ROM | Polygamer

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.

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: 1:08:28 — 32.2MB) | Embed

Polygamer #59: Video game culture photographer EMiSpicer

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Ken Gagne

EMiSpicer is a video game culture photographer who travels the world capturing gaming events and moments. From GaymerX in New York and California to Fantastic Arcade in Texas and Blip Festival in Japan, EMiSpicer has documented conventions, conferences, festivals, and competitions with her artistic photography. When not moving, she’s at home as the social media manager for MidBoss Games, developer of 2064: Read Only Memories.

In this interview, I asked EMiSpicer how she evokes the spirit of gaming in still photography; her process for shooting and editing photos, including her gear, equipment, and backup storage setup; her favorite conventions to attend, and the capacity in which she works with the organizers; what she’s found works and doesn’t work to crowdfund her work through Patreon, and the exclusive projects she’s shared with her supporters, including Games on Planes; and how she got involved with MidBoss Games.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:23 — 32.6MB) | Embed

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.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:56 — 32.9MB) | Embed