Pride 2022: In The Spotlight
Pride Month is a time to remember that we need to be uplifting diverse voices and highlighting the fantastic work they do across the games industry – not just for the month, but every day of the year! We've shone the spotlight on three of our star Mighty Kingdom team members, their achievements, and the importance of Pride.
Dakota Sauvé
Senior Producer (he/him)
Dakota has a background in corporate project management roles in male dominated industries like engineering, automotive and IT. He jokes: “That of course had its own onslaught of challenges!”
He made the move into his own indie game dev projects a couple of years back, and has been working towards a full-time opportunity as a producer. Since joining Mighty Kingdom recently, Dakota has worked on Ava’s Manor, as well as unannounced titles. He’s also working on a range of unreleased indie games still in the making! When not managing projects, Dakota composes video game music and experimental pop music, as well as learning sound design on the side for fun.
And a little fun fact about Dakota: he also has an extra tooth!
“To me, Pride Month is a celebratory time where it feels like our queer voices are heard in a way that is far less filtered than the rest of the year, which is unfortunate to be fair! Awareness is at its height, and it lets us get the spotlight for some time and we get to feel celebrated for being who we are, which can often be challenging territory for some considering the history of the LGBTQIA+ community. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure that our world is a safe place for every member of the queer community, more specifically our trans, intersex and non-binary people. I personally tend to celebrate in a more ‘indirect way’ these days. Usually through reaching out and supporting my queer friends in a comradery that just feels a bit more magical than the rest of the year. After moving to Australia to be with my same-sex partner, I'm just not much of a party animal these days. I tend to enjoy quiet nights in with him watching RuPaul's Drag Race, Studio Ghibli movies or playing Nintendo games. It's a tiny bit of a shame because pride parties really are the bee's knees. I tend to do my pride work in small increments every single day by being openly gay and confidently quirky in a leadership position without omission, as well as by educating those around me in the effort to continue to make this world a safer and more inclusive place.”
Rebekah Little
Game Designer (she/her)
Rebekah is an award-winning designer and Women in Games Ambassador with a passion for environmental narrative design and a proportionate love of the game Unpacking. During her graduate year at Mighty Kingdom, she contributed extensively to the narrative design and writing of Star Trek: Lower Decks: TBD; a dream come true for this astrophysicist. Rebekah is also a qualified teacher, who has put her skills to use as a presenter at the Technically Games Conference, a keynote speaker for the South Australian orientation day of the National Youth Science Forum, and facilitator of the Writer’s SA Teen Writer’s Club.
“For me Pride is a reminder of what the community has been through, where we are now and the work we (as a society) still need to do. I don't celebrate per se but treat it as a reminder to continue to work towards the future all year round.”
Emma Losin
Game Designer (she/her)
Emma is a game designer at Mighty Kingdom, who was nominated and received a special mention for Ingames 2019. She was a Different Games Ambassador in 2019 and 2020, and a mentor for Mighty Kingdom’s 2021 Design Graduates, as well as aspiring game developers from the wider industry.
Emma has run workshops alongside the Red Cross, Mighty Kingdom and HerTechPath. Additionally, she has represented the studio speaking at games events with a focus on data, data driven narrative, and analytics for games. She has worked across many of Mighty Kingdom’s projects including Wild Life, Danger Days, Peter Rabbit Run!, the Shopkins Suite, Star Trek: Lower Decks: TBD, as well as unannounced products.
In her spare time, Emma is also the product manager on a small existential horror experience exploring inevitability and deterministic philosophy based on previous artwork. It’s not all work! Outside of games, Emma does comedy, improv, watercolour painting, takes care of many plants, plays the mandola, and teaches her cat, Nori, tricks.
“Pride Month is something I look forward to. There’s a spotlight on members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and many of my friends are involved in productions, interviews and so on. It’s nice to see my peers sharing their experiences or feeling safe to express themselves in ways that don’t happen as much during the rest of the year. I always make time to go to at least one event each year, and I always make a new friend or two.
Last year, I went to a production held by a good friend, and table seating was randomly assigned. I was seated next to a stranger, and we had a lovely conversation about how things have changed over the years as she grew up and the progress she has seen. I love that, different experiences can be shared, and that sense of community during Pride Month.”