Podcast | Polygamer

Polygamer #60: Speedrunner Kungfufruitcup

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Kungfufruitcup is a variety streamer and speedrunner. In her live Twitch stream, she races to finish video games as quickly as possible, mastering a game’s precise timing and patterns — and the occasional glitch — to break all records. She is also a regular attendee and commentator at Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), the biannual speedrun charity marathon; and is co-captain of Girls On Fire, an all-women speedrun team on Twitch.

In this episode, Ken and Fufu discuss how to get under the hood and discover the best strategies for speedrunning particular games; what games make for good speedruns (hint: not JRPGs); the sort of tools and exploits that are and are not allowed in speedrunning; the freedom that comes from streaming on Twitch instead of having to edit for YouTube; advice for aspiring speedrunners; whether regular gameplay is "ruined" for speedrunners; how one speedruns for charity, and the incentives one can offer to encourage fundraising; why kappa is banned; and whether or not rabbits make good pets.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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

Polygamer #59: Video game culture photographer EMiSpicer

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Ken Gagne

EMiSpicer is a video game culture photographer who travels the world capturing gaming events and moments. From GaymerX in New York and California to Fantastic Arcade in Texas and Blip Festival in Japan, EMiSpicer has documented conventions, conferences, festivals, and competitions with her artistic photography. When not moving, she’s at home as the social media manager for MidBoss Games, developer of 2064: Read Only Memories.

In this interview, I asked EMiSpicer how she evokes the spirit of gaming in still photography; her process for shooting and editing photos, including her gear, equipment, and backup storage setup; her favorite conventions to attend, and the capacity in which she works with the organizers; what she’s found works and doesn’t work to crowdfund her work through Patreon, and the exclusive projects she’s shared with her supporters, including Games on Planes; and how she got involved with MidBoss Games.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:23 — 32.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #58: Matt Baume of Playing With Pride

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Matt Baume is the writer and storyteller behind the book Defining Marriage and the audio podcast Sewers of Paris, in which he interviews members of the gay community about their experiences and relationships with marriage and entertainment media. His latest ambition is Playing With Pride, a video project in which he and partner James Morris share the stories of attendees of GaymerX, an annual video game convention for the LGBT+ community. Featuring interviews with Sabriel Mastin, Susan Arendt, Jonathan Holmes, Benjamin Williams, Cetine, and more, these vignettes demonstrate the diversity of gaming culture, the courage of gamers, and the power of storytelling.

In this interview, Matt and I chat about his cross-country road trip to find and interview GaymerX supporters; how being a gay gamer is like being closeted twice; the potential that video games offer for both connection and disconnect; what Matt’s learned, both about gamers and about himself, from these interviews; whether Playing With Pride is reaching its target audience or is preaching to the choir; what format the final project will take upon its 2017 release; and San Francisco aquatic sanitation.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:45 — 29.1MB) | Embed

Polygamer #57: Natalie Juhasz of ReVenture Games

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Natalie Juhasz is the co-founder and creative lead of indie game studio ReVenture Games. After producing several successful point-and-click adventure games in the Lorna Bains franchise, Juhasz and co-founder Marcus Seyer have launched an Indiegogo campaign for their first commercial title: Lorna Bains in ‘For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls’. As part of their exploration of narrative, the studio also recently attended narrative games convention AdventureX, where Juhasz attended several panels on the proliferation of adventure game mechanics, the intersection of adventure games and virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Rift, and more.

In this interview, Ken and Natalie discuss the myth of adventure games having died and been resurrected; the differences in tone and gameplay between Sierra’s and LucasArts’ classic adventure titles; the strengths and weaknesses of modern game engines available for creating adventure games; the decision to take Lorna Bains from freeware to commercial; and how games can have narrative without being about narrative.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:17:24 — 36.3MB) | Embed

Polygamer #56: Live at GaymerX East

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Ken Gagne

GaymerX, the world’s only annual video game and geek culture convention for the LGBT+ community and its allies, has arrived on the East Coast! After four successful events in California and one in Australia, the first GaymerX East was held in New York City the weekend of November 11–13.

I attended GXE, as did many other Polygamer alumni. I invited three of them to participate in a panel about their work in gaming diversity, how they stay inspired and motivated, and how they define success. Joining me in this discussion were GaymerX founder Matt Conn (episodes #01 & #32); ethnographer and voice actor Khadeja Merenkov (episodes #05 & #10; and undergraduate community organizer Francesca Carletto-Leon (#33).

Stream the audio recording of this panel below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn, and stay after the credits for a bonus discussion about the viability of the upcoming Nintendo Switch console.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:07 — 31.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #55: Twitch streamer SeriouslyClara

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Ken Gagne

SeriouslyClara is a Twitch content creator who focuses on indie games. After being "tricked" into streaming by a friend, she came to love the community and the support they offered her in response to her honesty and authenticity. She now streams to her channel’s 22,000 subscribers several times a week, where she plays indie titles and promotes mental health awareness and body positivity. She recently spoke on the PAX West 2016 panel " So You Think Twitch Isn’t For You? Guess Again" and attended the second-ever TwitchCon.

This week, Clara and Ken talk about their mutual love for Owlboy and Skies of Arcadia; the tradeoff of playing triple-A games for a large audience instead of playing indie games for a more intimate crowd; the differences in performing for a live audience on Twitch vs. a delayed audience on YouTube; the challenges of being an introvert in the gaming community; and the societal expectations thwarted by living a childfree lifestyle.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, or TuneIn. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:02:20 — 29.4MB) | Embed

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