Last year, we had a very special episode where Mav attended the University of Pittsburgh’s Games4SocialImpact game jam event as a judge and mentor. Well, that was so much fun that he decided to do it again. So, on this week’s show you get to hear Mav interview several of his students about their process…
Tag: video games
e197. Serialization II: Electric Boogaloo (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Franchise)
Way back on episode 170 we did a show talking about Serialization. As is often the case on our show… we resolved nothing. But we did note that there was so much to talk about that the conversation needed to be continued on a future show. Well this is that show. It’s time for Serialization…
e175. Game Studies: Ludology vs. Narratology
We don’t talk about games as much as we should on this show, but arguably they’re one of the most enduring mediums of popular culture. They’re certainly one of the most popular. There’s much comparison of modern video games to movies. This makes sense… if we want people to consider games to be a legitimate…
Call for Comments: Narratology v. Ludology
From Katya: I recently saw a TikTok from Dominic Myers (@gamestudies101) that summarizes the narratology v. ludology split in game studies. Check out their summary because it’s a good one but, simply put, ludology argues that games are a unique medium because they include interactive game mechanics that are distinct from other representational forms. Narratology,…
Call for Comments: The Male Gaze and its Discontents
From Katya: This week we’re revisiting the Male Gaze. I know we’ve been here before but we have a string of guests coming up offering their own spin on various “gazes” and related subjects so we thought it was worth a revisit. (If you’d like to check out our previous conversations, check out some of…
e105. Animal Crossing & Cozy Games in Worldwide Pandemics
If you’re listening to our show, chances are you live on the planet Earth (and if not, welcome!) and so that means for the last few week, you have likely been dealing with the near worldwide ramicfications of COVID-19 pandemic. That means social distancing, self quarantine, staying inside and… and playing video games . Right…
Call for Comments: The Cozy Games Stress Vaccine
From Katya: Animal Crossing: New Horizons dropped on March 20th, much to the relief of a lot of folks gaming through the COVID-19 pandemic. In the tradition of the OG Animal Crossing on GameCube or Animal Crossing: Wild World, players build up a small community of cute animal neighbors, cultivate and collect natural resources, and–…
Call for Comments: Jigglypuff is Still Hanging out in my Yard, Pokemon and AR Three Years In
From Katya: One of the weirdest gaming experiences I have ever had was the release of Pokemon GO in the summer of 2016. I downloaded the game like a good game studies human and messed around with it (until I caught a Jigglypuff, the best Pokemon and decided my career had peaked.) Much of the…
Call for Comments: Gaming an Empire
From Katya: Previously, we’ve have gaming episodes on direct violence in video games (I stab/shoot/punch/explode/magic the enemy.) This time we want to turn to another common theme in gaming: empire. Civilization VI Risk, Command and Conquer, Axis and Allies and other strategy games— analog and digital — allow players to command armies waging war, claiming/reclaiming…