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Tag Archives: PAX

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.

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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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Abbey Perl, Abbey Sager, bullying, Diverse Gaming Coalition, harassment, PAX, PAX East |

Polygamer #69: Tanya C. DePass of Fresh Out of Tokens

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Tanya DePass is the founder of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit that advocates for diversity in gaming. In addition to offering speaking engagements, GDC scholarships, and diversity programming at events such as GaymerX, Tanya has also hosted Fresh Out of Tokens, a weekly interview-based podcast, in which she interviewed such gaming luminaries as Zoë Quinn, David Gaider, and Jim Sterling. After two years and 95 episodes, Fresh Out of Tokens, went off the air in July 2017.

In this episode of Polygamer, Tanya and I discuss what got us into diversity podcasting, how we found our guests, and what we’ve loved and hated most about producing our shows. How do we know if our show is “successful”? Has our show made gaming better? Have we learned anything about ourselves? What advice would we give to someone interested in starting their own diversity podcast? How will her upcoming guest appearances on the Spawn On Me podcast be different? All these topics and more are covered in this post-mortem.

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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https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg69-tanya_depass.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:37 — 26.3MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Fresh Out of Tokens, GenCon, hashtag, I Need Diverse Games, INeedDivGms, OrcaCon, PAX, podcast, podcasting, post-mortem, Spawn On Me, Tanya C DePass, Tanya DePass |

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]

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.

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https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg63-paxjourno2017.mp3

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

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: +1 to Journalism, Alexander Sliwinski, editing, editors, Jonathan Holmes, journalism, PAX, PAX East, Susan Arendt, writers, writing |

Education & Journalism at PAX East 2017

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Ken Gagne

PAX East 2017 is next week. Though the event is not typically considered a safe haven for a diverse audience of gamers, over the years its programming has expanded to include not only the Diversity Lounge but speakers and panels about LGBT+, PoC, atheism, ageism, and more. As evidence, you need look no further than this podcast, which was launched following a PAX East panel on sexism in gaming. Since then, several episodes of Polygamer have featured speakers first seen on PAX East panels, such as Charles Battersby and Tatjana Vejnovic. There are plenty of open-minded, supportive, encouraging, diverse people and panels at PAX — and I’d like to continue counting myself among them.

In trying to further improve PAX East from the inside, I’ve been moderating panels at the event since 2013, including this year. If you’re interested in getting into the games industry or honing your craft, then do I have the panels for you:

Life After Graduation

Sunday, March 12, 1:30–2:30 PM in Cuttlefish Theatre

Colleges are preparing students for a career in game development and design — but how closely does the classroom match the reality? Are the next generation of creators being given the skills and opportunities they need? We’ll hear from several recent graduates about the reality of their first years in the industry and what they wish they’d known.

Featuring:

  • Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer, Gamebits]
  • Oleg Brodskiy [QA Tester, Irrational Games]
  • Francesca Carletto-Leon [Co-Founder, Contigo Games]
  • Julie Murphy [Experience Designer, Riot Games]
  • Sarah Como [Chief Operations Officer, Zephyr Workshop]

PAX East 2017: Life After Graduation

+1 to Journalism: Becoming a Better Writer

Sunday, March 12, 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]

PAX East 2017: +1 to Journalism

Although my lineup this year may not directly address matters of diversity, there’ll be diversity on stage. I long ago signed a pledge to diversify my panel lineups — but that wasn’t hard to do, since alumni of Polygamer were quick to sign up, including Sarah Como, Francesca Carletto-Leon, and Susan Arendt.

If you’re attending PAX East, I hope to see you in the audience! We’ll be using the hashtags #paxgrad & #paxjourno, respectively, so feel free to follow along, wherever you are. Be sure to say hello afterward, and subscribe to this podcast for audio and video from these panels!

(Promotional images courtesy Thomas Awrey)

Posted in Events | Tags: Alexander Sliwinski, Boston, degree, education, Francesca Carletto-Leon, graduation, Jonathan Holmes, journalism, Julie Murphy, Oleg Brodskiy, panel, PAX, PAX East, Sarah Como, Susan Arendt |

Polygamer #45: You’re a Games Journalist! Now What?

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Every year, PAX East, the biggest video game convention on the East Coast, hosts a panel about breaking into games journalism. Editors from multiple outlets have advised aspiring writers how to pitch a feature story or self-publish — but rarely have they said what happens next. Once you’ve established a reputation as a talented and reliable writer, what’s it like to actually make a career of games journalism?

To explore this question, I assembled and moderated the PAX East 2016 panel “You’re a Games Journalist! Now What?” Joining me were Susan Arendt, managing editor of GamesRadar+; Samit Sarkar, senior reporter for Polygon; Alexa Ray Corriea, editor at GameSpot; and Holly Green, features contributor for Paste Magazine. We discussed the hard and soft skills necessary to make it as a journalist; collaborating with editors to produce better writing and writers; the difference in turnaround time for news versus features; how video is being incorporated into daily reporting; and the financial realities of the profession.

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. Thanks to Lon Seidman for recording this audio and video, which are embedded past the jump along with a transcript. See also the summary at Pangyrus.


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Posted in Podcast | Tags: Alexa Ray Corriea, Bobcat, Destructoid, Gameranx, GameSpot, GamesRadar, Holly Green, journalism, PAX, PAX East, PAX East 2016, paxjourno, Polygon, Samit Sarkar, Susan Arendt |

Polygamer #40: Chachi Bobinks of The Dialogue Wheel

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Chachi Bobinks is the co-host of The Dialogue Wheel, a fan podcast dedicated to Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and all things BioWare — including diversity! Fittingly, Chachi wears multiple hats herself: podcaster, feminist, PAX Enforcer, parent, and cat lady. How she juggles it all is anyone’s guess.

In this rollicking hour of hilarity, Ken fires a series of difficult questions at Chachi: What makes BioWare so special that they get their own fan podcast? What’s your favorite BioWare game? How does podcasting ameliorate social anxiety disorder? Why volunteer to be a PAX Enforcer and thus miss most of the show? Does GamerGate require that we take sides? What does it mean to be a New Age feminist, and how many other kinds of feminism are there? And, most important: can a sex-positive feminist patronize Hooters?

Listeners are invited to make a donation to the organ transplant program of UMass Memorial Health Care in memory of Edward F. Gagné, guest of Polygamer #24.

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.

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https://media.blubrry.com/polygamer/www.polygamer.net/wp-content/uploads/podcast/pg40-chachi_bobinks.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:22:14 — 38.5MB) | Embed

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Posted in Podcast | Tags: BioWare, Chachi Bobinks, Dialogue Wheel, Dragon Age, Enforcer, feminism, GamerGate, Hooters, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, New Age feminism, PAX, PAX East, PAX South, Star Wars, The Dialogue Wheel |
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