At a major UK conference for video game developers, social class became a key topic. Many in the industry feel it's an issue that has been ignored for too long. 在英国一个大型视频游戏开发者会议上，社会阶级成了一个关键议题。行业内的许多人觉得，这个问题已经被忽视太久了。
"I'm scared for the future of games," says Chris Goodyear. "It could end up going the way that theatre has, and become a very privileged thing." “我为游戏的未来感到担忧，”克里斯·固特异说。“它最终可能会走上戏剧的老路，成为一件非常特权化的事情。”
The non-profit organisation "Into Games," led by Declan Cassidy, organized the first-ever meetup for working-class and low-income people at the Develop:Brighton conference. 由德克兰·卡西迪领导的非营利组织“Into Games”在Develop:Brighton会议上，为工薪阶层和低收入人群组织了有史以来的第一次聚会。
A 2024 report by the organization found that while many people from working-class backgrounds enter game educational programs, most do not complete the journey and get jobs. "They're being failed at the last hurdle," Cassidy stated. 该组织2024年的一份报告发现，虽然许多来自工薪阶层背景的人进入了游戏教育项目，但大多数人未能完成这段旅程并找到工作。“他们在最后的关头失败了，”卡西迪说。
The report highlighted key barriers: location, access to finance, reduced cultural capital, and a lack of professional networks. 报告强调了几个关键障碍：地理位置、融资渠道、文化资本的匮乏以及职业人脉的缺失。
This leads to feelings of exclusion. 59% of survey participants felt "othered" at some point in their career. Will Luton, a studio founder, mentioned feeling "overt discrimination" and needing to "mask" how he talked. 这导致了被排斥的感觉。59%的受访者在职业生涯的某个时刻感到自己被“他者化”。工作室创始人威尔·卢顿提到，他曾感到“公然的歧视”，并需要“掩饰”自己的谈吐方式。
Into Games plans to focus support on six key UK areas over the next five years. 在未来五年，Into Games 计划将支持重点放在英国六个关键地区。
The support will include school outreach, paid internships, and government-funded training. Over 100 game studios have already agreed to participate. 这些支持将包括校园推广、带薪实习和政府资助的培训。已有超过100家游戏工作室同意参与。
"By 2030, our aim is to be increasing the number of people from working-class backgrounds in the UK games industry by a factor of 50%," Declan said, adding that the benefit for studios would be "huge." “我们的目标是，到2030年，将英国游戏行业中来自工薪阶层背景的人数增加50%。”德克兰说，并补充道这对游戏工作室的好处将是“巨大的”。
Analogy: Think of the path to a games career as a long water pipe. For working-class talent, this pipe has many tiny, invisible holes. Lots of talent (water) enters at the start, but along the way, it leaks out due to lack of money, connections, or confidence. Very little reaches the end. Hover over the pipe to see this in action. 打个比方：把通往游戏行业的职业道路想象成一根长长的水管。对于来自工薪阶层的人才来说，这根管子上有很多看不见的微小漏洞。许多人才（水）从起点进入，但在途中，由于缺钱、没人脉或没信心而“漏”掉了。最终到达终点的寥寥无几。将鼠标悬停在管道上看看这个过程。
Social mobility is the ability of an individual or family to move up (or down) the socio-economic ladder. In a society with high mobility, a person's background does not determine their future success. 社会流动性指的是个人或家庭在社会经济阶梯上向上（或向下）移动的能力。在一个具有高流动性的社会中，一个人的出身背景并不决定他们未来的成功。
When an industry has low social mobility, like the games industry appears to, it means it is not accessing the full talent pool. This limits creativity and reinforces existing inequalities. 当一个行业像游戏行业这样社会流动性较低时，意味着它无法接触到全部的人才库。这会限制创造力，并加剧现有的不平等。
Coined by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, cultural capital refers to the non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means. Examples include education, intellect, style of speech, dress, and physical appearance. 这个概念由社会学家皮埃尔·布迪厄提出，文化资本指的是除了经济手段之外，能够促进社会流动的非金融社会资产。例子包括教育、智力、言谈风格、衣着和外貌。
When people feel "othered" or need to "mask" their accent, they are dealing with a deficit of the specific cultural capital valued by that industry. They may have the skills, but not the "unspoken rules" of belonging. 当人们感到被“他者化”或需要“掩饰”自己的口音时，他们正面临着该行业所看重的特定文化资本的缺失。他们可能具备技能，却不懂得归属感的“潜规则”。
Social capital is the value you get from your social networks. In many professional fields, opportunities are not advertised publicly but are found through "who you know." 社会资本是你从社交网络中获得的价值。在许多专业领域，机会并不是公开招聘的，而是通过“你认识谁”来获得的。
Individuals from low-income backgrounds often lack access to these established networks. This is a major barrier, even for highly talented people. Being "failed at the last hurdle" often means being unable to break into these closed networks. 来自低收入背景的个人通常缺乏进入这些既定圈子的渠道。这是一个主要障碍，即使对极具才华的人也是如此。所谓“在最后一关失败”，通常意味着无法打入这些封闭的网络。
This isn't just about fairness; it's good for business. Diverse teams, composed of people with different life experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, are proven to be more innovative, better at problem-solving, and more creative. 这不仅仅关乎公平，对商业本身也有好处。由拥有不同生活经历、背景和视角的人组成的多样化团队，被证明更具创新性、更擅长解决问题、更有创造力。
For a creative industry like video games, a lack of diversity can lead to repetitive stories and products that don't appeal to a wider audience. The "huge benefit for studios" comes from unlocking this new creative potential. 对于像视频游戏这样的创意产业，缺乏多样性可能导致故事重复、产品无法吸引更广泛的受众。所谓的“给工作室带来的巨大好处”，正是来自于释放这种新的创造潜力。
Analogy: Imagine starting your career is like going on a long hike. Everyone gets a backpack. Some people's backpacks are pre-packed by their families with useful tools: a map of the industry (networks), a confidence-boosting energy bar (cultural capital), and a safety rope (financial support). Others get an empty backpack and must find all the tools on their own along the tough journey. 打个比方：想象一下，开始你的职业生涯就像去远足。每个人都会得到一个背包。有些人的背包由家庭预先装好了有用的工具：一张行业地图（人脉）、一根增强信心的能量棒（文化资本）和一根安全绳（财务支持）。而其他人只得到一个空背包，必须在艰难的旅途中独自寻找所有工具。