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Tag Archives: children

Polygamer #44: Stephen Duetzmann of Engaged Family Gaming

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Ken Gagne

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 Apple Podcasts, 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.

Continue reading →

https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg44-stephen_duetzmann.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:32:27 — 43.2MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: children, Disney Infinity, EFG, Engaged Family Gaming, Knights of Badassdom, LARP, LARPing, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat, Panzer Dragoon Saga, parenthood, parenting, Stephen Duetzmann, Viking Squad, Wii U |

At PAX East 2015, Achievement Unlocked: Parenthood. Now What?

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Ken Gagne

When I was first solicited to moderate the parenting panel that is this week’s episode of Polygamer, I was surprised. My contribution to the discussion of how to be a parent in the gaming industry is don’t, as I’m an advocate for acceptance of the childfree lifestyle. But the selfish purpose of Polygamer is to expose myself to lifestyles other than my own, and moderating a panel on parenting was the perfect opportunity to do so.

As the date of the panel grew closer, I got more excited for the discussions we were about to have — so much so that I already wanted to continue the conversation at PAX East. I reached out to my friend Nicole Tompkins-Hughes, whom I’d previously seen moderate the BostonFIG 2014 panel "The Next Generation: Making Games for Kids and Families" and for whose freelance article "The Last Tinker: When Good Games Make Bad Choices" I was an early reader. I knew she’d submitted some panels to PAX East — were any of them about parenting?

They weren’t! But Nicole was as excited about this topic as I was. With just 24 hours before the submission deadline, we sprang into action. I recruited Nicole to moderate the proposed panel, drafted Amanda Warner from the Women in Games panel, then took Nicole’s direction in recruiting four other panelists. We submitted our proposal, waited three weeks — and got accepted!

Achievement Unlocked: Parenthood. Now What?

Saturday, March 7th at 10:30am in Bumblebee Theatre
No role-playing game can present a greater challenge than the real-life role of parent. Does gaming end with parenthood, or is it just the next level? Hear from industry professionals on how they manage their time, handle the joys and journeys of gaming with their families, and maintain relationships of all kinds both online and off.
Nicole Tompkins-Hughes (Freelance journalist), Kyle Churchill (Co-host, Run Button), Steve Lubitz (Co-host, Isometric), Stephen Duetzmann (Editor in Chief, Engaged Family Gaming), Christopher “Gonzo” Gonzalez (Designer & Owner, DapperPixel), Amanda Warner (Co-Founder/Creative Director, Giant Spacekat/Giant Spacekittens)

This is the first time I’ve submitted a PAX panel that I wouldn’t be on. Since I’m not one of the panelists, the PAX East schedule coordinators saw no conflict in putting me on another panel that is happening at the same time. I regret that I will not be able to be in the audience for this great panel, especially since it includes three friends. But I’m glad to see PAX East give this topic the attention it deserves — I’m sure it’ll be a great session!

(Featured image CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Sean Dreilinger)

Posted in Events | Tags: children, Nicole Tompkins-Hughes, panel, parenthood, parenting, PAX, PAX East |

Polygamer #14: Parenting & game development

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ken Gagne

No role-playing game can present a greater challenge than the real-life role of parent — especially when you’re a game developer. How does one juggle these dual roles and responsibilities? Are telecommuting and crunch time harder when you have kids? Does being a parent affect the kinds of games you’ll produce or play?

At the January 2015 monthly meetup of Women in Games Boston, I moderated a panel that addressed these topics and more. The five panelists were Boston-based game developers and parents:

  • Avida Michaud of Harmonix
  • Chris Hart of the OpenSimulator project
  • Amanda Warner of Giant Spacekat
  • Caleb Garner of Part12 Studios
  • Scott Macmillan of GSN Games

This episode of Polygamer is a recording of that panel. Thanks to Wade Clarke for his assistance in cleaning up the audio. Download the episode below or from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. A video of the panel is also available, courtesy Oleg Brodskiy:

A similar panel will be presented at PAX East, with Amanda Warner in a recurring role.

https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg14-parenting.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:57:52 — 56.5MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Amanda Warner, Avida Michaud, Caleb Garner, children, Chris Hart, development, parenthood, parenting, Scott Macmillan |

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