Podcast | Polygamer

Polygamer #103: Jordan Jones-Brewster of We should talk.

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Jordan Jones-Brewster is the narrative designer of We should talk., a short-form narrative game available for Steam and consoles. During a single night at a local bar, players will interact with several characters while maintaining a conversation with their girlfriend via text message. Using an innovative “sentence spinner”, players can choose from dozens of responses to each prompt, leading to one of nine possible endings.

In this interview, I ask Jordan how We should talk. challenges traditional transactional romance in games; how We should talk. represents gender identity and sexual orientation; what constitutes the “good ending”, both in video games and in relationships; how the pandemic affected the game’s development and Kickstarter; what their role is in the annual PixelPop Festival, this year being held online; and what we should expect from their script, Saving the Day.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, Spoke, Overcast, acast, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode and a full transcript.

Full disclosure: I backed this game’s Kickstarter at the $7 level.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:40 — 28.8MB) | Embed

Polygamer #102: Jason Oda of Waking

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Jason Oda is the designer and developer of Waking, a game that uses gamers’ personal memories as weapons in the fight to awaken from a coma. As players explore the landscape of their subconscious, they are prompted to meditate and reflect on their experiences, choosing the memories that will strengthen them and fight alongside them. Waking releases on Thursday, June 18, 2020 for Xbox One and Windows from tinyBuild Games.

In this interview, Jason and I talk about the game’s evolution from Coma to Waking; how he managed to produce such an ambitious project as its sole designer and developer; the role that memories, even painful ones, can play in making us stronger; making a game that is inclusive of many diverse life experiences and memories; how the game blends meditation with Dark Souls-style action; what he learned from developing his previous game, Continue?9876543210; and how his pitch to ID@Xbox employed a technique that made its way back into the game.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 54:59 — 26.0MB) | Embed

Polygamer #101: Gaming After Kids at PAX East 2020

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Parents are raising the next generation of gamers — but let’s give some self-care to the current generation, too. How do we hold onto our identity as gamers after becoming parents? When do we find time for our favorite hobby, and how does having children change what games we’re playing? At PAX East 2020, I moderated this panel of gamers who shared their stories of adapting to their new lives while still making time for themselves and their games.

Featuring:

Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer @ Gamebits]
Nic Tompkins-Hughes [Organizational Operations & Logistics Consultant @ Freelance]
Jonathan Holmes [Writer @ Destructoid & Nintendo Force]
Duane de Four [Educator, Media Critic, Activist @ DuanedeFour.com]
Johanna Shaw [Jill-of-All-Crafts @ Shaw Asylum]
Jeff Warmouth [Professor @ Fitchburg State University]

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, Spoke, Overcast, acast, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

(Promotional image courtesy Thomas Awrey)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:27 — 29.9MB) | Embed

Polygamer #100: Voice actor Sarah Elmaleh

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Sarah Elmaleh is an actor and voiceover artist best known for her work in video games, including indie titles Gone Home, Read Only Memories, and Pyre, to AAA titles Final Fantasy XV, Gears 5, and Anthem. Her credits also include radio dramas and on-screen performances such as Hey Ash Whatcha Playin’?. Last year saw the debut of GameDev.World, an online game developers’ conference that Sarah co-founded and co-organized. She has most recently appeared in Night Studios’ Afterparty, released last month for the Nintendo Switch, and as the voice casting and director for The Red Lantern, coming later this year.

In this podcast interview, I ask Sarah whether it was by accident or design that she found herself in this niche career; the tools a voice actor employs in the absence of makeup, costume, or lighting; how she got into character to play Apollyon, the sister of Satan; how the experience is different working in indie games vs. AAA; which of her characters she’d like to play in a live-action movie; the ways in which GameDev.World complements GDC, and how the pandemic has affected both events; and why Mark Hamill is a great actor.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:31 — 32.2MB) | Embed

Polygamer #99: Ludomusicologist Dr. Dana Plank

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Dr. Dana Plank is a ludomusicologist, devoted to the study of video game music and sound. She has researched how game audio is used to represent disability, sensuality, gender, and exoticism, and she has been interviewed for books, podcasts, and MAGFest panels about games including Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario RPG. Her current studies include Celeste; That Dragon, Cancer; and Untitled Goose Game. She is also a co-organizer of the North American Conference On Video Game Music 2020, scheduled to be held online this April 4–5.

In this interview, Dr. Plank and I explore the origin of ludomusicology, and what it is that ludomusicologists do; the academic route that led her to study ludomusicology and 8/16-bit games in particular; how technological constraints breed creativity, and how the interactivity of modern soundtracks distinguish them from cinematic scores; how silence can be a powerful indicator that something has gone wrong; how to use video games as a music-teaching tool; how COVID-19 has affected NACVGM; and what books she recommends in this academic field of study.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:21:13 — 38.0MB) | Embed

Polygamer #98: Nic Tompkins-Hughes

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Nic Tompkins-Hughes has been a freelance writer, company administrator, and panel moderator in the games industry. They are currently raising the next generation of gamers, empowering them to explore gaming, gender, sexuality, and orientation on their own terms. Nic also identifies as transmasculine and is transitioning to non-binary, enjoying the newfound confidence that comes with realizing their true self.

In this podcast, Nic and Ken talk about retaining your identity while being a parent; the different roles that games play in the next generation compared to our own; how society has evolved to empower more gender identities; the difference between drag queens and drag kings; and our upcoming panel at PAX East 2020.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, Spoke, Overcast, acast, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:22:19 — 38.5MB) | Embed