Leigh Alexander (journalist)

Leigh Alexander
Born1980 or 1981 (age 44–45)[1]
Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationsJournalist, writer, editor, columnist, author
Websiteleighalexander.net

Leigh Alexander (born 1980 or 1981) is an American author, journalist, and video game writer. She is the former editor-at-large and news editor for Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra), and former editor-in-chief for the revived Boing Boing website Offworld. She has writing credits on the games Reigns: Her Majesty and Reigns: Game of Thrones.[2][3][4][5]

Career

Her writing has appeared in Variety, the Los Angeles Times, Kotaku, Polygon, Vice, Edge, Rock Paper Shotgun, The Guardian, The Atlantic and Time.[6][7] She also produces a video series called "Lo-Fi Let's Play", in which she plays and comments on adventure games from the 1980s. Discussing design influences, Alexander has described tarot as a narrative design system, saying, "Tarot and narrative design are practically the same thing."[8]

Alexander has written two books about video games: Breathing Machine, about growing up with gaming and the nascent Internet, and Clipping Through, about life in the games industry as viewed through the lens of the Game Developers Conference (GDC). On February 14, 2015, Alexander released an illustrated short story, Mona. The book features illustrations by Emily Carroll. Alexander also recorded an audiobook version of Mona herself. Alexander cites the video game Silent Hill 2 as an inspiration.[9] In February 2016, Alexander announced that she would be closing her website Offworld and pursuing things outside of gaming.[10]

Gamergate controversy

Alexander was one of several women who was harassed in connection with the #GamerGate hashtag.[11][12] On August 28, 2014, Alexander published an article on Gamasutra titled "Gamers' don't have to be your audience. 'Gamers' are over". The article became a focal point within the Gamergate controversy, with users of #Gamergate successfully campaigning Intel to pull all of their ads from Gamasutra.[13] Alexander criticized Intel's decision, saying "Intel was fleeced by a hate mob."[14] Intel issued an apology and said that it did not intend to be "taking sides in an increasingly bitter debate in the gaming community."[15][16] Intel later resumed advertising on Gamasutra in mid-November.[17]

In an interview with MSNBC Digital that aired on October 21, 2014, Leigh Alexander spoke out against the Gamergate movement and talked about the harassment of game developer Zoë Quinn. Alexander stated that her criticism of Gamergate stemmed from what she believes to be "the terroristic dominance of traditional appetites in what should be a diverse and creative field."[18]

During GDC 2015, Alexander hosted the #1ReasonToBe panel, aimed at better serving women and minorities within the video games industry. Alexander advocated for creating spaces for minorities and marginalized groups within gaming culture. Referencing both the panel and her website Offworld, Alexander said that "[it] doesn’t have to be a huge upheaval. Simply create space for our experiences in our work and lives and listen to us."[19] The panel was well received by members of the games press like Polygon's Danielle Riendeau. The panel drew an audience that filled one of the largest venues in the GDC.[20]

Selected works

  • Breathing Machine: A Memoir of Computers (January 2014, Thought Catalog)
  • Clipping Through: One Mad Week in Video Games (August 2014, Gumroad)
  • Mona (February 2015, Gumroad)[9]
  • The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture (October 2015, Seven Stories Press)[21]

Personal life

Alexander is gay and has written that she is on the "autism-adhd spectrum". Her father is black and her mother is Jewish. [22][23]

References

  1. ↑ "Grunge, GRRRLS and Video Games: Turning the dial for a more meaningful culture". August 16, 2013. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  2. ↑ "REIGNS Game of Thrones". reignsgame.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  3. ↑ "REIGNS: HER MAJESTY". reignsgame.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ Alexander, Leigh. "Reigns: Her Majesty - Leigh Alexander". Reigns: Her Majesty - Leigh Alexander. Archived from the original on July 18, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ Alexander, Leigh. "Reigns: Game of Thrones - Leigh Alexander". Reigns: Game of Thrones - Leigh Alexander. Archived from the original on July 18, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Leigh Alexander - Gamasutra - Author Bio". Gamasutra. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sexism, Lies, and Video Games: The Culture War Nobody is Winning". TIME. September 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (October 1, 2025). "Interview with Leigh Alexander". Tarot DMs. Archived from the original on November 11, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Announcing Mona, an illustrated short story | Leigh Alexander". leighalexander.net. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fudge, James (February 3, 2016). "Leigh Alexander exits Offworld, launches Kickstarter for 'The Offworld Collection' book". GamePolitics.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (October 23, 2015). "#GamerGate has won a few battles. It will lose the war". Vox. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ Gagne, Ken (February 12, 2015). "Crash Override Network combats online harassment". Computerworld. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Eric (October 20, 2014). "Debunking the Idea That Gamergate Isn't About Sexism". Re/code. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  14. ↑ Wingfield, Nick (October 2, 2014). "Intel Pulls Ads From Site After 'Gamergate' Boycott". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ Opam, Kwame (October 3, 2014). "Intel issues apology after backlash from #GamerGate opponents". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  16. ↑ IntelPR (October 3, 2014). "Chip Shot: Intel Issues Statement on Gamasutra Advertising" (Press release). Intel. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ Douglas, Ian (November 14, 2014). "Intel reinstates advertising on Gamasutra after 'Gamergate' campaign". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  18. ↑ MSNBC Leigh Alexander & Eric Johnson Interview #GamerGate, October 22, 2014, archived from the original on April 25, 2015, retrieved April 21, 2015
  19. ↑ Parkin, Simon (March 6, 2015). "Women share their #1ReasonToBe in games, in a powerful GDC panel". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  20. ↑ Riendeau, Danielle (March 6, 2015). "The most vital, emotional panel at GDC was #1ReasonToBe". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  21. ↑ "The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture". Seven Stories Press. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  22. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (October 13, 2025). "About Me". Archived from the original on December 29, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  23. ↑ Nooney, Laine (December 2025). "An Interview with Leigh Alexander (Part 1)". Archived from the original on May 10, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026.

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