Games Mental Health Summit, presented by Safe In Our World and BAFTA

10:00 - 10:45: Setting Boundaries
Creative & Future Galleries Rooms 2 and 3

Join this training session led by wellbeing specialists Mind Fitness on how to set healthy boundaries. You will learn that the better you become at knowing what is possible and not possible relating to healthy, sustainable work the more you will be serving yourself, your organisation and your community.

Speakers:

Andy Barker is a certified performance coach, trainer and author with a broad experience of corporate senior management. Andy was part of the management team that launched PlayStation, growing it to a sector defining household brand. It was during this time that he developed and formalised his performance coaching knowledge and practice. He is co-author of Unlock You (Pearson 2019), which was shortlisted for Business Book of the Year in 2020.

Brian Cooley is a qualified facilitator, performance coach and author of several plays, training programmes and co-author of two upcoming books: Emotional Health and Unlock Your Team. He has a diverse set of skills that have been developed working in several sectors: education, retail, telecoms, finance, digital, creative arts, hospitality, interactive entertainment and publishing. He is a passionate advocate for the redressing of systemic inequalities in society with a special interest in mental health.



                                                                                                                                                          
10:15 - 11:00: Building Resilience and Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone
Princess Anne Theatre

Listen to industry veteran Shahid Ahmad discuss how we can learn to be more resilient to difficult working environments, push and grow their comfort zone, and battle low confidence within the games industry. He will discuss his own experiences in success, failure and how to cope with both in a responsible way.

Speakers:

Shahid Ahmad, Director at Crescent Code. Shahid has been named one of Games Industry International’s Top 10 Persons of the Year and 100 Top Influencers in the British Games Industry, Develop’s 25 People that Changed Games, one of MCV’s Brit List 100 and received Develop’s Publishing Hero award for his team’s role in opening PlayStation up to developers and for commissioning over 100 titles.

                                                                                           

11:15 - 12:00: Protecting Your Wellbeing Online
Creative & Future Galleries Room 2 and 3

Relevant for any games developer or professional on the frontline or faced with online communities including community managers, join this session led by wellbeing specialists Mind Fitness about how to protect your mental health when faced with negative community sentiment.

Speakers:

Andy Barker is a certified performance coach, trainer and author with a broad experience of corporate senior management. Andy was part of the management team that launched PlayStation, growing it to a sector defining household brand. It was during this time that he developed and formalised his performance coaching knowledge and practice. He is co-author of Unlock You (Pearson 2019), which was shortlisted for Business Book of the Year in 2020.

Brian Cooley is a qualified facilitator, performance coach and author of several plays, training programmes and co-author of two upcoming books: Emotional Health and Unlock Your Team. He has a diverse set of skills that have been developed working in several sectors: education, retail, telecoms, finance, digital, creative arts, hospitality, interactive entertainment and publishing. He is a passionate advocate for the redressing of systemic inequalities in society with a special interest in mental health.



11:30 - 12:15: Sustaining Healthy Productivity
Princess Anne Theatre

Game development isn’t easy – with tight timelines, budget constraints and high expectations, it’s important that the team's wellbeing is looked after. In this panel, speakers will share insights on why avoiding crunch is important, how to sustain productivity in a healthy way throughout a game development cycle and how to effectively project manage to avoid overworking. Hosted by Lauren Kaye, Programme Coordinator at Limit Break.

Speakers:

Kirsty Rigden is the co-CEO of FuturLab, an award-winning independent studio behind games including PowerWash Simulator, Peaky Blinders Mastermind and Velocity 2X. She is the co-founder of Into Games, a non-profit that supports people in joining the games industry and she was named as MCV’s Business Woman of the Year in 2019.

Host: Lauren Kaye is an award-winning diversity campaigner in the games industry and the Programme Coordinator for Limit Break. Lauren is responsible for overseeing the programme and making sure Limit Break’s messaging is heard clear throughout the team. Lauren has a deep passion for elevating the voices in the games industry and is excited to be joining this year’s Limit Break Mentorship Committee offering her years of experience in content creation and journalism. Lauren is MCV’s 2023 Games Campaigner and was featured on GI.Biz’s Top 100 Game Changers and her voice has been featured through notable networks including BBC, iTV, and GinxTV.



13:30 - 14:15: How to Avoid Burnout
Creative & Future Galleries Room 2 and 3

Join this talk led by Stuart John Chuan, a qualified psychologist, as he shares tangible tips on how to recognise and avoid burnout. He will be looking at the challenges of working from home and how that can affect your wellbeing, as well as, discussing ideas on how to build personal and business resilience.

Stuart initially trained as a Forensic Psychologist and qualified over 17 years ago. Since then he’s worked in a number of clinical leadership positions across prisons, psychiatric hospitals and in various community based services such as probation, police, NHS and local authority and corporate banking.



13:45 - 14:30: Functioning in Chaos: The Importance of Balance, Community and Professionalism
Princess Anne Theatre

In this talk, Cassie Hughes will share her insights and tips on her experience balancing community, creation and professionalism whilst embracing inclusivilty within our industry.

Cassie Hughes, Director, creator, consultant, and care manager: Cassie is a streamer, creator and influencer who co-founded Black Twitch UK, a platform dedicated to highlighting the voices and content of black streamers in the UK. She is also the director of Nox Lumina, a platform for events that encourages safe spaces and educational resources as well as the managing director of a care agency that supports vulnerable adults.



14:45 - 15:30: Fireside Chat: Our Mental Health
Creative & Future Galleries Room 2 and 3

Listen to this open, informal chat between industry speakers as they share their experiences of mental health and wellbeing. We hope that this helps normalise conversations about mental health within your own circles and workforce.

Speakers:

Luke Hebblethwaite is the Head of Games at BAFTA, leading the charity in its work to recognise, celebrate and support creative games talent and is a strong advocate for a progressive, inclusive industry, equally accessible by all. In his former role at Ukie, Luke led the UK Games Industry Census, providing a wealth of insight into mental health across the industry.

James Marquis is Ripstone’s in-house Psychology Coach who recently joined to take the company’s commitment to mental health to the next level. Embedded within their studios and teams, James’ expertise, as a longstanding mental health professional, is helping Ripstone build the support, tools and ways of working needed to overcome personal challenges, as well as industry-specific demands. The long-term goal? To holistically improve wellbeing in the games industry in a way that empowers everybody to bring their best selves to work; all while keeping the joy of creating at the forefront of development.

Rosie Taylor is an avid video games enthusiast and advocate for mental health awareness, elimination of stigma and opening up the conversation to everyone. She joined the industry in 2020, previously providing key support to charity volunteers for large events and operations, and now manages the content and community aspects of Safe In Our World. Rosie was named a Game Changer by GIBiz in 2023. Having been surrounded by games her entire life, and faced personal mental health challenges, she is passionate to work within the industry and make a difference.

Host: George Osborn is the co-chair of GamesAid, the games industry charity, and a Director at Taso Advisory. George was previously Head of Communications at Ukie, having worked in the sector for a deacde prior to that. He has also acted as a judge of the BAFTA Game Awards on three occasions.



15:00 - 15:45: Mental Health Representation in Games
Princess Anne Theatre

In this talk, Paul Fletcher (mental health consultant on Ninja Theory's Hellblade) poses a series of questions to our panel on the importance of responsible mental health representation in games, and what games companies can consider when telling a mental health focused narrative.

Speakers:

Gareth Damian Martin is a writer, designer and artist. Their first game, In Other Waters was widely praised by critics for its “hypnotic art, otherworldly audio and captivating writing” (Eurogamer). Their second, Citizen Sleeper, was equally critically acclaimed, nominated for multiple awards and its prose was named "some of the best in all of video games" (Waypoint). Gareth has been called “one of the most exciting indie talents around” (Eurogamer).

Dom Matthews (He/Him) is Studio Head at BAFTA award-winning Ninja Theory, having joined the Cambridge-based developer in 2010. Dom was part of the leadership team on 2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, where he and the team worked closely with experts in both neuroscience and lived-experience to tell the story of a Celtic warrior and her experiences of psychosis. Prior to joining Ninja Theory, Dom spent several years at Capcom, working in a Product Management capacity across a range of IP, including Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Dead Rising. He is now leading Ninja Theory, an Xbox Game Studio, as they develop the much anticipated sequel to Hellblade, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and Project: Mara.

Jane Perry is a London based North American actor, with over 25 years of experience in film, TV, theatre and voice work. She’s experienced in games and motion capture, and has worked on over 60 titles, from independent projects to numerous AAA critically acclaimed IPs. In addition to her performance as Selene in Returnal for which she won Best Performance in a Leading Role at the 2022 BAFTA Games Awards, she is also known for playing Diana Burnwood in the Hitman: Sniper, I, II and III, Rogue in Cyberpunk 2077, Sharon Holt in As Dusk Falls and Karen Bowman in Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Jane also holds a Master’s Degree in Actor Training & Coaching and supports actors in their work in the voice over studio, as well as on stage and screen.

Emma Taylor, RCE Wellbeing Hub and Peer Support Professional Lead. Emma qualified as a Teacher in 2007 and moved into the NHS in 2013 following a significant challenge with their mental wellbeing. She has been fundamental in embedding Recovery Colleges in both LPFT and CPFT and believes in harnessing the power of lived experience via her work within Peer Support. Emma works tirelessly to promote ‘living well with’ her diagnosis of ASD.

Host: Paul Fletcher trained in medicine and psychiatry before taking a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. He is a psychiatrist and Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. He is interested in how video game and related technologies may play a key part in representing and improving mental health. He works with the video game studio, Ninja Theory Ltd.




16:00 - 16:45: Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Creative & Future Galleries Room 2 and 3

Join Sarah Brewster of Fresh Seed and Dom Shaw of UKIE as they host this roundtable talking about neurodiversity. It's a big topic in the ED&I world but do you know how you can support those with neurodiverse conditions in your studio? This session will share experiences, and provide you with some tools and information as well as attempt to capture what more we can do in this space.

Speakers:

Sarah Brewster started Fresh Seed, a plug in People & Culture service to games and the creative sector, to help the industry grow stronger. Fresh Seed is far more than HR, it offers psychological knowhow, and insight and solutions to help organisations thrive and create truly inclusive communities. As specialists in neurodiversity and the issues that face the industry we lead the way in providing expertise that’s relatable.

Dominic Shaw is the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Coordinator for the UK video games and interactive entertainment trade association (Ukie), who manages their award winning flagship diversity initiative – the #RaiseTheGame pledge, and supports other activities and initiatives around EDI. Dom is also an ambassador for the UK’s leading autism research charity, Autistica, who strive to make the games industry a more inclusive environment for autistic and neurodiverse individuals.



16:15 - 17:00: An Inclusive Industry For All
Princess Anne Theatre

How can we work to make an industry where everyone feels that they belong? This panel will tackle this topic from both a company and industry perspective. Panellists will share tips on what we can all do to truly make this an inclusive industry for all.

Speakers:

Dean Barrett, is the Executive Chair at Bastion, a marketing communications agency dedicated to the interactive entertainment industry. Current clients include Amazon Games, Riot Games, Epic Games, Square Enix, Wizards of the Coast, Private Division and Ukie amongst others. The Bastion team of 25 people is based in Shoreditch, London and provides clients with product and corporate marcom services, influencer marketing through its Pinpoint brand and global marcom support through the OneVoice network which Bastion established in 1995. Dean is also Chair of Hillside Clubhouse, a mental health charity based in Islington that supports people with enduring mental illness get back into the workplace.

Ebonix, Co-Founder of Black Twitch UK. Danielle Udogaranya – best known as Ebonix – is a content creator, speaker, Twitch Ambassador, DE&I Games Consultant and self-taught 3D artist. Fuelled by a frustration with the lack of diversity and representation in games such as The Sims 4, she decided to take matters into her own hands by teaching herself 3D modelling and creating hair, clothes and accessories that she felt represented her. Her content quickly struck a chord with others in the gaming community, and led to Danielle working directly with The Sims on the addition of over 100 skintones, afro hair, and nails. Her designs have ushered in a generational change for new and seasoned Simmers, giving everyone the option to create a Sim who looks like them.

Nigel Twumasi, Co-Founder of Mayamada, is a former software engineer turned entrepreneur and the co-founder of mayamada. A keen advocate for diversity, Nigel delivers creative workshops and runs the "Do I Look Like A Gamer?" representation campaign, challenging gaming stereotypes and improving access to creative industries for future generations of diverse talent. He also serves on the London Mayor's Cultural Leadership Board and Children's Media Conference Advisory Committee.

Host: Robin Gray, Founder of Gayming Magazine, is the co-founder and co-CEO of Gray Jones Media, a future-thinking LGBTQ media company headquartered in Birmingham, UK, and with offices in New York City. He is widely recognised not only as an LGBTQ entrepreneur, influencer and cultural evangelist, but also as an advocate for diversity and representation in the video game and wider media world, speaking regularly at industry events around the world championing the growth of representation both in-content and in the workplace. Robin is also a proud Patron of Safe In Our World and is a fierce champion of their incredible work.

With thanks to our Industry Supporters to the event: Bastion, Playstation and Ripstone

Further Information

Please note, owing to the open day nature, the activities will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We encourage you to explore the full range of activity taking place across the building.

Refreshments including light snacks, hot and soft drinks will be available to purchase. However, participants will need to have lunch externally. No external food is allowed into the building.

Visitors may be filmed or photographed for publication or security purposes.

About Safe In Our World

Safe In Our World is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1183344. A team of seasoned gaming veterans passionate about mental health brainstormed for over two years over ways they could make a difference. Launched on World Mental Health Day on October 10th, 2019, its aims are to raise awareness of mental health within the video games industry and to provide resources, signpost help, and drive change for everyone connected with the industry – from developers, publishers, and service providers to content creators and players. Its initial mission is to create an online destination where people can seek help, gain access to resources and information, and discover stories from real people within and surrounding the games industry, with more detailed policies available via the website. Safe In Our World is a worldwide hub accessible for anyone in need.

About BAFTA

BAFTA is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).


Accessibility

BAFTA is an arts charity that is open and welcoming to everyone. This means we want every visit to BAFTA 195 Piccadilly to be as enjoyable and comfortable as possible.

Please be advised:

• If you are attending one of our events at 195 Piccadilly and have access requirements, then please email events@bafta.org with as much notice as possible to discuss these with us.
• If you would prefer to speak to someone over the phone to discuss access requirements, please call our dedicated reception team on 020 7734 0022.
• If you are a wheelchair user then please email events@bafta.org to book your space alongside any accompanying guest(s), with as much notice as possible. Wheelchair spaces are available in the front row or the back row depending on preference and availability.
• If you require BSL translation, please email events@bafta.org to request this with as much notice as possible.
• If you are visually impaired and require seats in the front row, please email events@bafta.org to book your space alongside any accompanying guest(s), with as much notice as possible.
• If you require additional leg room, please email events@bafta.org to book a space in the front or back row, where additional leg room is available.
• Accompanying assistants, carers or companions can attend free of charge. Please email events@bafta.org ahead of the event to book this complimentary ticket.
• Please find a comprehensive Access Guide for our building HERE.
• Our newly developed building has been designed with accessibility in mind, and we have made improvements including adding an additional lift, widening doors and corridors, removing steps and ledges and installing disabled toilets on every floor. Working with Peter Connell Associates, we have made significant changes to improve accessibility, and we will engage with our audiences to continue to improve.

COVID-19

For the latest venue guidance, please see here. If you have any questions, please contact events@bafta.org.

Terms and Conditions

By purchasing a ticket for this event, you agree to the terms and conditions listed below:

Please see here for our Academy Screenings and Events Code.

Please note, the use of professional photography or recording equipment is prohibited during this event.