development | Polygamer

Polygamer #50: Chris Klimas of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Ken Gagne

The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation (IFTF) is a new non-profit charged with supporting the tools, infrastructure, and legal needs of the interactive fiction community. Also known as text adventures, interactive fiction is one of digital entertainment’s oldest storytelling media, and one that is enjoying a renewed interest, thanks to the annual competition IFComp and the IF Archive database, both of which the IFTF now supports.

In this week’s episode, I speak with Chris Klimas, co-founder and co-director of the IFTF and also the creator of Twine, a popular IF game engine. We discussed the changes IFTF brings to the gaming landscape; how IF can be made more accessible; how mobile computing has brought new gamers to IF; biases against IF and other computationally non-complex media; whether Twine is exclusively a teaching tool akin to LOGO or Scratch, or if it’s a full-fledged language; and if mainstream games are just now catching up to IF in narrative design.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, 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.

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Polygamer #43: Engagement Lab at Emerson College

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Ken Gagne

The Engagement Lab at Emerson College is an applied research lab in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to innovating the ways people participate in civic life and expanding the study of citizenship in a digital era. By working with city and state governments and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Engagement Lab collaborates with partners both locally and globally to develop software that addresses systemic, cultural, and health issues, from global warming to hand-washing.

In this podcast, creative producer Jordan Pailthorpe and lead developer Johnny Richardson discuss how the Engagement Lab uses digital technology to create unique solutions to address problems both big and small; how partnerships form with governments as far away from Egypt, and the workshops such collaborations have produced in both Egypt and Boston; the responsibility of game developers to produce software with social values, and how that’s reflected in the Engagement Lab’s values; how the Engagement Lab fits into the larger mission of Emerson College; and Johnny’s work with The AbleGamers Charity to encourage and implement software and hardware accessibility.

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Polygamer #41: Adelle Lin of the Code Liberation Foundation

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Ken Gagne

The Code Liberation Foundation is a New York City-based non-profit that offers free game programming workshops to those who identify as women. The organization was founded in 2013 by Catt Small, Kay, Jane Friedhoff, Nina Freeman, Phoenix Perry, and Kaira Villanueva, seeking to change the female-to-male ratio in video game development. By creating a safe space free of the pressures often found in a mixed-gender environment, the CLF provides students the opportunities to develop their skills and confidence at no cost to them.

CLF directing member Adelle Lin joins Polygamer this week to discuss how the Code Liberation Foundation prepares students to enter a workforce that is traditionally male-dominated and how to address that issue early in the pipeline; the resources that students need that aren’t always available in more traditional academic settings; why students are taught to make games and not another genre of software, and why p5.js is one of the languages of choice for these classes; how the Code Liberation Foundation is unique from other gender-oriented academic programs or even social organizations; and how the group has evolved in its first three years.

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Polygamer #37: Game designer Carolyn VanEseltine

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Carolyn VanEseltine is an accomplished game designer and developer, having worked at such studios as Harmonix and Giant Spacekat. Her recent presentation at Google, "Everyone can make games now", underscores her belief that the freedom to make games is a basic human right, and that games should open and accessible to all as a medium of artistic expression.

But what does it mean to be a game designer? Does one need to know how to program, or is that the province of game developers? Do the interactive fiction made possible by game engines such as Twine and Inform qualify as games? What basic skills should a participant in the upcoming Global Game Jam or Ludum Dare events have? In this podcast interview, Carolyn and Ken discuss these topics and more.

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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, 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.

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