Pride at Mediatonic 2019

Diversity and authentic representation in games will be only be achieved when studios themselves are diverse and have good representation. Therefore, we love to see studios standing up, supporting their staff and celebrating Pride. And, that’s exactly what happened at Mediatonic in June of this year.

I spoke to Ria Bedford and Jon Payne from the LGBTQ+ Group at Mediatonic about their Party, the Group’s history and why representation is important.

Robin: The night looked like a lot of fun! What was the theme this year?

Ria Bedford: This year’s Mediatonic Pride party was casino themed! We really wanted to amplify our celebration this year, so it needed to be flashy, bold and inviting. We wanted everyone in the studio to feel like they could participate, and the casino theme felt like it ticked all those boxes. Plus, it’d be a perfect way for us to raise money for our chosen charity, Mermaids UK.

How did it all come together?

Ria Bedford: Shopping lists were made, a chip economy was created, prizes were generated, and developers were turned into poker, blackjack and roulette dealers to bring our Pride party to life. We also used Unity to shuffle videos of the Japan World Cup 3 series as a slightly wild attempt at setting up something like horse race betting⁠—which ended up being hugely successful and a far too hilarious component of the party!

Everyone was given a certain amount of free chips to use at our casino tables, and then further chips were given out per any donations that were made. On top of all that, our Office Manager Anna and our event organisers on the LGBTQ+ side made sure our foyer area was decked out for the occasion with plenty of rainbow bunting, rainbow leis to give out, and 200 rainbow jello shots (exquisitely laid out)! Even Totoro was dressed for the occasion.

Our Art Director Phil, along with our Office Manager Anna, also created a very sparkly and very beautiful #TonicPride badge to hand out to all 200 employees ahead of the event too (including our Brighton and Madrid studios), which people are still wearing when they’re out and about even now.

That sounds amazing, what was the reaction from the staff?

Ria Bedford: The night went better than we could have hoped for, the turnout was fantastic and so many people showed up dressed in their finest and brightest. One of the most memorable moments of the night had to be when Panos, one of our senior client engineers, was on a losing streak and had bought back in on poker three times, it was then that he ended up winning six times his original stake. He didn’t stop there though, he gambled it all on roulette on a 2:1 chance and ended up winning – taking the top prize for the night! 

Prizes were also given out for excellent ensembles, including ‘Most Fashionable’, ‘Most Camp’, and ‘Most on Brand’. 

The icing on the rainbow cake for me was that we have managed to raise over £500 for Mermaids UK. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Mediatonic. I don’t know many companies that would trust (let alone provide) their employees with 200 jelly shots and fake gambling!

Why did you choose Mermaids specifically?

Ria Bedford: We chose the Mermaids UK charity because to this day transgender people are one of the most vulnerable groups under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, with 41% of trans people in in the UK having been attacked or threatened with violence in the last five years. One in four trans people have been actively discriminated against in their recent work experience, and 44% of all trans people decide not to disclose it at work due to fear of discrimination. Mermaids UK supports children, young people, and their families to achieve happier lives in the face of great adversity, and we all felt it was a great cause to help this year.

I absolutely LOVE that LGBTQ+ have the visibility and respect at Mediatonic that they actually deserve – other companies can learn big time from us. Loved the outfits and the creativity, I had a great time overall; loved all the details, including the pins!

Alex Raphelt, Studio Art Manager

Tell me more about the LGBTQ+ Group, when did it start?

Jon Payne: Our Mediatonic LGBTQ+ group started back in 2015. There had been a small group of us already for a number of years, but we started talking about making a proper organised group within the company. Initially there was a little reluctance, just because we weren’t really sure how to approach the company about it or let everyone know about us⁠—we weren’t sure what the reaction would be. 

Eventually after chatting with Dave and Paul, our company co-founders, we persuaded Ed Fear into sending out a company-wide email about starting up an official group.

We got way more responses than we ever expected, which was great! In fact we got quite a few people who wanted to join who didn’t identify LGBTQ+ and while obviously all were welcome, the idea was to set up a safe space for people to come out who were maybe more nervous about doing so in a larger environment and talk about queer issues, shows, drag, sex, work, whatever really. It was really great to know regardless of how people identified within the company they were really on board with supporting the group—which has definitely been an ongoing theme for all our Pride parties and talks within the studio.

We set up a Skype group initially and have since moved over to Discord, having grown from a tiny handful of people into 22 members now which is crazy and awesome. We have a really large proportion of bi/pan-identifying persons as well which is great as historically there have been problems with bi/pan-visibilty within the community. 

“It means a lot to work at a company that really supports the community, I’ve always felt included and supported here and I hope others have felt the same. It was great seeing everyone genuinly having an awesome time during our casino night!”

Suze Dyson, Recruitment Sourcer

What events has the Group run in the past?

Jon Payne: Over the years we’ve set up a variety of events – most notably the Pride parties from the last 3 years, which have all been awesome, and it’s been really heartwarming to see how much the company as a whole has embraced it.

Everyone both within and out of the LGBTQ+ group go out of their way to really make sure our Pride events are fun and interactive for everyone. These events feel super important as they show people who may still be a bit nervous about joining or coming out generally that the company is welcoming and that our LGBTQ+ group is always there for them.

We also we do the occasional board game night, pub night etc. which have always gone down well too!

Before I worked at Mediatonic I didn’t really celebrate Pride Month. Being bisexual makes it easier to pass for straight, so I never really felt like I had a right to celebrate it. This didn’t mean I wasn’t prideful, I would always be very open about my sexuality and how it had affected me coming from a small town and a narrow-minded family. But once the LGBTQ+ group was started here at Mediatonic and I was invited to join – a part of me I’d felt was missing was finally returned to me. The group has been vital to me for advice, emotional support and building friendships. My eagerness to arrange celebrations for Pride at Mediatonic is my way of giving back the love I have received from that group, and also to educate people within the company about issues they might not be aware of.

Ria Bedford, Junior Designer

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