PAX East | Polygamer

Polygamer #101: Gaming After Kids at PAX East 2020

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Parents are raising the next generation of gamers — but let’s give some self-care to the current generation, too. How do we hold onto our identity as gamers after becoming parents? When do we find time for our favorite hobby, and how does having children change what games we’re playing? At PAX East 2020, I moderated this panel of gamers who shared their stories of adapting to their new lives while still making time for themselves and their games.

Featuring:

Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer @ Gamebits]
Nic Tompkins-Hughes [Organizational Operations & Logistics Consultant @ Freelance]
Jonathan Holmes [Writer @ Destructoid & Nintendo Force]
Duane de Four [Educator, Media Critic, Activist @ DuanedeFour.com]
Johanna Shaw [Jill-of-All-Crafts @ Shaw Asylum]
Jeff Warmouth [Professor @ Fitchburg State University]

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.

(Promotional image courtesy Thomas Awrey)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:27 — 29.9MB) | Embed

Polygamer #88: The Art of Craft at PAX East 2019

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Ken Gagne

The tenth annual PAX East was held last month, and I was honored to host two panels of brilliant speakers. One, “The Return of Couch Play”, can be seen and heard on the IndieSider podcast. The other was “The Art of Craft: Inspiring Game Creations”, featured on this week’s Polygamer podcast.

Video games are art — and art imitates video games. The characters, colors, and aesthetics of our favorite digital worlds have spawned an industry of apparel and crafts that keep us warm and add a flair of the fantastic to ourselves and our homes. We’ll hear from amateur, hobbyist, and professional artists and creators about the inspirations and tools they use to create, enjoy, and sell their custom clothes, jewelry, furniture, paintings, and more.

Featuring:

Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer, Gamebits]
Johanna Shaw [Jill-of-All-Crafts, Shaw Asylum]
Chris Gonzalez [Owner & Designer, Dapper Pixel]
Adri [Storyteller, genericgeekgirl]
Roberto Hoyos [Co-host, That Thing You Made]

Watch the video above, or 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.

Full disclosure: I backed Roberto Hoyos’ “Iconic Pillow Collection” Kickstarter.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 59:48 — 28.2MB) | Embed

Polygamer #79: Abbey Perl of the Diverse Gaming Coalition

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Ken Gagne

Abbey Perl is the founder of the Diverse Gaming Coalition, a non-profit organization charged with ending bullying both online and off. Founded in 2016, the Diverse Gaming Coalition provides resources, education, and safe spaces by organizing events and entertainment media.

In this episode, I spoke with Abbey about her own experience with bullying and being doxxed; how her non-profit tackles bullying while also being fun; the story behind the group’s comic book, Life on the Outside; the difference between bullying and harassment, and whether solutions should be technological or societal; lessons learned from Abbey’s PAX East 2016 panel; and why WordPress is better than Wix.

Links mentioned in this episode:

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 49:38 — 23.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #63: +1 to Journalism at PAX East 2017

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Ken Gagne

This week’s Polygamer podcast is the audio from the PAX East panel "+1 to Journalism: Becoming a Better Writer", held on Sunday, March 12, 2017, 4:00–5:00 PM in Bobcat Theatre.

What do you need to know to make it as a games journalist? What pitches do editors love to get, and what tropes have been done to death? Whether you’re helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions, unearthing the history of a franchise, or critiquing video games as art, you have to convey a lot of meaning in just a few words before the reader clicks away. Come hear veteran writers and editors share the best in games journalism and our own mistakes we’ve made along the way.

Featuring:

Susan Arendt [Executive Editor, GamesRadar+]
Jonathan Holmes [Writer, Destructoid & Nintendo Force]
Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer, Gamebits]
Alexander Sliwinski [COO, Bithell Games]

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:15 — 29.8MB) | 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

Polygamer #61: Jonathan Holmes of Destructoid

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Jonathan Holmes is the former editor-in-chief of Destructoid and a frequent contributor to that site as well as many others, including Nintendo Force and A Profound Waste of Time. He is also a voice actor and a frequent speaker and panelist at video game conventions. Next week, he and I will be appearing on the PAX East 2017 panel "+1 to Journalism".

In advance of that event, this week Jonathan and I discuss the spat that YouTube celebrity PewDiePie is having with the Wall Street Journal over his anti-Semitism; the politics of managing a site such as Destructoid; how perception of skin color affects Jonathan’s reception both within his community and by GamerGate; why no journalist wants to write about Nintendo; and how he came to be a voice actor in 2064: Read Only Memories by MidBoss Games.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:28 — 32.2MB) | Embed