Podcast | Polygamer

Polygamer #125: Game to Grow

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Game to Grow is a non-profit that promotes the therapeutic, educational, and community growth benefits of gaming. With structured online sessions of Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft, as well as their own tabletop game called Critical Core, Game to Grow teaches gamers of all ages and to become more confident, creative, and socially capable.

In this episode, Game to Grow executive director Adam Davis and director of education and training Dr. Elizabeth D. Kilmer join Ken to discuss the history of gaming therapy; what makes a game more conducive to therapeutic benefits; why Game to Grow is for everyone, not just those with diagnoses; what led Game to Grow to create Critical Core; how games such as Dark Souls and Celeste can encourage a growth mindset; and why de-escalation is a valuable skill, even (or especially) among collaborative players.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for a transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:28 — 74.8MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #124: Cyndi Wiley, Iowa State University’s Digital Accessibility Lead

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Cyndi Wiley is the Digital Accessibility Lead for Iowa State University’s Digital Accessibility Lab. Equipped with everything from screenreaders to Xbox consoles, the Lab helps students and faculty create, advocate for, and consume media that is accessible to users of all different abilities.

In this interview, Cyndi and I chat about how disability is a social construct; what the phrase “Nothing About Us, Without Us” means; why users need to be paid for accessibility testing; the distinction between accessibility and usability; whether accessibility diminishes a video game’s difficulty; how to test video games for accessibility; and whether video games are a civil right.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:27 — 74.7MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #123: Honey P. Rosenbloom of Friendship Garden

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Honey P. Rosenbloom is the executive director of Friendship Garden, an organization that supports developers from historically marginalized community with resources. A software developer themself, Honey believes in games as a gentle, playful, and sustainable way for players to connect with each other and themselves. Honey is also a founding member of the Alphabet Workers Union, consisting of and representing employees of Google and its parent company.

In this podcast, Honey and I chat about how to get diverse developers the media and recognition they deserve; how Friendship Garden supports developers with scholarships to attend GDC; what a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) does; the power of unions to encourage moral business practices; what a master’s degree in entertainment technology entails; the contrasts in Kentucky Route Zero; and Kickstarter’s use of blockchain technology.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:23 — 80.3MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #122: Web developer Allison Holt

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Allison Holt is a Webby Award-winning software developer with a 23-year-career that includes a decade of experience in the video game industry. She has built websites and backend systems for Turbine, developers of Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online; Harmonix, creators of Rock Band and Guitar Hero; and Curt Schilling’s ill-fated 38 Studios. She is also an accomplished artist, with her commissions appearing in friends’ homes and on the cover of the Transporter Lock podcast.

In this podcast, Allison and I talk about the divide between web developers and game developers; the work that earned the Beatles Rock Band website its own Webby; the ephemeral nature of a digital portfolio; the unrealized potential of 38 Studios’ Project Copernicus; why she left the games industry; and her experience accepting her identity as a transgender woman, and the difference it made in her life.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:35 — 79.5MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #121: Arthur Inasi of Harmonix & Greasy Says

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Arthur Inasi has spent the last 15 years at Harmonix, developer of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band rhythm games, working as a sound designer, level designer, voice actor, mocap actor, and more. As creative lead of Dance Central VR, he oversaw the series’ reboot for Oculus virtual reality headsets. His side hustles include producing music under the name M-Cue and hosting the podcast Greasy Says, where he offers unfiltered truths from his career as a brown game developer.

In this podcast, I ask Arthur about his experience collaborating with renowned musicians such as Usher; the educational aspects of Harmonix’s games; the potential in Harmonix’s recent acquisition by Epic Games; the need to mask oneself and be a “chameleon” to fit into the games industry; balancing being assertive and being collaborative; the hobbies that keep him going, and what we can expect from the second season of Greasy Says.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:29 — 66.8MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #120: Sabriel Mastin, D&D editor & Overwatch player

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Ken Gagne

After years as a Dungeons & Dragons player, Sabriel Mastin stepped behind the DM screen to run her own campaign. She immediately loved it, creating her own adventures in the world of Eberron. With that experience under her belt, she realized she could help other DMs with their own creations as well. She now offers her services as a D&D editor, offering developmental, line, and copyediting on modules and supplements. By day, Sabriel is a the head of social media and support for Overbuff, a stats-tracking website for Overwatch, the popular first-person shooter from Activision Blizzard.

In this podcast, Sabriel and I talk about the transition from player to DM; how easy it is to switch between editions of D&D; Sabriel’s sources of inspiration for her campaigns; how her group has adapted to gaming in a pandemic; the benefits of hiring an editor, and the cost of doing so; and how the Overwatch community has responded to the lawsuits and scandals around Activision Blizzard.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:50 — 71.7MB) | Embed

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