WonderCon 2024 Panel: Games for Social and Cultural Reflection

Alix Catherine returns to WonderCon 2024 with a thought-provoking panel on how different forms of gaming can improve upon our social and cultural understanding and appreciation.

The “Games for Social and Cultural Reflection” panel was held on Sunday, March 31st, and delved into popular platforms of gaming and how they reflect and comment on dissecting gaming narratives, characters, and mechanics that contribute to cultural commentary.

Games for Social and Cultural Reflection Panel

The Games for Social and Cultural Reflection panel was created by Kurosh Jozavi (founder, KJ Productions), and moderated by Alix Catherine (host, The Welcome Party). During the panel, Alix challenged panelists Earl Baylon (actor, Tomb Raider Series), Anais Morgan (casting director & social media manager, Infinite Sided Die), Ronell Crawford (co-creator, 8-Bit Closed Fist), and JPG (pop culture educator, InterMyth) with exploring beyond the games themselves. Specifically, she asked them to analyze and critique what it means when we resonate with stories and characters. 

Alix began by asking the panelists for a breakdown on the definition of “social and cultural reflection,” to which JPG stated it comes from the concept of reflection theory:

“Reflection Theory is so important, especially when it comes to games, because not only should we be playing the games but we should be Thinking about why these games are important and why they resonate with us.” 

Kurosh Jozavi (founder, KJ Productions) added to this by explaining why transparency and representation as a primary focus (in games) is important.

Gaming in 2024

The panelists shared their love and early experiences with games, ranging from console games, TTRPGs, board games, D&D (Dungeons and Dragons), and Magic. They discussed what it was like growing up with these forms of media and struggling to find an early connection with representation, reflection, and a point of view. When asked “what particular games resonated with you culturally and why?” by Alix, the panelists were more inclined to state what was lacking.

Anais Morgan (casting director & social media manager, Infinite Sided Die) mentioned her love for the Wizard’s of the Coast D&D campaign, Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel stating:

“It was incredible. And it’s unlike any other book that they publish. And every story felt so personal because all of these writers were people of color drawing on their own cultures and their own backgrounds and everything that they want to see in a fantasy world. And how do we put it into this book? And it’s tricky. It’s nuanced because there is like a creative collaboration that happens with these original game designers that may no longer be here, right? So that is like a two way street. And then working in games as a publisher, it’s so important to be consciously hiring people who are going to make the game industry better …. Consciously hiring people, putting them in positions of power and giving them the platform to be able to create something that doesn’t normally get the kind of traction and attention that it might otherwise. It’s really, really incredibly important.”

About Alix Catherine

Alix Catherine is a content creator, podcast host, and professional panel moderator for The Welcome Party. Alix has moderated panels at some of the biggest pop culture conventions, including San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon, and LA Comic Con.

At WonderCon 2023, Alix moderated three panels: “Success Through Failure in Content Creation,” “Pop Culture Content Creation for Beginners,” and The Welcome Party’s “Pop Culutre Fantasy Draft.” The Welcome Party brought back their Pop Culutre Fantasy Draft panel at this year’s WonderCon as well.

Alix appeared as a guest on season one, episode seventeen of Portrait of a Fangirl podcast, where she discussed her experience in the world of content creating.

You can follow Alix on Twitch, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to also check out Alix’s word on The Welcome Party podcast.