Overwatch | Polygamer

Polygamer #120: Sabriel Mastin, D&D editor & Overwatch player

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Ken Gagne

After years as a Dungeons & Dragons player, Sabriel Mastin stepped behind the DM screen to run her own campaign. She immediately loved it, creating her own adventures in the world of Eberron. With that experience under her belt, she realized she could help other DMs with their own creations as well. She now offers her services as a D&D editor, offering developmental, line, and copyediting on modules and supplements. By day, Sabriel is a the head of social media and support for Overbuff, a stats-tracking website for Overwatch, the popular first-person shooter from Activision Blizzard.

In this podcast, Sabriel and I talk about the transition from player to DM; how easy it is to switch between editions of D&D; Sabriel’s sources of inspiration for her campaigns; how her group has adapted to gaming in a pandemic; the benefits of hiring an editor, and the cost of doing so; and how the Overwatch community has responded to the lawsuits and scandals around Activision Blizzard.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for a transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:50 — 71.7MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #72: Nicole Hunter of Black Gamers Revolution

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Nicole Hunter is a freelance writer and a moderator for Black Gamers Revolution. This community Black gamers extends to Twitter, Tumblr, Twitch, and Discord, providing a safe space for Black gamers to share their experiences free of harassment or the wed to educate others. The group regularly plays in online games such as Overwatch, League of Legends, and Destiny 2.

In this episode, I chat with Nicole about how she got her start as a freelance writer, how she decides what to publish where, and her thoughts on Golf Story, an indie RPG for the Nintendo Switch. We then talk about Black Gamers Revolution: the need for such a space, who it serves, and how it’s policed. Plenty of safe spaces exist for cisgender and heterosexual demographics, but what about intersectionality? How does one make a safe space for everyone, and what rules are necessary? What are identity politics, and do we need them? Also, is Assassin’s Creed Origins problematic, or does it handle representation and diversity without whitewashing?

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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Podcast: Download (Duration: 47:38 — 22.7MB) | Embed

Polygamer #62: Sabriel Mastin of Overwatch & Overbuff

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Sabriel Mastin is the head of social media and support for Overbuff, a stats-tracking website for Overwatch, the popular first-person shooter from Warcraft developer Blizzard. When not competing in competitive multiplayer matches as Tracer or Ana, Sabriel is engaging with fans on Facebook and Twitter, congratulating them on their gameplay and helping them track their improvement using Overbuff. Sabriel is also a frequent panelist at PAX East, where she advocates for diversity and LGBT representation.

In this episode, Sabriel gives me a primer on Overwatch: what makes it different from other first-person shooters, the diversity of its cast of characters, how the community handles harassment, and how Overbuff fits into the equation. Overbuff is Sabriel’s first paid job in the gaming industry, and we discuss her dream to eventually find herself on-camera in the e-sports community. We then talk about Playing with Pride, the documentary by recent Polygamer alumnus Matt Baume for which Sabriel was interviewed, and the experience Matt related in which Sabriel shared something personal with on her PAX East 2016 panel.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:55 — 26.5MB) | Embed