Welcoming Alexis, Black Lives Matter Donations and More!
/Well helloooooo there!
First off, welcome to our newest employee, Alexis! I think his words put it best—his job is to “fill in the cracks where needed and generally act as a jack-of-all-trades with an emphasis on prototyping.” There were some excellent candidates who applied, but his technical knowledge and experience with tool-building in Unity made him a perfect fit for our search.
As you probably know, we’ve been prototyping new game ideas and it’s been amazing to see how quickly the prototypes can move forward with his help. We’re psyched! It’s also interesting to note that he’s been with the team for three weeks now and we’ve never met in person, and probably won’t for a little while despite us all being in Montreal together.
Here’s one of my favourite things from his portfolio, a foliage tool that lets you plant seeds and procedurally see them flourish in your scene:
Also, our Ultimate Chicken Horse vinyl records are shipping now. If you haven’t gotten one yet (and you like records), here it is!
Next up, we wanted to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement and our commitment to helping to fight against racism and prejudice in the games industry and beyond. You may have seen our statement on social media right when the protests were starting in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the U.S. In that statement, we promised that we were dedicating time to thinking about how we can help moving forward, and our plan is drafted and currently being reviewed. We will share it as soon as we can.
First off, we’re making a one-time donation of $40,500 to help support the Black Lives Matter movement through a number of organizations that help support black youth, fight hate groups, give scholarships, and more. We split this donation among the organizations below:
Canadian Race Relations Foundation: The CRRF contributes to the elimination of racism and racial discrimination in Canadian society through research, distribution of information, resources, consultation, training, promotion of policies and programs, and more.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network: Monitors, exposes, and counters hate groups in Canada.
Black Youth Helpline: Multicultural helpline and services for children, youth, families, school boards, and other youth serving organizations.
DESTA Black Youth Network: Supports Black youth aged 18 to 35 in reaching their educational, employability, and entrepreneurial goals.
This shows how massive the Montreal protest in support of Black Lives Matter was. We’re proud! Video by Renzel
Black Business and Professional Association: The BBPA aims to advance Black communities in Canada by delivering programs that support business and professional excellence, education, and economic development.
Marsha P Johnson Institute: The MPJI protects and defends the human rights of Black transgender people by organizing, advocating, creating a healing community, and developing transformative leadership.
Center for Research Action on Race Relations: Promotes racial equality and combats racism in Canada through advocacy and legal defense, charter research and litigation, research-action projects, conferences and seminars, consultations and training, and more.
Black Health Alliance: Working to improve the health and well-being of Black Communities in Canada through research, public policy, fundraising, and more.
Standing Committee for the Support of Demonstrators: The SCSD aims at supporting individuals facing repression in the context of demonstrations and street protests.
Clinique Juridique de Saint-Michel: The CJSM promotes access to justice though legal consultation services, conferences and workshops.
Protégeons Montréal-Nord Ensemble: A Hoodstock initiative to distribute protective equipment and sanitation kits to one of Canada's poorest and most densely populated neighborhoods, which has been hit extremely hard by COVID-19.
But we recognize that a one-time donation, while helpful, isn’t a long-term solution to racism or a long-term commitment to anti-racism. For that reason, we’ve formalized our commitment to help all groups that are underrepresented in the games industry in a number of ways. It starts with learning, and continues with varying levels of financial commitment including long-term sponsorships of important organizations in the industry, donations, funding for investments into teams led by members of marginalized communities, and more. We’re still finalizing that page and will share it on our social media as soon as it’s ready. It will also be included in next month’s blog post.
None of these donations would be possible without the amazing community around Ultimate Chicken Horse, so we have you to thank most of all for the opportunity to help fight this cause. It’s amazing to me that through a cartoony party game, we can potentially help people in a significant way and try to fight for lasting change in our industry. Thank you again!
<3
The Clever Endeavour Team
