-55904-2
366:978-0-7440-1993-3
167:Diana Jones Award
159:Fireside Magazine
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59:Years active
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1120:. Retrieved
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1094:. Retrieved
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1070:December 21,
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385:OrcaCon 2020
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319:The Guardian
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188:Tina Charles
184:Game Changer
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69:Tanya DePass
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62:2014–present
18:
1169:1973 births
1064:VentureBeat
987:VentureBeat
867:VentureBeat
492:January 25,
252:actual play
128:, based on
73:Cypheroftyr
1163:Categories
1117:ScreenRant
926:August 21,
701:"Archived"
622:August 16,
596:August 16,
292:References
235:Web series
83:Early life
848:141971312
711:April 19,
591:The Verge
325:April 16,
282:Ravenloft
140:exhibit.
1122:April 1,
1096:April 1,
1018:June 22,
669:GameRant
466:June 10,
440:June 10,
390:June 10,
77:streamer
51:Illinois
1039:Nerdist
992:June 6,
966:June 6,
921:Patreon
901:June 6,
872:June 6,
803:June 6,
777:June 6,
617:Polygon
570:June 6,
544:June 6,
518:June 6,
486:Gizmodo
284:themed
245:in the
225:Patreon
221:Chicago
204:Ubisoft
111:GaymerX
102:Polygon
89:Chicago
47:Chicago
896:Kotaku
846:
838:
643:Kotaku
565:Kotaku
539:Kotaku
413:
363:
268:Cortex
172:Kotaku
145:Twitch
95:Career
53:, U.S.
844:S2CID
836:JSTOR
1154:IMDb
1124:2021
1098:2021
1072:2022
1046:2020
1020:2020
994:2020
968:2020
928:2024
903:2020
874:2020
805:2020
779:2020
713:2023
676:2022
650:2020
624:2020
598:2020
572:2020
546:2020
520:2020
494:2023
468:2020
442:2020
411:ISBN
392:2020
361:ISBN
327:2022
280:, a
107:Vice
105:and
40:Born
1152:at
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732:BET
513:Vox
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