Steam | Polygamer

Polygamer #102: Jason Oda of Waking

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Jason Oda is the designer and developer of Waking, a game that uses gamers’ personal memories as weapons in the fight to awaken from a coma. As players explore the landscape of their subconscious, they are prompted to meditate and reflect on their experiences, choosing the memories that will strengthen them and fight alongside them. Waking releases on Thursday, June 18, 2020 for Xbox One and Windows from tinyBuild Games.

In this interview, Jason and I talk about the game’s evolution from Coma to Waking; how he managed to produce such an ambitious project as its sole designer and developer; the role that memories, even painful ones, can play in making us stronger; making a game that is inclusive of many diverse life experiences and memories; how the game blends meditation with Dark Souls-style action; what he learned from developing his previous game, Continue?9876543210; and how his pitch to ID@Xbox employed a technique that made its way back into the game.

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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Polygamer #92: Bobbi A Sand of Transcenders Media

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Ken Gagne

Bobbi Augustine Sand is the game designer and author of Knife Sisters, a visual novel published by Transcenders Media. In Knife Sisters, players assume the role of Leo, a non-binary twenty-something exploring BDSM relationships and the occult. Players navigate this black-and-white world by choosing who to spend time with, what kink to explore, and how to respond to new situations, all while safely negotiating power exchange and communicating consent.

Bobbi and I start this interview by reviewing the basics, such as what BDSM, edgeplay, and polyamory are, where gamers can learn more about these subcultures, and how people interested in kink can find each other. We discuss the different sexual cultures of Bobbi’s native Sweden versus my own in the United States, how the game’s adult content made it difficult to market internationally, and the resulting challenges for its Kickstarter. And, of course, we talk about Knife Sisters: the different ways Leo and Mo express consent; whether Naomi would’ve chosen to be childfree; how Dagger’s rituals fit into the theme of power exchange; and what exactly Kylo Zen is.

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Polygamer #13: Lorien Green of pinball documentary Shoot Again

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Ken Gagne

Lorien Green is a filmmaker, documentarian, gamer, parent, and introvert. In 2009, without any background in video production, she set out to film a documentary about the growing popularity of board games. The result, Going Cardboard, was a success, setting her on the path to her current project: a documentary about the resurgence of pinball called Shoot Again.

In this episode of Polygamer, Lorien discusses how she got into filmmaking and pinball collecting and the technical know-how needed for both; the challenges of attending conferences, shooting interviews, and conducting director Q&A as an introvert; how she juggles these pursuits with her growing addiction to indie games on Steam; and how she’s raising her two children to be the next generation of geek.

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.

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Polygamer #11: Ryan Green & Josh Larson of That Dragon, Cancer

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Ken Gagne

That Dragon, Cancer is a game that represents the experiences of the Green family as they lived with and cared for Joel Green, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at 1 year old. Through a variety of metaphorical first-person scenarios, the game recreates what it was like to know and play with Joel, take care of him in the hospital, and receive prognoses from doctors. It is a heart-wrenching game that gives us the opportunity to live a situation we hope to never encounter in real life.

Although Joel passed away in March 2014 at 5 years of age, development of That Dragon, Cancer continues, including a currently-in-progress Kickstarter. In this interview, Joel’s father Ryan Green and the game’s co-creator, Josh Larson, share their memories of Joel and discuss who they made the game for, how they settled on the abstract art style, what the reaction has been to their crowdfunding campaign, why they’re launching on Ouya, and what’s next for the team.

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