Not Your Mama's Gamer

With E3 ending this week Alisha and Sam have come together to talk about the games that they are most looking forward to in the coming year. Sam tries to keep it positive, but Alisha pulls her (kicking and screaming) into the saltiest of salt mines. A fast paced and fun look at some of our favorite E3 announcements. What We're Playing: Jurassic Work EvolutionState of Decay 2Fallout Shelter What We're Reading: The Red Queen Series by Victoria AveyardChildren of Blood and Bone by Tomi...

This week we have a conversation with Megan Condis, author of the new book Gaming Masculinity: Trolls, Fake Geeks, and the Gendered Battle for Online Culture. We chat about toxicity and hope in the game community, academia, and elsewhere. What We're Playing: League of LegendsAnalogue a Hate StoryStardew Valley (Multiplayer beta)SubaeriaState of Decay 2Fallout 4 What We're Reading: This Book is a Dungeon by Nathan MeunierGaming Masculinity by Megan CondisChildren of Blood and Bone by Tomi...

This week we are joined by Brant Fitzgerald and Geoffrey Card of Undead Labs as we talk about the zombie survival game, State of Decay 2. This time around we talk about mechanics, weapons, diversity, narratives, and surviving the apocalypse. State of Decay 2 launches May 22, 2018 so get out there and save the world! What We’re Playing: State of Decay 2FrostpunkFar: Lone SailsYonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles What We’re Reading: Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. JemisinJack Reacher...

This week we have a conversation with Alisha Karabinus and Rachel Atherton (@wrathertweets) about their research on how analog games, like the forum based social deception game Mafia, can serve as a model for video game design. Thus the episode title that pulls from The Godfather quote, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." that hints at leaving the forum and taking the design practices to make video games. So grab a glass of vino (or an espresso) and join us for another fun conversation...

This week we talked with Edgar Serrano (@EdgarLunarcito), Co-Founder of Lienzo Studio, maker of Mulaka, a 3D action game based on the Tarhumara, an indigenous people living in the Chihuahua region of Mexico. This week we talk about the importance of integrating narratives, cultures, and histories into video games. Mulaka is a beautiful game and well worth playing. It's available on Xbox, Switch, PS4, and Steam. What We’re Playing: Super Mario OdysseyA Way OutNorthWhere Are My...

This week we talked with Kevin Harwood, the Creative Director & Producer of The Station Games (The Station). We had a great conversation about narrative and storytelling. We talk about the narrative experience of The Station and how it all came to be. What We’re Playing: ?- PUBG?? - One Eyed Kutkh - The Station - Mulaka - Slay the Spire What We're Reading ?-Algorithms of Oppression -Art of War -Rise and Fall of the Third Reich -Jordan Peterson What We’re Drinking -All of the German Beer...

This week we are joined by NYMG and Mixer community member Nicole Kirchoff (@NKirc) as we talk about gaming, building community around games, and slaying monsters with friends. We had a great conversation and the salt flowed freely. For you Breath of the Wild fans you might say there was lots of Salt Grilled Fish! What We’re Playing: Monster Hunter: WorldMinecraftKingdom Come: DeliveranceMy Time at PortiaRock Band RivalsSlay the SpireThe Long Dark What We're Reading Just Mercy by Bryan...

This week Alisha and Sam answer questions submitted to the show and throw in one (each) of their own. It was a shorter episode, but it was a blast. Send us more questions to answer! What We’re Playing: Monster Hunter: WorldStaxelThe Mind’s Eclipse What We’re Drinking Coffee (and lots of it)Old Fashioned

This week we chat about our favorite games from last year and the games that we are most excited to play in 2018. We’re joined by two new voices as two of our current guest writers, Amanda and Jordyn, chime in! What We’re Playing: BeholderLegend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES Classic)Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)OrwellMafia What We're Reading All of the children's books about female astronauts and computer programmers What We’re Drinking Pineapple HulaRed Wine (for...

This week we had an amazing conversation with the fabulous Elizabeth Lapensee, Indigenous scholar, artist, and game designer who talks with us about (among other things) her latest game, Thunderbird Strike. She shares with us her experience making the game and the political upheaval surrounding it. What We’re Playing: Thunderbird StrikeSmiteSomaYour ToyXenoblade Chronicles 2PUBGFallout 4 What We’re Reading EligibleBaldur’s Gate 2Hoarders, Doomsday Preppers, and the Culture of the...

This week we talk to games journalist motion designer, Yussef Cole (@youmeyou) about his lastest research and article in Unwinnable, “Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleischer Animation“, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Super Mario Odyssey, and much more! What We’re Playing: Assassin’s Creed: Origins (or Oranges)Rain WorldSuper Mario OdysseyBioshock CollectionMinecraftAnimal Crossing: Pocket CampGame Dev TycoonDishonored: Death of the Outsider What We’re Reading Einstein’s Dreams by...

This week we talk about Supermassive Games' Hidden Agenda for Playstation 4. This is a true spoilercast. If you don't want to know key parts of the game you may want to save this episode for after you play the game. We talk about story, writing, acting, and what the game all means. We have some very specific opinions about the game and some of the issues that we see as being deal breakers. What We’re Playing: Hidden AgendaFarming Simulator 17Fortnite: Battle RoyaleStardew Valley What We're...

This week Alisha wanted to title the episode "That Tenure Money", but we really talked about Jen and Trea's new edited collection Gaming Representation and the ways that we see (or want to see) our scholarship as activist work. The title actually comes from a great story from TreaAndrea that deals with identity, authenticity, and explaining our work as "serious" scholarship. What We’re Playing: NBA2K18PS VR GamesSuper Mario OdysseyAssassin's Creed: OriginsHorizon Zero DawnFortniteHidden...

This week we chat about the perils and pitfalls of having a particular history of a the field of game studies laid out in a journal special issue when there is an apparent lack of diversity, disciplinary representation, and more. The title “The Two Jaakko Problem” does not come from the fact that we have a problem with Finnish dudes named Jaakko, but rather that we see the limitations of having a number of scholars with similar demographics while having none that represent others. Links of...

Episode 156 Pizza Party is the Best Party...Oh, and Our Video Game Summer Run Down This week we chat about what we've been playing this summer and what we are going to be playing to close the summer out before school starts back in a few weeks. We also talk about representation through character body types in Overwatch and Fortnite (aka thick thighs and lies?) , streaming as a gamer, and community building. Links of Note: Sam's (nymgamer_saffista) Mixer channel...

As a follow up to episode 153, this week we talk about what we saw and played at E3 as well as talking about the things that we are most (and least) excited to get our hands on. What We’re Playing: Super Lucky’s TaleAshenRefunctOverwatch What We’re Drinking Varied Cranberry Peach mock/cocktails

This week in the podcast we are joined by Twitch streamer Justin Clark (Twitch & Twitter: TrueZeldaFan) as we talk about the culture of streaming, why he streams, and lots of things in between. What We’re Playing: Persona 5Nier: AutomataLegend of Zelda: Breath of the WildCities: SkylinesMario Kart 8 DeluxeHearthstoneMass Effect: Andromeda What We’re Reading City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp by Ben RawlenceWhen She Woke by Hillary Jordan What We’re Drinking...

This week in the podcast we had an amazing conversation with TreaAndrea Russworm (@ProfessorTMR) is an associate professor at UMass Amhearst, author of Blackness is Burning: Civil Rights, Popular Culture, and the Problem of Recognition and co-editor of From Madea to Media Mogul: Theorizing Tyler Perry and the forthcoming Gaming Representation: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Games. Check out our conversations that span everything from film to fiction to comics to video games. What...

Episode 146: Sometimes We Play Games on Boards (Right click and save as to download, or find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn). In this week’s episode we talk about board games with our guest Tony Bushner. There’s also lots of talk of...

Episode 145: Sometimes You Have to Kill Things: On Games and Self-Care (Right click and save as to download, or find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn). In this week’s episode we talk about games and self-care. We spend some time talking about...