Kickstarter | Polygamer

Polygamer #32: Matt Conn of Read Only Memories

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Matt Conn is the CEO of MidBoss, the studio behind Read Only Memories, a point-and-click adventure game featuring a diverse cast of characters. It is the first game from the same studio that produces the annual GaymerX (GX3) convention and the documentary Gaming in Color.

In this interview (originally recorded for the IndieSider podcast), Matt and Ken discuss why MidBoss chose the first-person adventure genre as a vehicle for social justice; who the game’s target audience is and what the reception has been from those quarters; what challenges are inherent to writing a script featuring diverse characters; and whether it is the responsibility of indie or AAA studios to include marginalized voices in their games’ casts.

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

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Polygamer #31: Holly Green on Gameranx, Fry Scores & OCD

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Holly Green is the managing editor of Gameranx, a video game news, reviews, and feature site. Not one to limit her outlets, Holly is also an accomplished freelance writer for outlets such as Polygon, where she detailed her challenges with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Most recently, Holly published her first cookbook, Fry Scores: An Unofficial Guide To Video Game Grub, listing real-world recipes for fictional foods. After an initial launch as an Apple iBook, a successful Kickstarter allowed the book to be recently ported to the Amazon Kindle format.

In this episode, Holly and I discuss freelancing for one publication when employed by another; the ethics of being a game reviewer and Kickstarter backer; her photography setup for shooting food; the difficulty in translating among the various e-book formats; how gaming achievements prey on OCD; and how game developers can be more conscious of neuroatypical gamers.

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

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Stage of Development: The human side of gaming

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Ken Gagne

When the Polygamer podcast was still in the conceptual stage, I thought it was going to be called Polygame. As I better defined the show, I realized the focus wouldn’t be on games, but on gamers: telling the stories of the people who make up this industry and community. Only a single letter in the show’s title made a big difference in what it’d be about. Sure enough, in the year since Polygamer launched, I’ve been honored by dozens of gamers sharing their stories with me and with listeners. It’s been wonderful to get out from behind the screen and connect with the people and passions that make this pastime so powerful.

One of the first guests was Russ Pitts, co-founder of Take This, a non-profit that helps members of the gaming community address mental health issues. For longer than Polygamer has been around, Russ has been helping other gamers tell their own stories, as in the “Human Angle” series of features on Polygon, a website he co-founded; or in the e-book How Video Games Are Made, which details the development of Defense Grid 2.

Now Russ has taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund a video series that tells the human side of gaming. Stage of Development “is a documentary series featuring human stories about real people. Some of them make games. Some of them play games. Some of them just happen to be caught in the crossfire. All of them are helping make the video game community one of the most vibrant and exciting collections of humans on Earth.”

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/russpitts/stage-of-development-indie-city-edition

The campaign is seeking $192,105 by September 16, on which day the first episode of the show will debut, funded by Russ’s own company, Flying Saucer Media. Early episodes will feature big names like John and Brenda Romero, or the team at Spry Fox. I’m hopeful future episodes will tell us stories of people we’ve not heard of before, companies and studios less well-funded, and those representing marginalized voices.

I’ve backed this project at the $45 level because Stage of Development is an important way to remind us that there are people behind the products and screens we spend so much time engaged with. When developers get harassed, they leave the industry; when gamers get harassed, they leave the community. Each departure leaves us with fewer games and gamers to enjoy our favorite pastime with. Acknowledging our shared humanity is a defense against that attrition.

Stage of Development isn’t about publicity; it’s about empathy. Anything that helps gamers recognize and appreciate the human element of gaming has my vote.

UPDATE (Aug 4, 2016): The original Kickstarter for this project was canceled in August 2015 and relaunched August 2016.

Polygamer #11: Ryan Green & Josh Larson of That Dragon, Cancer

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Ken Gagne

That Dragon, Cancer is a game that represents the experiences of the Green family as they lived with and cared for Joel Green, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at 1 year old. Through a variety of metaphorical first-person scenarios, the game recreates what it was like to know and play with Joel, take care of him in the hospital, and receive prognoses from doctors. It is a heart-wrenching game that gives us the opportunity to live a situation we hope to never encounter in real life.

Although Joel passed away in March 2014 at 5 years of age, development of That Dragon, Cancer continues, including a currently-in-progress Kickstarter. In this interview, Joel’s father Ryan Green and the game’s co-creator, Josh Larson, share their memories of Joel and discuss who they made the game for, how they settled on the abstract art style, what the reaction has been to their crowdfunding campaign, why they’re launching on Ouya, and what’s next for the team.

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

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Polygamer #03: Shawn Allen of NuChallenger

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Ken Gagne

Shawn Allen of NuChallenger is developing Treachery in Beatdown City, a Bad Dudes-style beat-em-up with turn-based tactical elements and a diverse cast of characters. Do games that stray from the typical “grizzled white male” protagonist risk their commercial viability? What concerns did Allen have before deciding to feature black and female heroes? Ultimately, all games provide social commentary, and Allen’s is one that reflects his New York City.

In this interview, he discusses why he left Rockstar Games, what he learned from Treachery in Beatdown City’s two Kickstarter campaigns, why minorities are underrepresented in the indie development scene despite increased access to tools and crowdfunding, his experience attending GaymerX, and how GDC and PAX East 2015 being the same weekend is bad news for anyone attending even one of the shows.

This interview is available as video on YouTube and as audio in iTunes.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Polygamer explores issues of equality and diversity in the gaming industry. New episodes air every other Wednesday on YouTube and in iTunes.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:18:04 — 41.3MB) | Embed