Humans of Gaming Podcast: Recent Episodes
Love Thy Nerd
A show about video and board games that features open and honest conversations about games, life, and belief.
Boardgame designer Kirk Dennison joins us fresh out of knee surgery to open up to Drew and Chris about life as a father of 4 and the strained relations and expectations that can come with being a preacher's kid
Drew Dixon covers the floor at GenCon 2021 to speak with developers and designers from large publishing houses like Funko to independent designers on Kickstarter who tell us a little about their games, what they hope you get out of their games, and why they make them.
Music in this episode was provided by Lee Rosevere.
Roberta Williams (Kings Quest, Mystery House, Phantasmagoria)joins Drew to talk about her and her husband Ken's entry into the video game industry. It involves taking Cobalt courses at local colleges, discovering games on Ken's remote work IBM 360 Mainframe computer such as Colossal Cave Adventure, and a lot of margaritas. Roberta walks us through the early days of what would become Sierra Online through the publishing of her first novel historical-fiction novel based in the 19th century during the height of the potato famine in Ireland.
Ryan Bowdre is a pretty nice guy. An L.A. native and avid Super Smash Bros.player, Ryan started with Disney Interactive as a QA tester before joining the team at Blizzard as a test analyst. Though this time at Blizzard, and now true[X], Ryan was active in his faith but believed that you had to earn the right to speak into someone's life, something that runs counterintuitive in a day where social media gives everyone a platform to say what they think. Drew and Chris talk to Ryan about his experiences at Blizzard before the lawsuit from the State of California and how he grew up in L.A.
Andy Robertson, the author of "Taming Gaming", describes himself as a "good dad." Originally a technical writer for tax software, Andy took a leap to write for video games and has done so for 15 years while curating an impressive database of video games at the Family Video Game Database. Encouraging the active participation of parents and their children in the video game universe by educating parents and providing curated starting points based on interests and familiarity has earned him the honor of his own TED Talk. Drew and Chris chat with Andy about his gaming habits with his children and his realization that his faith is independent of the church building.
Mansplaining and Color Field designer Mondo Davis joins us on Humans of Gaming to kick off the Fall 2021 season. A St. Louis, MO native Mondo now lives in Atlanta with his family where he is currently working on being a father and board game designer who has 4 games under contract as of this episode. Monday is a Navy veteran who currently teaches English as a second language in Atlanta, GA. Drew and Chris chat for a while about how they met him before he was "big time" and cover the frustrations of losing special friendships and family relationships to the polarized environment in which we live. The trio wraps up talking about their experiences in parenting and how they hope we have learned lessons from the previous generation.
Gabe Barrett has some stories to tell. Before he founded the Board Game Design Lab podcast, he played college football and didn't think much of Cam Newton on his first day. He also lives in Honduras most of the year when he isn't in Atlanta and doing missions work in both. His family was also fell afoul of the moral failings of church leadership that cost them their church family. Despite this sad happening, this paved the path for him to travel to Honduras where he met his wife and started his family. It is from these locations that he founded the Board Game Design Lab where the philosophy is the love that a designer can bring friends and families together around a sacred place: the table.
Andrew Lowen of the bord game Deliverance is something of a Renaissance Man. Having dabbled in sales, UFC fighting, wrestling, and now game design he is aiming to provide a game that speaks the truth of the Gospel while also knowing what makes a game fun.
Dan Kazmaier, Creative Director at Steeped Games is one of those rare individuals who has a heart matched only in size by his Midas touch as Chris puts it. A Semi-professional Chess player in Calgary, Dan became involved in games after a round of Uno with refugees taught him the universal experience of gaming and how it can be used to deal with trauma and forge connections with others. So grab a cup of tea and milk and join Drew and Chris as they interview Dan Kazmier.
Sen-Foong Lim of "Junk Art" and "Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time", joins Drew and Chris for a conversation that covers nearly everything. Sen, who is a provincial martial artist, DJ, professor, parent, therapist, and occasionally a board game designer talks about the tension between parents and their children as Drew and Chris go deep into their own experiences with gaming and growing up.
Kate Kadowaki, one of the founders of Love Thy Nerd was the drummer for the former Disney pop/rock group "KSM" (and no, even she doesn't know what it stands for). Kate talks to Drew and Chris about the path that led her out of the church and into the band. The conversation covers the effects of fame, the difference between the "normal" routine or "real life", and how a quick decision to play for the church again led her to her husband and a strengthening of her faith.
Chris Skaggs of Soma games joins Drew and Chris to talk about his unintended path to game development, conversion to Christianity, and the culture of the longest surviving "Christian" game studio.
Liberty Kifer is a pro photographer, mother of 4 girls, a black bear tamer, and an amazing board game designer. Crystallo has a unique origin story with close ties to her family which we wholeheartedly recommend everyone pick up at your local Barnes & Noble! We talk about her Norwegian family history, questionable Lutefisk dietary experiences, and the struggle of believing in a God that would put people in damnation for all eternity.
Yannic Lejac finishes his conversation with Drew and Chris about his time at Blizzard and his transition from game journalism and narrative design to social work.
Yannick LeJacq joins Drew and Chris for the inaugural 2021 season of Humans of Gaming! Reminiscing about their days as writers for Kill Screen, Drew and Yannick talk about the absurdity of the US health care system with its "gamification" of absurd roadblocks that benefit everyone but the patient. The conversation moves onto Yannick's Jewish upbringing and his experiences writing for Kotaku.
You can help contribute to Yannick's GoFundMe as he continues to struggle with medical debt from his procedures.
Cheif Resource Nerd April-Lyn Caouette joins Drew and Chris to give some insight into the many facets of Love Thy Nerd's mission to bring hope and love to the varied "nerd" cultures.
Elizabeth Hargrave joins Drew and Chris to talk about game Wingspan as well as her personal story. She is the daughter of a biochemist father and lawyer mother and is herself an avid bird watcher. Growing up as a Unitarian Universalist in southern Illinois and then Gainseville, FL she has had a unique experience with more conservative Christianity. Her search for personal truth and her respect for others on their own search for truth is part of what influenced her design for Wingspan.
Drew and Chris host author and streamer Maria "Mxiety" Shanley as part of our series celebrating women in the game industry. M, as she likes to be called, tells an amazing story of her youth: being kidnapped by her mother to Russia, public panic attacks that ended one career and helped push her on the path to the one she wanted, and how the movie Tangled changed her life.
Continuing our series on celebrating women in gaming, Drew Dixon hosts "Gamer Doc", a medical doctor, a gamer, and someone who has a passion for improving the quality of life for gamers. Using her Twitch channel she hosts sessions recommending the best PC setups, console setups, and general health tips to keep you and other gamers playing as well as possible.
The pair converse about her Christian upbringing and the current state of her faith, the state of the gamer's stereotype when it comes to personal health, and her determination to become a gamer and doctor despite being told girls don't play Call of Duty, and doctors don't play games at all.
Astrid Refstrup, is the Co-Founder of Triple Topping, the Welcome To Elk co-writer & Director, and the producer of Ynglet.Drew sits down with Astrid to talk about Welcome to Elkand Ynglet along with the challenges of running a small studio and overcoming the almost habitual desire to "crunch" during development. Sharing wisdom to each other as parents, Astrid shares her worries and hopes for her children along with what inspires her to keep working.
This week we are taking a quick break from our 10 episode series featuring women in different roles in the gaming industry as Drew was at PAX East in Boston checking out some of the amazing projects currently in development. In this episode, Drew interviews a diverse group of developers and content creators.
We hope you enjoy this little one-off episode that we hope embodies the diversity that Humans of Gaming is searching to feature on a regular basis.
Humans of Gaming returns for the first season of 2020 as we focus on the women in the video and board game industry. Amy Green of Numinous games joins Drew and Chris to talk about their new project with Cyan (MYST, RIVEN)in VR titled Area Man Lives. Originally titled Untethered, the project was unable to be finished but with the combined forces of Cyan and Numinous games, it will be released later this year.
Amy also tells about her path to video game narrative design that was born out of the game, That Dragon, Cancer, and how her lack of knowledge on what can and can't be done by commonly held coding practices helped stretch the creativity of the team at Numinous games and cemented her role as a narrative designer.
Josiah Martindale describes himself as being "liberally minded." The writer of a Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" inspired D&D campaign currently on Kickstarter, Josiah is not talking politics as much as traditionalism vs new chaos. Drew and Chris talk to him about his love of Kansas, good brisket BBQ, and what it is like to go from accountant to successful game story writer.
Ricardo Bare of Arkane Studios joins Drew and Chris to talk a little bit about his past with Ion Storm (Deus Ex)and how it led him to Arkane Studios where he worked on the Dishonoredseries and was the lead designer for Prey. In his formative years, the writings of C.S. Lewis served as the springboard for his personal investigations into examining the Bible and he talks about the disconnect between what he read and what was practiced when he started attending a church. The narrative dissonance between the two has lead him to a more older practice of contemplative faith.
In this episode of Humans of Gaming, Drew Dixon and Chris Gwaltney host board game designer Rob Daviau to talk about his decade with Hasbro Games working on titles such as Pandemic Legacy, Trivial Pursuit,and Risk Legacy to name a few. Rob has an interesting history in both education and vocation with a minor in Medieval History, a stint writing forklift brochures, and being an intern for the David Letterman show. The Conversation covers his love for The Great British Baking Show, cooking as a primary hobby, and his Roman Catholic upbringing and how his current atheist way of thinking influences his games and parenting.
Paul Darvasi, educator and researcher with a Masters in Educational Technology, joins Drew to talk about his efforts to better research and document the effect that video games have on the mind of those who consume them. His thesis work on using GTA Vin the classroom is one of the topics of discussion. In the latter half of the show we turn to his upbringing in a Catholic culture, the course of hopeful agnosticism he has chosen, and the struggles he has in a predominatingly spiritual world.
Alexis has been working in animation for over 10 years including stints with Slap Happy Cartoons, the current producers of Tom & Jerry. She currently is working on a game about trying to be somebody, Chicory: A Colorful Tale. The conversation turns to Alexis' history in Brisbane, Australia and her realization that she suffers from OCD. She confides to us her struggles and the unique way in which religious language and works of art can affect her OCD.
Pat and Kat Lysagt of Chara us again during their "reboot" year. Hurricane Michael, 2 moves, and 4 kids find one of our favorite designer families at a point where the best laid plans have been put to the side in the interest of family. Drew and Chris talk to Pat and Kat about the time off, the difficulty of artisan support within Christendom, and the workaholic personality.
Chris Gwaltney and Assignment Editor Madeline Turnipseed host developer Peter Brinson of Infinite Children as they talk about a game with an audio book as the medium. The game changes as more people play and earn achievements and explores the ideas and fears of being left behind. In the second half of the Chris and Madeline turn to Peter's youth and how his mental connection of Christianity and hatred influenced his thinking and his games today.
Richard Rouse III returns to talk about life after his indie release, The Church in the Darkness. Richard talks about the life of being an indie developer and the different cycle of development, marketing, and patching that is normally separated in larger studios. Drew and Chris also ask if producing a game about a religious cult has had any kind of transformative effect on his way of thinking or perception on of groups of any kind such as Christians or vegetarians.
Drew Dixon, our Chief Content Nerd talked to 6 more developers and designers at GenCon 2019 including Evan Derrick of “City of Angels” who spent 5 - 6 years creating this game; Robert Newton, Josh Wood, and Frank West amongst others. After a quick run down of the games they are showing at GenCon, we ask what do you hope the players get out of the experience and why do you make games?
Drew and April-Lyn were at GenCon 2019 this week to play games and interview the developers of said games. This week is part 1 of our interviews featuring some returning guests from GenCon 2018 as well as new developers. Michael Fox gives us an update on the success of Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr as well as the new game Oceana Megacities from Hub Games. Tiffany Caires also shares her passion with Habba Games of bettering the lives of those who play by teaching social and emotional skills to players. Zain Memon had an ambitious goal of making a game that allowed players to talk about politics while avoiding the toxicity and anger tied to those discussion in todays culture.
Drew and Chris complete their "Getting to Know You" 2 part series where they give listeners a glimpse into the background of two co founders of Love Thy Nerd. This week Drew is in the hot seat as Chris asks Drew about his time in a "liberal" baptist church that deigned to read from the New King James version of the Bible in pursuit of a girl he fancied, the self righteous age of the early 20's, and ultimately to the more mellow family man we know and love today.
Teri Litorco from Renegade Games talks with Drew and Chris about her early days on YouTube teaching the basics of painting miniatures for table top play. These videos put her on a road to Geek & Sundry during their early days and the end result of working with Renegade Games. The latter half of the episode turns the conversation toward Teri's heritage from the Philippines and the practice of Roman Catholicism both there and in her now home of Canada, and how it brings her a sense of completion rather than compartmentalization.
Henry Audubon, board game designer of titles such as Space Park, Kingswood, and PARKS joins Drew and Chris to talk about his road to board game design, barely passing high school, making his own D&D campaigns, and experiencing the open ended spiritual influences of his mother.
Paul Shortt of Exploding Kittens joins Drew and Chris to talk about his life in Detroit area Michigan. Working as a graphic designer for health care interface design, he was brought on board to work for the popular card game. The conversation turns to his younger years, the religion of the family growing up, and the pros and cons of having a "silo" cultural environment.
Drew visits the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio and gets to play a plethora of new and unreleased board games as well as getting to interview their creators. Derek Funkhouser from Skybound Games, Gil Hova from Formal Ferret Games, and others talk to Drew about what they hope gamers get out of their games and why they make them.
Drew and Chris have been hosting the show for a while now so we figured it was time to get to know them a bit more. This week Drew interviews Chris about his favorite games, growing up in the midwest with a culture of ignored conversation, being the black sheep of his family, and the feelings of guilt and shame that come from being the guy that calls the repair man.
James Hudson did not always start out as a board game creator. World of Warcraft dominated his life for almost 9 years until a friend convinced him to come to a board game night and he was exposed to Power Grid.Since that night James has been involved with collaboration efforts with Druid City Games, now a part of Skybound Entertainment, to publish amazing games that help fuel that organic passion of playing games with other people around the same table. Drew and Chris have a conversation with James about the seasons of his faith, the disillusionment with the American church culture, and the sacred space that the board game scene can provide for those looking to have relationships across multiple divides.
Luke Dicken is the director of Applied AI at Zynga and joins us this week to talk about desiring the ability to build ladders in Skyrim with the hundreds of brooms one can find themselves carrying around. Luke holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence for Games and is the chair of the IGDA, a charity dedicated to the empowerment of game developers across the world.
Gabriel Graziani has ben the public face for many of Ubisoft's most popular franchises including Assassins Creed among others as the Community Manager. Having served as the focal point between developers and gamers dating back to Assassins Creed II, Gabriel has many stories to tell about the positive, the negative, and the reason behind his enduring optimism and joy for his profession.
Elie Abraham wears a lot of hats. They are a video game designer, model, speaker, activist, board game designer, composer, stand up comedian, writer, and escape game designer. They have participated in over 170 game jams and have world record for "most games with soundtracks designed by a single person, at a game jam." Drew and Elie chat about the importance of rest, Elie's Jewish upbringing and departure from Judaism, and the importance of recognizing the mysterious nature of the world in which we live.
Using games to have conversations about topics is not a new concept but Josh Heath of High Level Games is looking at using a different medium: pen and paper role playing games. Using a character in a game he played for years to be something he wasn't in real life gave him the inspiration to create a 10 year plan for his life and how to get to where he is now. Using the table top format of games to help people have conversations about sensitive topics from today's issues is part of the idea behind High Level Games.
Kate Edwards is an influential woman in gaming as well as a woman of faith. Forming Microsoft's Geopolitical Strategy team, her department had a hand in the Halo franchise, Age of Empires, and virtually every game and product Microsoft produced during her tenure. Additionally she has a background in cartography, philosophy, and was the executive director of the IGDA from 2012 to 2017 helping to advocate for those on front lines in the game industry calling for more diversity in the work force.
Dr. Karen Schrier is an Associate Professor of Games/Interactive Media, Director of the Play Innovation Lab, and Director of the Games and Emerging Media program at Marist College. She joins us this week to talk about her belief in how games can be more than just escapist fantasies. The ability to tell gripping stories and effectively communicate ideas in a different medium is her focus and one Drew and Chris talk to her about in addition to her younger years playing games in an age where boys and girls played together on the same TV.
Joe Hopkins of the Kickstarter board game project Endangered joins us this week. Drew and Chris talk with Joe about the self appointed quarter backing player who can take over the gaming experience and create barriers for enjoyment.
Eddy Webb talks to us about what it means to be a “good dog” in this week’s episode. The owner of 3 pugs, watching their personalities while applying D&D style character profiles to each of them gave him the idea of what would become Pugmire, a game that reflects on the human condition. As in each episode, Drew and Chris talk to Eddy about his formative years with an Irish Catholic mother who supported him and his beliefs no matter what they may be and how that has influenced him through the years.
Manny Tremblay of hit board game Dice Throne, joins Chief Content Nerd Drew Dixon and Chief Executive Nerd Chris Gwaltney for a frank talk about everything from making children’s dishes, working for Cyan worlds, and the extreme side of conservative religion in Minnesota.
In the frozen tundra of Michigan, Rebekah Saltsman sits down to talk to Drew about the forthcoming game Overland.
Xalavier Nelson Jr. of Hypnospace Outlawtalks to us about the seedy alt-right underbelly of Italy, underground folk dancing rings, and how puns and horror games have more in common than people might think.
Andrien Gbinigie of Ubisoft joins us this week to talk about his dream of working on Assassin's Creed ever since he ran atop the roofs in Venice in Assassin's Creed 2.Born and raised in Nigeria till the age of 14, Andrien continued his education in London (where he became a Manchester United fan much to Drew's dismay with his love of Arsenal) and realized his dream by gaining Ubisoft's attention by producing his own fan made Assassin's Creed podcast.
Nigeria is very religious country with Andrien growing up in a Christian household with regular church attendance. Drew and Chris talk to him about his current perspective of Christianity along with the lessons they have learned navigating the ever escalating tensions on social media, how to manage them, enforce self-discipline, and realize it may not really be all that important.
Michael Vermeulen and Derek Bradley of Ashen join Drew and Chris this week to talk about their indie darling title. Hailing from South Africa, the duo talk about the development of their Souls-like game and the "take care of people" environment of the studio that they have tried to foster and how it is reflected in the game Ashen.
Adam Davis and Adam Johns of Games to Grow join Drew and Chris this week to talk about the therapeutic uses of Dungeons & Dragons.The non profit group was founded on the belief that games of all kinds have the power to improve people’s lives. The duo talk about how the company facilitates groups and training of others to use games like D&Dto help others:
- Learn to take the perspectives of others
- Improve their frustration tolerance
- Develop their creative problem-solving skills
- Cultivate communication and collaboration skills
Adam and Adam also talk about their experiences at conventions, sharing their vision with people form all walks of life and how the Dungeons & Dragons panic of the 1980's still lingers today.
Jay Tholen of Hypnospace Outlaw and Dropsy returns to the show to join Drew and Chris live from Germany! The first half of the show is a deep dive into the nostalgia of the internet from the 90's when terms like Netscape Navigator, GeoCities, Prodigy, and bad MIDI music dominated the 56k modems those of us over 28 used to connect with each other. The later half is filled with a discussion of where Jay has been since his first appearance on the show and how his Christian faith influences his work.
Brett Vance, Director of Creative Content for Explosm, joins Drew and Chris to talk about some upcoming projects at Explosm including Rapture Rejects.Working for the company that produces the webcomic Cyanide & Happiness is a bit of a juxtaposition for Brett when you consider his formatives years. His parents raised him in a church that ascribed to an Old Testament philosophy where holidays like Christmas were not observed and the diet was strictly kosher. A change in his family's theology led them to depart the church and put him on the path to attend Dallas Christian College where he secretly attended bar crawls (while dressed as a banana) and met those who would eventually hire him on as marketing for Cyanide & Happiness.
Love Thy Nerd was on hand at PAX South 2019 for some developer interviews of games of all kinds. Chief Content Nerd Drew Dixon and Managing Editor April-Lyn Caouette walked the floor and talked to various members of the industry to share thoughts on why they make games and what the developer hopes you, the player, gets out of them.
Interviews
- Bekah Saltsman of Overland from FinjiCo @ 3:00
- Rami Ismail of Vambleer @ 11:32
- Terry Cavanagh and Niamh Houston aka "Chipzel" @ 19:52
- Kieron Kelly of Divinity Original Sin from Larian Studios @ 25:25
- Tristan Barona of Don't Give Up from Taco Pizza Cats @ 30:13
- Jorge Garcia of Tunche from LeapGS @ 38:33
- Tom Sharpe from Gossamer Games @ 43:30
- Sam McCully of JackQuest from Blowfish Studios @46:42
Greg Lobanov of the hit indie title Wandersongtalks with the crew about his 6 month trek across the United States on his bicycle that taught him about shared adversity and community. Starting in the North East, Greg and a small team made it all the way to Miami, FL before everyone backed out of the trip leaving him alone to complete the journey West. During this time he encountered both feelings of fear and elation as the best of humanity's compassion presented itself to him and bikers he crossed showed solidarity with sometimes no more than a nod of the head.
Greg also talks about his family from Russia where Bibles were illegal during his youth and how a CIA agent smuggled Bible's into the country and helped to baptize his mother in secret. Growing up in Philly, Greg attended a Roman Catholic school and while he does not follow the teaching of the church, he believes in the soul and the need for all people to be kind and do good to make the world a better place.
Heidi McDonald joins Drew this week to talk about various topics including a public confession of not knowing how to ride a bicycle, asset comparisons between herself and her avatar in Dragon Age, the great "Squee!" incident of 2013, and learning how to be bold from her boss riding into a wall on a penny farthing bicycle.
Heidi has several books to her name including Digital Love: Romance and Sexuality in Games. She also worked as the "translator" for iThrive Games and designer at School Games in her hometown of Pittsburg, PA.
Drew completes his visit to PAX Unplugged 2018 by walking the floor and interviewing board game developers who are making experiences that push the medium into new areas. Can a board game make laugh so hard you cry or tell a harrowing story of sadness? Drew interviews 8 developers who are exploring these possibilities as well as what they hope people take away from their projects and why they make the games you play.
Drew visits PAX Unplugged to walk the floor and interview board game developers who are developing experiences that push the medium into new areas. Can a board game make laugh so hard you cry or tell a harrowing story of sadness? Drew interviews 5 developers who are exploring these possibilities as well as what they hope people take away from their projects and why they make the games you play.
As one of the first career researchers into the video game culture, Dr. Kowert began her studies by looking at the perceived stereotypes of gamers at the time the MMO universe exploded with the arrival of World of Warcraft. Some of the questions she wanted to tackle included, "Did the game create the socially awkward gamer stereotype that lived in the basement or did the new medium tap into something already there?" and "Do online skills translate into offline skills?" Drew and Chris also ask the good doctor to weigh in on the video game violence discussion in addition to her book, "A Parent's Guide to Video Games."
Jamey Stegmaier joins us this week to talk about Kickstarter, Scythe and growing up in the Catholic Church.
Jamie Madigan has a PhD in Psychology, loves video games, and the nerds that play them so we obviously wanted to have him on the show. The conversation touches on digital vs. real life relationships, how to be a parent that engages, how not to be a completionist (like the podcast producer), and many other interesting insights to the "moral panic" often directed at video games.
YouTube personality Katya Szewczuk is our guest this week to talk a little about having a fast growing YouTube channel and the challenges that comes with having such a large community. Starting out as a manga reviewer Katya ended up gaining a following with a focus on games with strong narrative direction, she shares some of the joys and frustrations with having a YouTube community.
Katya hails from the great state of New Jersey and shares some of her most despised practices of the Garden State with Drew and Chris including no left turns, not being able to pump your own gas, and the evil fire hydrants. Love Thy Nerd supporter Stephanie Skiles also joins in the conversation to ask questions as the group then talk about Katya's formative years growing up in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the bonds she formed with her grandparents, mother, and priest and how their support helped her through the tough years with an abusive parent.
Toiya Kristen Finley guests this week to talk about her passion for fiction writing and good narrative design. The demise of Telltale games and the warning signs both to the gamer and the industry insider started to show several years before its sudden closure. Both aspects are discussed along with how developer Dontnod (Life is Strange, Remember Me, Vampyr) took the formula and evolved it to be present in all aspects of the production including UI design, environment, and character interactions. Drew and Toiya also have a Nashville, TN bonding moment as they discuss the explosive growth of the city which leads to the part of the show were we talk about Dr. Finley's formative years.
Toiya grew up as a "United Catholic-ist" with a mother who was Methodist and a Catholic father. Once her father left for Florida, bother Toiya and her mother gravitated toward the more charismatic side of the faith and went through the messy situation of a church that split twice. Currently in a small house church of about 13 people of different ages and races, the experience has taught her the importance of having conversations that are civil and productive even when they don't agree with each other.
Other topics touched on are the propensity of minorities to expect certain behaviors amongst their own demographic and the cultural tension that she experienced by not conforming to a certain writing style thought befitting of a black woman. Wrapping up, the discussion touches on the #metoo movement and how situations like Riot Games (League of Legends) and other studios have toxic cultures toward women that have been exposed and how their reaction will shape the culture of the development side of the industry in the years to come.
Shane Neville of Buster Punksjoins Drew and Chris this week to talk about his gaming career and a little bit about his current projects. The conversation turns to compulsion loops found in gaming that lead to addictive behavior as seen with Fortnite. The trio talk about the stumbling blocks for parents involving games of this kind including the need for involvement, the basic knowledge of how the industry works, and the intentional design of the compulsion loop.
The second half of the show reflects on Shane's years growing up in Battleford, Sask. in Canada. Raised in the small rural town where the traffic jams were Sunday afternoons instead of 5pm on weekdays, Shane discovered that not everyone goes to church once he arrived at college. While no longer identifying as a Christian but as an atheist, Shane talks about his belief in the goodness inherent in humankind as well as the unconditional love of his mother and the affect of leaving the faith on a religious family.
Michael Fox, co-creator of the board game Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerrjoins Drew and Chris this week to talk about a game in which there is no real way to win, but how to loose in the best way possible. This premise sets the discussion for how board games are becoming mediums for playing out more mature scenarios.
The second half of the interview talks about Michael's formative years after he was born in both London and Ireland. His proclivity to wanting answers to everything lead him to question his fear based Catholic upbringing and how he remains "Death Positive" in his atheism.
Michael Fox, co-creator of the board game Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerrjoins Drew and Chris this week to talk about a game in which there is no real way to win, but how to loose in the best way possible. This premise sets the discussion for how board games are becoming mediums for playing out more mature scenarios.
The second half of the interview talks about Michael's formative years after he was born in both London and Ireland. His proclivity to wanting answers to everything lead him to question his fear based Catholic upbringing and how he remains "Death Positive" in his atheism.
Mike Sellers has a "career swamp" that flows through nearly every game genre. Starting off with a desire to be a neurosurgeon, Mike's career path would instead lead him to be a software engineer and interface designer. In the 90's he founded, along with his brother, Archetype Interactive which would develop the first 3D MMO Meridian 59. He would go on to work with Will Wright on The Sims 2, do extensive work with DARPA on AI, and finally settle down to be head of the University of Indiana's Game Design program.
Mike is also our first guest who is part of the Latter Day Saints. Drew and Chris ask about the tenants of the LDS church for those who may not be familiar and find common ground about how the Gospel is not about "Here is where you are wrong and we can now be friends if you accept that," but about the living Gospel as the best witness.
Osama Dorias, Senior Game Designer at WB Montreal, joins Drew Dixon to talk about his history in game design including a musing on the fluidity of the designer and artist role in gaming. Dorias also talks about the vulnerability experienced when a designer takes their pitch "upstairs" to sell the team on their idea.
The second half of the show explores Osama's early years being born in Iraq and his youth in Canada. The eldest of 8 children, Dorias is an Orthodox Muslim with Shia parents with Catholic in-laws with children learning about the traditions of their respective families. The discussion concludes with his efforts for more relatable and honest depiction of Muslim characters in gaming that go beyond the tired stereotype of the "terrorist".
Matthew Rhoades, the lead designer on The Banner Saga, joins Drew and Chris this week. With credits including the much beloved Spider Man 2 from Treyarch (before they only made Call of Duty), Matthew talks about his admiration for the new Spider-Manfrom Insomniac, how he feels games can teach empathy, and how he has a lot of respect for BioWare's Mass Effect trilogy.
In the second half the talk turns to Matthew's formative years as he was raised in house that was not religious and encouraged him to make his own decisions in life leading him to the secular humanist stance he has today. The trio reflect on his feelings on the tribalism that is found in the western church and politics.
Stu Maxwell, the lead VFX artist at The Coalition joins Drew and Chris this week to talk about his personal game, Shape of the World. “Why must first person games be shooters?” and other questions are tackled by the group as they discuss the emerging areas of the video game industry and how fine art needs to meet with gaming. As usual we discuss the formative years of Stu and how his sister planted the seeds that lead him to the path of atheism and how having been on both sides of the religious fence he has learned that the most important thing is to simple love people regardless of persuasion.
Nicholas Kole, freelance artist extraordinaire, joined Drew and Chris to talk about his latest work on The Wingfeather Saga and Spyro: The ReignitedTrilogy. The trio talk about Nichola's prior work on Kingdoms of Amalur, his desire to redraw VeggieTales Bob the Tomato as a black mage from Final Fantasy, and how Chris needs to start watching Studio Ghibli movies. The back half of the show finds Nicholas talking about his formative years in the Church and how stories and art give the unutterable feelings of the human soul a voice.
Scott Rodgers of Pantonejoins Drew and Chris this week. Scott has worked for over 25 years in AAA game development with credits dating back to the 16-bit era to the original God of War, writing the book "Level Up: The Guide to Great Video Game Design", and now is in the business of making board games. The trio talk about Scott's fight with Hodgkins Lymphoma and how it inspired him to pick up the ideas from the shelf and take the initiative to make the games we have today.
Ben Esposito, developer of Donut County, joins Drew this week to talk a bit about the first game about a hole in the ground. Ben also has credits on titles such as, What Remains of Edith Finchand The Unfinished Swan. The conversation turns to Ben's Jewish heritage and upbringing and the urge to question what you are taught to believe blindly and why Super Mario Odysseyis truly a freaky and violent game.
We wrap up our GenCon 2018 game designer interviews this week with part 3. Drew interviews another batch of new and veteran board game designers about their latest offerings as well as why they make the games they do, and what they hope players take away from their time. We hope you enjoy these interviews and you can jump to the various interviews below with their time stamps.
This week Drew is revisiting his trip in Indy for GenCon 2018 to experience new board games and interview some of the designers behind the innovative titles.
- Hoby Chou of My Little Scythe
- James Wilson of Everdell
- Tim Heerema of Archmage
- Justic Jacobson of Restoration Games
- Floyd Lu of Noises at Night
- Chris Apple and Mike Kerry of Indictment
- Billy Dunmire of Lello Games
- Adam Rehberg of Brewin' USA: Taproom Takeover & Sword Crafters
- Alan Stone of Viticultureand Euphoria
- Jamey Stegmaier of Scythe: Rise of Fenris
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, Kacper Szymczak from Phantom Doctrine joins Drew to talk about this extremely ambitious tactical game based in the cold war era. The discussion turns to Kacper's time growing up in Poland, his uncertainty of the existence of God, and on the responsibility of video games to do more than just entertain.
This week Drew is in Indy for GenCon 2018 to experience new board games and interview some of the designers behind the innovative titles.
- Catherine Stippell of Nychtophobia - Pandasaurus Games
- Scott Rodgers of Pantone - Cryptozoic Entertainment
- Tim Fowers of Now Boarding / Burgle Bros / Sabotage / Fugitive
- Gil Hova of The Networks / Wordsy / Bad Medicine
- Curt Covert of Before There Were Stars
- Michael Fox of Holding On: The Trouble of Billy Kerr
- Rory O’Connor of Holding On: The Trouble of Billy Kerr
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, Carrie Patel from Pillars of Eternity 2 speaks to Drew and Chris about narrative design and flying by the seat of your pants. The conversation turns to Carrie's formative years as a Southern Baptist, her views on performative religion, and the importance of asking the hard questions.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about games, life, and belief. This week we talk to Shane Liesegang of multiple games including Skyrim, Fallout 4, and God of War (2018). Leaving the world of active game design for a religious life as a Jesuit Scholastic Drew and Chris talk to Shane about the "Society of Jesus" and how it has affected his outlook on the world as a designer of systems.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about games, life, and belief. This week we talk to game developer of The Fall and The Fall Part 2: Unbound, John Warner. Identifying as a “Christian atheist” living in a Christian culture, John talks about the influence Christianity throughout the ages and how it affects his daily life even to the polite civil conversation found in this show.
Special Love thy Nerd supporter Lee Yokum joins us this week to ask John a question about the trends in the current industry that he finds distasteful.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about games, life, and belief. This week we talk to game developer of Crows Crows Crows, Dominik Johann. Raised in a small town in Germany, Dominik made his mark taking part in Game Jams which put him in touch with the team that would eventually help him make Minit. Raised Roman Catholic, Dominik's experiences with both church and secular language along with the German and English vocational barrier would lead him away from the church. Join us as Drew and Chris talk about Minit and Dominik's formative years.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week we talk to game developer and co-founder of Snowcastle Games, Bendik Stang. Cutting his teeth on Ultima Online in the late 90's, the influence of gaming gave Bendik a reason to change his Master's degree to Virtual Reality and against all the advice from friends and family, started his own company. Drew and Chris talk to Bendik about his formative years in the nation of Norway, the Christian environment of the country, and how he describes himself as a "hopeful agnostic" living with his New Testament takeaway: Just be nice.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to game developer Richard Rouse III who is known for his work on Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis, Damage, Inc., The Suffering,and most recently The Church in the Darkness.Drew and Chris talk to Richard about the stereotypes of Boston drivers, the 10 part cult checklist, and being someone who doesn't normally join groups like the Catholic church.
Every episode we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to Jason Rohrer, developer behind games such as Transcend, Diamond Trust of London, and One Hour One Life. Drew and Chris talk to Jason about his thoughts on the role of death in the role of civilization’s laws, moral designs in his own games, and the nature of having kids with only one name.
Drew is at PAX East with a mic and over 30 developers to interview. Contained in this interview bonanza is a glimpse not just of the games these developers make, but why they make them and what they hope you, the gamer, gets out of the experience they have labored on. In Part 3 we talk to the following developers about their games:
- Alex Beachum and Loan Verneau, Outer Wilds
- Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, Kingdom Come Deliverance
- Ben Archer, Light Fall
- Justin Sweet and Aleksander Rostov, Disco Elysium
- Jakub Jabłoński, Projection
- Vincent Grubs and Alex Baard, Due Process
- Edwin Jack, Cede
- Yosha Noesjirwan, My Memory of Us
- Michael Hicks, Path of Motus
- Arthur Dos Santos, Dark Devotion
Drew is at PAX East with a mic and over 30 developers to interview. Contained in this interview bonanza is a glimpse not just of the games these developers make, but why they make them and what they hope you, the gamer, gets out of the experience they have labored on. In Part 2 we talk to the following developers about their games:
- Kacper Szymczak, Phantom Doctrine
- Don Bellenger, Black Future 88
- Ben Myres, Semblance
- Emile Nilsson, Flipping Death
- Roan "Rosie" Albers, Descenders
- Dmytro Zhovtobryukh, Deepsky Derelicts
- Jaycee Salinas, A Dual Hand Disaster
- Arnaud De Bock, Pikuniku
- Dan Singleton, Memories of Mars
- Pat Scott, Destination Ares
- Julius Guldbog and Paulina Lorné Schale, Steam World Dig 2
- Adam Da Rocha, QUBE 2
- Matt Rhodes, Banner Saga
Drew is at PAX East with a mic and over 30 developers to interview. Contained in this interview bonanza is a glimpse not just of the games these developers make, but why they make them and what they hope you, the gamer, gets out of the experience they have labored on. In Part 1 we talk to the following developers about their games:
- Paul Neurath, Underworld Ascendant
- Tommy Refenes, Super Meat Boy Forever
- Carrie Patel, Pillars of Eternity 2
- Juan de la Torre, Solo
- Dan Cox, Below
- Tomislav Pongrac, SCUM
- Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo, Take This
- Jennifer Schneidereit, Astrogaster
- Richard Rouse III, The Church in the Darkness
- Matt Jackson, Death Garden
- Andrew James, City of Brass
- Ana Ribeiro, Pixel Ripped 1989
- Derrick Bradley, Ashen
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week developer, philosopher, and professor Bennett Foddy joins Drew and Chris to talk about the de-humanization of indie games, the consideration of authorial intent, and the philosophical reason to make art.
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to Patrick and Kat Lysaght about the board games they produce involving the history and spread of early Christianity, the history of their relationship with each other and Christ, and how zombies makes everything better.
Returning guest Scott Benson (Night in the Woods, Longest Night)helps Drew Dixon and Chris Gwaltney launch the new Humans of Gaming podcast proper with Episode 101!
Drew and Chris talk with Scott about his game Night in the Woods and how the story of Mae is not dissimilar from his own story. In the later half of the show the trio explore how returning home and finding it not being what it was is a theme explored in depth in both the game and in his real life.
Theme music by Jay Tholen. Used by permission.
Reaching back into our archives, we present our first episode from January 5, 2017 featuring Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds. PC gamers will recognize the name as one half of the creative founders of MYST, one of the most influential games developed. An avid church goer, Rand talks with Drew Dixon and M Joshua about the change of view that happens when one suddenly finds 1 million dollars in the bank and how age and perspective has affected his faith and outlook on life.
This week, Humans of Gaming editors Richard Clark and Drew Dixon talk to the mastermind behind Dropsy, Jay Tholen, who opens up about his deeply held religious faith, his relationship with his church, and his predictions for what Dropsy's critical reception will be, including predicting his own Metascore! To find out if he's right, you'll have to tune in.
Originally released in December of 2014, we revisit this interview with Edmund McMillen, the developer behind indie hits Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. He joined Drew and former managing editor Richard Clark for a talk about his motivation behind creating a gross game with Christian elements, his varied spiritual relationship with his family, and how he finds solace in creating.
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to Ken Levine about his thoughts on religion, the reason religion plays such a large role in the Bioshock games, and the pros and cons of how religion is portrayed in Bioshock Infinite.
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to game critic Brendan Keogh, author of Killing is Harmless, about his developing political mindset and the nature of subversive games like Spec Ops: The Line, Hotline Miami, and Far Cry 3.
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week, we talk to videogame journalist for Polygon, The Atlantic, Edge, Kotaku, Eurogamer (and the author of this definitive piece, Higher calling: The new gospel of Christian games) about his experience as a Christian doing game journalism, as well as the ongoing state of Christian videogame development.
Every week we invite a special guest to talk with us about life, games, and belief. This week Teddy Diefenbach, a game designer currently working on Hyper Light Drifter and Kyoto Wild, talks about his journey from Catholicism to Presbyterianism to humanism, as well as his struggle with comments and the general self-doubt that comes with the act of creating something.