Stephen Duetzmann is the editor-in-chief of Engaged Family Gaming, a website by and for parents to help identify games appropriate for the entire family. Games are a powerful medium for teaching logic, leadership, and empathy — but it takes research and investment to choose the right games. The ESRB ratings are a good first step, but knowing what games your kids are playing and how to participate in their gameplay can turn gaming from a passive, solitary pastime to an active, shared one.
In this discussion, Ken and Stephen discuss what led him to launch his own website for gamer parents; his two PAX East panels on parenting and gaming; the value of gaming in a society that often perceives it as contributing to childhood obesity; Stephen’s experience watching his kids play Final Fantasy IV, one of his favorite games from his own childhood; whether family-friendly games are more likely to come from indie developers, triple-A studios, or both; and the representation of LARPing in Hollywood movies.
Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Engaged Family Gaming
- Stephen Duetzmania on Twitter
- Polygamer #14: Parenting & game development
- Nicole Tompkins-Hughes on Twitter
- Disney cancels Disney Infinity, shuts down Avalanche Software
- Super Mario is coming to Minecraft: Wii U Edition
- The Future of Panzer Dragoon
- Knights of Badassdom
- Role Models
- Viking Squad from Slick Entertainment
- Jandy Hardesty reviews Mortal Kombat (1995)
- Mortal Kombat: Untold Story of the Movie That “Kicked the Hell” Out of Everyone
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:32:27 — 43.2MB) | Embed
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