Hey Broadbeans! Today we’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special live recording! On March 13th 2018, JD had the great honor of sitting alongside Dr. Gregory Grieve, Dr. Vit Sisler, and Helen Osman for a panel at SXSW titled “Gaming Religion: Finding Faith in Digital Games”. Religion, video games, and ethics have…Read more Ep. 24: Gaming Religion (Live Recording from SXSW 2018)
game development
Ep. 21: Rural Flight, Virtually Speaking
Meredith Wilson is participating in rural flight, virtually speaking. As young people from Appalachia increasingly move out of the region, Meredith Wilson has done something strange: moved to rural Virginia to make virtual reality video games. Meredith Wilson is a public health epidemiologist turned video game developer who was a participant in Oculus Launchpad 2017. Wilson used to…Read more Ep. 21: Rural Flight, Virtually Speaking
Ep. 19: Kentucky Route Zero and the Route to Appalachia
It's near impossible to talk about Appalachia and video games, and games that "get Appalachia right", without talking about Kentucky Route Zero. The game itself is mysterious, filled with empty space and people with featureless faces, a five-part digital theater that leaves enough room for Appalachia to rush in. What is it about this magical…Read more Ep. 19: Kentucky Route Zero and the Route to Appalachia
Ep. 17: Triple A Blues
What does it mean to work in AAA game development? In the gaming community, the term "AAA" (pronounced “triple A”) comes with a lot of baggage. While at face value AAA is just an informal way to classify games and games studios that have the highest development and marketing budgets, the category also comes with negative…Read more Ep. 17: Triple A Blues
Ep. 16: Long Distance Bromance
Long distance relationships are enough to make anyone sad. Throw in making a game together? Even sadder! How do long distance game developers stay in the game? As hard as it is to build something together when you’re not, you know, actually together, Michael and Ben of Hydezeke are proof that with the right person (and for…Read more Ep. 16: Long Distance Bromance
Ep. 15: Grief, Game Development, and the Emotional Significance of Oatmeal
Andrea Ayres, creator of The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne, makes me feel a lot of things about hot cereal. The making of the Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne shows that oatmeal has more to do with grief and game development than you might expect. Born on the heels of grief at the loss…Read more Ep. 15: Grief, Game Development, and the Emotional Significance of Oatmeal
Ep. 12: Why Are You Afraid Of Virtual Reality?
The next frontier of video game development is the virtual one, and research about the impact of violence in Virtual Realiy (VR) has started to gear up (if Dr. Chris Ferguson of Episode 10 is any indication). This week JD continues the conversation about violence in video games by chatting about violence and VR with Gijs Molsbergen,…Read more Ep. 12: Why Are You Afraid Of Virtual Reality?