GoodHeart | Gregory Moore empowers youths through eSports
Published:Saturday | November 2, 2024 | 12:06 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Gregory Moore, chief executive officer, PlayJamaica, is on a mission to transform the eSporting landscape in Jamaica, primarily because he wants to help keep more youths off the streets. As someone who wasn’t always drawn to academics and who didn’t complete his bachelor’s degrees after attempts at Northern Caribbean University and the University of Technology, he understands the stigma around youths often labelled as “game addicts”. This drove him to create PlayJamaica and advocate for investment in eSport Jamaica.
Moore has collaborated with the Jamaica Fire Brigade to develop a virtual training simulator for fire-truck driving, partnered with the Ministry of Tourism to create an AR/VR centre at the Falmouth Artisan Village, and worked with the Ministry of National Security through his NovaCore Labs brand to bring Google Street View to Denham Town. This last project aims to support urban planning, enhance community development, aid research and analysis, and improve security and emergency response by leveraging cutting-edge technology, unlocking opportunities for growth, investment, and progress.
But the real bang for his buck is helping out youths who love gaming and do not have a physical space to connect.
Moore began his career in eSport as an entrepreneur when he opened Str8 Games in Orchid Village in 2006. Last weekend, he played a key role in organising both the recent Gamers Fest and the JEI Video Games Festival at Summit Kingston. Moore is happy eSport initiatives are now being accepted more widely by parents and sponsors.
“It was not very easy to convince corporate to come onboard just because video games were mainly seen as a waste of time with no purpose, but as technology evolved and more children started playing, it became more popular. From a social perspective, it is the number-one form of entertainment in the world, and it would have been sad if nobody took up the mantle to offer this, especially to disenfranchised youths. We run programmes and workshops for those who may not have the equipment at home or the exposure, providing a distraction from idle activities,” Moore told GoodHeart.
CAN BE USED FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
“Even when I had the store Str8 Games back in Sovereign, we got a lot of stories especially from inner city youths that it’s the little game that they have that kept them off the streets [and] out of trouble; so we just needed to find a way to make it constructive. I believe it’s only going to increase as it becomes popular that we can use it to pull [more youth off the streets] where they would need to spend more of their time preparing for these events. I believe that is something that can be used for social change as it grows,” he said.
He noted that his relationship with the public sector, particularly the Ministry of National Security, has helped him connect with unattached youths, as they share a common goal of engaging these young people in purposeful activities and getting them off the streets.
“Coming from a middle-class home, my parents could afford to buy video games for me and it formed an addiction of sorts, but not an addiction that took over my life, [instead] it formed an addiction where I thought it would be nice to make money out of this hobby that I have.”
At around 15 years old, he envisioned starting a video games business, and by the age of 21, he convinced a family member to help him open his first store in Orchid Village. This store later expanded to Sovereign Village in 2011, attracting many young people who came to play games rather than idle on the streets. This was before in-home eSport gained popularity and before most people had Internet access at home or through their mobile phones.
When asked why he decided to host the recent the non-profitable gaming events, he said he knew it is something youths who love gaming have been wanting for a while.
“The response is very good. I know that it’s something that they’ve wanted for a long time, because, even when we were doing tournaments, it was not on a very consistent basis, because it was really based on our ability to afford it and for my business to cover the cost,” Moore said.
His words of advice to youths now facing similar challenges to what he faced as an adolescent is, “I don’t think there is a wrong way. Going to school can be expensive but it’s probably a more safe way from a traditional perspective. I would say that if that is your passion, the best thing to do is to look at who you can emulate around the world. Information is at our finger tips. Do some research as to who has made it and what steps they took to make it, because there are different ways and just pursue your dream,” Moore told The Gleaner.