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Welcome to Keywords in Play, a joint collaborative podcast between Critical Distance and the Digital Games Research Association! In this series, we deliver interviews with writers, thinkers, makers, and critics working with games in an approachable and conversational format, suitable for fans, players, and critical thinkers alike.
Episodes
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
“Keywords in Play” is an interview series about game research supported by Critical Distance and the Digital Games Research Association. As a joint venture, “Keywords in Play” expands Critical Distance’s commitment to innovative writing and research about games while using a conversational style to bring new and diverse scholarship to a wider audience.
Our goal is to highlight the work of graduate students, early career researchers and scholars from under-represented groups, backgrounds and regions. The primary inspiration comes from sociologist and critic Raymond Williams. In the Preface to his book Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society, Williams envisaged not a static dictionary but an interactive document, encouraging readers to populate blank pages with their own keywords, notes and amendments. “Keywords in Play” follows Williams in affirming that “The significance is in the selection”, and works towards diversifying the critical terms with which we describe games and game culture.
In this episode we speak to Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D. Elizabeth is an award-winning designer, writer, artist, and researcher who creates and studies Indigenous-led media such as games and comics. She is Anishinaabe with family from Bay Mills, Métis, and Irish. She is an Assistant Professor of Media & Information and Writing, Rhetoric & American Cultures at Michigan State University and a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow
Production Team: Darshana Jayemanne, Zoyander Street, Emilie Reed.
Audio Direction and Engineering: Damian Stewart
Double Bass: Aaron Stewart
Thursday Nov 30, 2017
Thursday Nov 30, 2017
Last minisode of the year for the Critical Distance Confab.
I tried to think of a theme, but really it's just two indie games worthy of some attention and love. Angelina Bonilla aka Red Angel co-hosts with me this month.
We've been able to bring the minisodes back thanks to our listeners' support on Patreon. To help us to add more new features to the site, including foreign-language coverage and videos, please consider supporting us.
In case you don't know, the purpose here is to highlight some games we feel aren't getting the critical attention they deserve for whatever reason. The hope is that one of you intrepid listeners will sort that out by playing and writing about them. The games mentioned will range from itch.io art games, to prestige level indie games, right on up through AAA games that have slipped through the cracks.
Angelina's Pick
Milkmaid of the Milky Way/a> by Mattis Polkestad
Eric's Pick
The Banner Saga by Stoic
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Thursday Nov 16, 2017
Thursday Nov 16, 2017
This month on the Critical Distance Confab, Angelina Bonilla better known as Red Angel was kind enough to come on.
Red Angel started off as a writer for online publications. However, after some time there, she wanted to for a while to turn her efforts to video. Ignorant of the wider YouTube critical community, she just started her channel. She began her Late Night Ponderings series as an extension of the editorials she wrote for Noobfeed and Game Skinny, but they evolved beyond the constraints of editorial mandates and game journalism "style" into something more personable. And instead of focusing on larger titles, she found she had little to add and instead chose to use her time critiquing smaller indie games for the most part. We talk about her writing sounding "like poetry," wanting to bring different perspectives into this sphere, and owls for some reason.
SHOW NOTES
Late Night Ponderings: Life Is Strange's Ending and Reception
Death and Photography in Life is Strange
Oxenfree The Duality of Grief in Clarissa and ALex
Late Night Ponderings: Similar Sinews
Angelina Bonilla Author's Page - Noobfeed
Angelina Bonilla Author's Page - Game Skinny
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Tuesday Oct 31, 2017
Tuesday Oct 31, 2017
I'm not dead, the minisodes are back, back from the dead that is, on the Critical Distance Confab.
In the spirit of October, we bring you another minisode installment on horror games. Co-hosting with me this month is my podcast associate from PopMatters, Nick Dinicola.
In case you don't know, the purpose here is to highlight some games we feel aren't getting the critical attention they deserve for whatever reason. The hope is that one of you intrepid listeners will sort that out by playing and writing about them. The games mentioned will range from itch.io art games, to prestige level indie games, right on up through AAA games that have slipped through the cracks.
We've been able to bring the minisodes back thanks to our listeners' support on Patreon. To help us to add more new features to the site, including foreign-language coverage and videos, please consider supporting us.
Nick's Pick
Downfall by Harvester Games
Eric's Pick
Stories Untold by No Code
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Thursday Oct 19, 2017
Thursday Oct 19, 2017
This month on the Critical Distance Confab we welcome Alex Carlson from the YouTube channel PostMesmeric.
Alex Carlson is a relative newbie to the world of YouTube video game criticism. He had some experience with written criticism, most notably on Hardcore Gaming 101, but transferred over when he was introduced to the idea that YouTube could be used for more than simple entertainment. His channel is a hidden gem, which I came upon one day when Youtube's algorithm was feeling particularly kind: toiling away in relative obscurity, perhaps thanks to the capricious nature of this algorithm, he nonetheless continues to put out quality videos. We talk about his style of criticism connecting design to theme, his predilection for critiquing horror games, and his more personal video about how certain games exploit his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
SHOW NOTES
Pyre and Responsibility | PostMesmeric
This Dishwasher: Vampire Smile Analysis - The Art of Control | Postmesmeric
Layers of Fear Analysis - Framing and Perspective | PostMesmeric
Detention Anaylsis - Fear and Reality | PostMesmeric
Evolving Rhythm Gameplay | PostMesmeric
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - An In-Depth Critique | PostMesmeric
Banjo Kazooie vs. Banjo Tooie - Rare's Metamorphosis |PostMesmeric
Gaming With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder |PostMesmeric
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Thursday Sep 21, 2017
Thursday Sep 21, 2017
This month on the Critical Distance Confab, all the way from New Zealand, is YouTuber Mitch Cramer.
Mitch Cramer, aka HeavyEyed, is a relatively new to the world of YouTube video game criticism. Starting off as a band manager, he moved away from that to put some video production skills to use. He started a channel and steadily plucked away at it until some attention came his way after one video spiked in viewers. We talk about his in depth criticism of the Star Fox games, the local video game development scene in New Zealand and his steady improvement at what he finds the toughest part of making a video, the writing.
SHOW NOTES
Star Fox 64 - Medals & High Scores // HeavyEyed
The Problems With Star Fox //HeavyEyed
Looking At Every Zelda Introduction // HeavyEyedd
Mental Health in Video Games // HeavyEyed
The Language of Video Games // HeavyEyed
Hi-Bit Era - The Future of Pixel Art Games // HeavyEyed
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Wednesday Aug 30, 2017
Wednesday Aug 30, 2017
After a year long hiatus, the minisodes are back on the Critical Distance Confab.
In case you missed them the first time around, the idea behind these minisodes is for myself and a co-host to highlight some games that haven't gotten a lot of criticism or much attention at all. The hope is that one of you intrepid listeners will try one of them out and write about it. The games on the docket range from itch.io art games, to prestige level indie games, right on up to AAA games that have slipped through the cracks.
We've been able to bring the minisodes back thanks to our listeners' support on Patreon. To help us to add more new features to the site, including foreign-language coverage and videos, please consider supporting us.
To keep things shorter and more manageable for our guests, we've changed the format to one game a piece instead of the three games a piece we had previously been doing. Enjoy!
Co-hosting with me this month is our intrepid editor-in-chief, Zoya Street.
Zoya's Pick
Two Dots by Betaworks
Eric's Pick
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows by Witching Hour Studios
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Wednesday Aug 16, 2017
Wednesday Aug 16, 2017
Joining me for this month's interview is author of actual books and YouTube critic Joseph Anderson.
Starting from a desire to build up his online presence to attract a book agent, Joseph Anderson decided to create some YouTube videos to release himself of some "petty gripes" he had regarding the Dark Souls vs. Dark Souls 2 debate. He felt that a lot of what Dark Souls 2 was getting knocked on for was present in the original game. From there the channel grew to surpass his original occupation. We talk about the extreme amount of prep work - including multiple playthroughs - he engages in, the roulette-wheel-like luck of algorithms, and the surreality of success.
SHOW NOTES
Joseph Anderson YouTube Channel
Dark Souls Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5
Uncharted and The Last of Us - Great and Terrible Games
Joseph Anderson Vs No Man's Sky
The Witness - A Great Game That You Shouldn't Play
Joseph Anderson Amazon Author Page
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Wednesday Jul 19, 2017
Wednesday Jul 19, 2017
I managed to snag critic, rhetorician and YouTube vaudevillian Harry Brewis, more commonly known as Hbomberguy for this month's interview.
Mr. Hbomberguy is a bit of an odd duck with regards to YouTube games criticism. He first came to internet prominence through his videos of ridiculing internet dumbasses and that work forms a clear line regarding how he talks about video games. His earlier video game videos we far more conventional, while the videos he made afterwards are far more bizarre, funny and in line with the breaking down arguments and rhetoric displayed in those "measured responses." We also talk about the cultivation of comic personas, the control video allows him over his audience, and the monumental effort that goes into making his videos look like a slapdash production.
SHOW NOTES
The Sarkeesian Effect: A Measured Response
Measured Response: Bill Nye VS Pseudosience (Part One)
Fallout 3 Is Garbage, And Here's Why
SHIELD BASH: LORDS OF THE FALLEN REVIEW - Hbomberguy
Why Braid Is Great - Hbomberguy
Bloodborne Is Genius, And Here's Why
What Makes An Action Scene Good?
Perverted Sentimentality: An Analysis of UNDERTALE
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Thursday Jun 29, 2017
Thursday Jun 29, 2017
Freshly back from E3, YouTuber Hamish Black, the man behind the Writing on Games channel, sat down with me for this month's interview.
Nearly two years ago exactly, Hamish Black took the plunge and began making critical YouTube videos. He began by tying the academic work he learned at university to video games. However, he soon found his formula a little restricting and began stretching beyond his original conception. At the time, he was ignorant of the larger community of in-depth critics and so was alone in building his channel. But as he continued plugging away, he did become aware of many other critics, both YouTube and otherwise, which helped him branch out his own work. In the interview, Hamish Black and I discuss his start and growth along with his search for the balance between academic theory and approachability, the evolving context of games, and resisting the call of Dark Souls as a YouTube hit maker.
SHOW NOTES
Writing on Games YouTube Channel
'Her Story' and the Birth of the Reader
Revisiting Killer 7 or: Art as Technique
Dark Souls Helped Me Cope With Suicidal Depression
Why Blighttown Really Matters (Dark Souls) - Writing on Games
How the Meaning of Vanquish (and Spec Ops: The Line) Changed
Music Games and the Joy of Making Mistakes
Opening Theme: 'Close' by The Alpha Conspiracy
Closing Theme: 'Wishing Never' by The Alpha Conspiracy