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Tag Archives: Minneapolis

Polygamer #66: Charles Babbage Institute on historical diversity & representation

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Ken Gagne

The Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota is an archive and research center dedicated to preserving the history of information technology. Instead of physical hardware and software, the CBI preserves the culture and stories of the IT industry, as told by both those who created it and those whom it impacted. Its extensive collection on Social Issues in Computing exemplifies the many challenges that have arisen as the result of the evolution and proliferation of technology, including gaming.

In this episode, I chat with CBI’s current and former archivists, Amanda Wick and Arvid Nelsen. The archive has a growing collection of video game materials, leading me to ask: does the larger technology industry have the same issues of diversity and representation as gaming? Is gaming uniquely a bellwether, or an exemplar, for social issues? Is technology inherently neutral or even positive, as the industry often purports? In what ways are marginalized voices excluded from the authorship of IT’s history? And what does the archive have to say about the classic survival game Oregon Trail, created right in CBI’s home state of Minnesota?

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.

Links mentioned in this episode:

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:20:29 — 37.7MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Amanda Wick, archive, Arvid Nelsen, CBI, Charles Babbage Institute, library, Minneapolis, UMN, University of Minnesota |

Polygamer #21: Sabriel Mastin, indie game reviewer & Let’s Player

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Sabriel Mastin is a prolific game reviewer and YouTube personality, having produced content for such sites as Indie Haven and Indie Gamer Chick. She has attended both PAX East and PAX South and is a regular guest at events in the Minneapolis area, only a short drive from her native Fargo. And, if all that weren’t enough, Sabriel is also a former roller-derby athlete, having torn up the local circuit with her unique brand of hell on wheels.

In this episode, Sabriel and Ken talk about how to break into games writing and whether it’s fair to expect a volunteer to write for free; what equipment goes into an amateur audio/video studio; strategies for Twitter networking and hashtagging; the moral objections to attending Penny Arcade Expo; the local gaming scene in Fargo, North Dakota; and teaching yourself HTML and CSS.

Download 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/pg21-sabriel_mastin.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:24 — 30.3MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: CSS, Fargo, games writing, hashtag, HTML, indie, indie game, Indie Gamer Chick, indie games, Indie Haven, Let's Play, Minneapolis, North Dakota, PAX, PAX East, PAX South, roller derby, Sabriel Mastin, Twitter, unboxing, writing, YouTube |

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