Heatwave Interactive…So, do your kids write?
I’m often asked if my children, who grew up with a mother firmly enscounced behind a computer, write. The short answer is yes and no. For the most part they write for themselves. No one has gotten to the point where they are ready to publish but each has written with the possibility that publishing may lie in their futures.
That said, they are all voracious readers, reading lots more than I do. And their creative lives are filled with things I either never thought of, wouldn’t have the nerve to do, or are twice (three-times) as difficult as anything I want to tackle. The fact that they think I’m kinda big stuff is a compliment to my ability to sweat while I work. Smaller glands, not so many accolades!
But to the point. Today I want to highlight my middle child: Anthony. He’s a video gaming entrepeneur. His company is HEATWAVE INTERACTIVE. But that’s not why I’m writing this blog. The publication of LOVE ON THE LINE, which contains themes of racial identity, multi-ethnicity and so forth, have naturally highlighted an aspect of our family life that isn’t usually on the front burner of our everyday lives.
Anthony wrote the piece I’m posting below in response to an article about his video gaming company HEATWAVE INTERACTIVE that appeared on BET.com. It’s about his experiences in the gaming industry as a biracial/multicultural person, as well as what that means to him personally.
BET Outs Heatwave: There are black people in the game industry.
I meant to comment on this BET Article earlier, but life has conspired against me. Well, given recent events, it seems like perhaps it’s past due.
Couple of things to discuss on this subject. First, how to untangle the meaning of the word “black” as it refers to someone like myself. Second, what is the significance of being a black professional in the game industry. Finally, what is the impact of our racial heritage on the games we make?
So, am I black? Seems like a strange question, I know. If it were 250 years ago, I’d probably be a slave. Part of my African background includes former slaves, another part includes free creole Africans. Of course, if you look at me, you may or may not recognize that part of my heritage. If you saw my mother, you’d think you were looking at the wrong person, because far beyond the external traits of her brothers and parents, her external appearance is that of a white person. But she’s not. She’s black. Her grandfather built the first brick house in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Her father was a dentist and a civil rights activist. My mother went to an all black segregated school. My mother and father couldn’t get married in her home state because interracial marriages were illegal in Arkansas. I can relate many other stories that illustrate the nature of her heritage, but let me just finish this point with this note, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.
My Mother (yes, she’s black!)
Yet, to be black in America isn’t just how obviously one looks black, it’s a multitude of factors, but largely divided between how one self-identifies and also how others perceive you. Sure, there are the obvious factors…
For the complete text, with more pictures, go to ANTHONY CASTORO’S WEBSITE.
or
http://www.anthonycastoro.com/
Just for funnzies, a cartoon of Anthony done by a member of Heatwave’s awesome team!:
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I’d say your son got a fair amount of mom’s genes in the writing department.
Having never been racist, it still boggles my mind that people can’t just put the color of skin aside.
That was a great story your son told about his encounter with the cop in Texas.
I will admit though, Laura, the first time you announced something to the effect that you were black and had a black heritage, (it was at a writers conference) I remember sitting there totally confused and not sure if perhaps you were joking. I guess I never really thought about it…..and bottom line, you were STILL the Laura that I knew. And I think that’s what really counts.
March 9th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Thanks, Terri. Anthony will be pleased. Of course they grew up with a person who wrote all the time. I still have a drawing made my son Chris, age 5. He drew me with a pan in one hand and a typewriter in the other. That’s a pretty accurate picture of my life!