Cole Burkhardt

We chatted with Cole Burkhardt about their work as an audio producer, voice actor, and cohost of Blue Dawn.

QRM: Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do in the games industry?

Cole: I love RPGs and am always looking for innovative ways to play as many games as I can.

QRM: How long have you been involved in the game industry, and what projects have you worked on? What are you working on currently?

Cole: I have been playing tabletop games for about 7 years, but I have been working on recording/podcasting those games for about a year and a half.

QRM: What inspired you to get started in the games industry?

Cole: A lot of my friends played and encouraged me to join. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with them.

QRM: In what ways do you feel your experiences as a queer person manifest in the games you work on, and influence the work you do?

Cole: Nearly all of my characters Represent Me, whether through my queerness or my beliefs.

QRM: Do you have a favourite queer character—in games or media more generally? If so, what is it about them that makes them your favourite?
Question asked by @kamienw.

Cole: My very first Dungeons and Dragons character, Io, is by far my favorite. She embodied everything I wanted to be as a person.

QRM: Have you ever encountered roadblocks in trying to include queer characters in games? What do you think is preventing greater diversity within games?
Question asked by @dustinalex91.

Cole: I have had some push back from people about including trans characters. A lot of misinformation and ignorance is unfortunately in the RPG/gaming community.

QRM: Why do you think it is important that queer audiences are able to see themselves represented in the games they play, and in the developers who make the games they see? What can we do to improve the industry for queer audiences and devs?

Cole: Everyone needs someone to relate to and to look up too. Queer people don't see a lot of themselves, or even good representations of themselves, in games. Please research, do some basic investigation before writing queer characters. There's a lot of resources out there. Use them.

QRM: In what ways can non-queer folk increase and support queer diversity present within games, as well as in the industry more broadly? How can we all work to support intersectional approaches to diversity, and why is this important?

Cole: Support games with queer characters/developers/artists/etc! Buy them! Donate! Even spread the word. Even when designing games, don't just have one token queer/non-white/disabled character! Hire queer/non-white people and actually listen to their viewpoints. Explore different cultures and respect them. Treat us like people.

QRM: Is there a message that you would like to share with the queer game players, game studies researchers, and other interested folks who comprise the Queerly Represent Me community?

Cole: Keep doing you. Keep making anything and everything. People will support you and those who don't are not worth your time.

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You can find Cole on Twitter.
You can listen to the Blue Dawn podcast here.