Episodes
Wednesday Sep 20, 2017
Ep. 13: The Unbearable Anxiety of Tweeting (Violence & Video Games Part 4)
Wednesday Sep 20, 2017
Wednesday Sep 20, 2017
Subtweeting is all the rage these days. And no, we don't mean tweeting from a Subway. Rae Sterling, writer and twitter role-player, joins us this week to talk about how (and why) passive-aggressiveness crops up in online gaming spaces. Join us this week to learn more about Twitter roleplay, the benefit and detriment of anonymity on the internet, and the toxic effects of passive-aggression on community-building.
While the anonymity of the internet is what has allowed Rae to really delve deep into the cathartic (and often therapeutic) world of role-play, Rae thinks that anonymity also makes space for people to dredge up the worst part of themselves in the form of trolling, pile-ons, and emotional abuse. Subtweeting and vaguebooking is a way that a lot of folks deal with the fear of internet aggression, but these indirect forms of communication wind up creating toxic play spaces. Subtweeting, indirectly tweeting something about someone without mentioning their name (even though it's KIND OF clear who the person tweeting is referring to), can have surprisingly devastating effects on individuals and communities. Add in an anxiety disorder? The effects become ten-fold!
This episode is part four in Gaming Broad(ly)'s series on violence and video games. Continuing from previous conversations, this week we look at how just the FEAR of violence in online gaming spaces causes ripple effects that impact even our conversations and interpersonal relationships. For the full conversation, start with “Episode 10: Moral Combat—Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong” with researchers Chris Ferguson and Patrick Markey on the (lack of) data about video games causing real life acts of violence, followed by “Episode 11: Why Are You So Angry?”, with Ian Danskin of Innuendo Studios, to learn more about why folks get so, well, aggressive about making sure games stay violent. Part three will bring you to "Episode 12: Why Are You Afraid of Virtual Reality?" with Gijs Molsbergen for a discussion on virtual reality, violence and trauma, and the responsibility of VR advocates to make psychologically healthy and enjoyable VR experiences.
Rae Sterling (they/them) is a gender adjacent in-progress writer of both comics and prose based in Austin, Texas. In their spare time, they work full time at Austin Books and Comics and at reading more than your daily suggested serving of comics to keep up with the ever-moving world. They participate in online role-playing on Twitter and Tumblr, play Overwatch, and describe themselves as "bad at video games". Their passions include speaking loudly and to whomever will listen about both LGBT+ comic books, diversity in comics, and the importance of all-ages comics in the lives of young readers. In Austin, Rae is working hard to become a source of information to both schools and parents for all-ages graphic novels and comic books.
Stuff we mentioned...
Slime Rancher
Dream Daddy
Overwatch
Fighting Games (like Moral Combat, Tekken, etc.)
Twitter Roleplay
Tumblr Roleplay
Shadow Banning
Vaguebooking
Subtweeting
Passive-aggressive behavior
JD (The Broad)
Website: GamingBroadly.com
Twitter: @JayDeeCepticon
Instagram: @JayDeeCepticon
Rae Stirling (The Cast)
Twitter: @dragonosaurus
Website: Genretastic.com
Gaming Broad(cast) is the official podcast of GamingBroadly.com. Thank you to everyone who has liked, subscribed, and commented about Gaming Broad(cast) on Apple Podcasts! You can also follow this podcast on Spotify, Podbean, Stitcher, Google Music, or subscribe directly using our RSS feed. Want some gamey goodness in your email inbox? Sign up for some occasional(ly) playful newsletter updates. Thanks to Los Kurados for the use of their song "Rojo Y Azul" for the intro and outro music of our podcast.
Tuesday Sep 05, 2017
Tuesday Sep 05, 2017
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, a virtual reality gamer with experience developing an award winning VR experience. Gijs is a VR advocate, and has been awed and inspired by the experience and potential of virtual reality for quite a while.
But loving something also means acknowledging how powerful it can be, and Gijs admits there could be some unintended negative effects of VR if developers and VR advocates don’t take their role as VR ambassadors seriously.
While Gijs thinks violence in VR is extremely unlikely to cause acts of violence in real life, there is the potential for virtual reality to be traumatic for folks who aren’t fully prepared for just how real VR can feel. Gijs has some suggestions to help make the mental transition from physical to virtual a good one, from physical grounding techniques and proper mental preparation, to thinking ahead about designing experiences that mitigate the effects of harassment in virtual spaces.
The episode culminates with Gijs talking about his work with the National Video Game Museum in the Netherlands (opening October 2017), which will include a Virtual Reality exhibit and game research lab. Gaming Broad(ly) field trip to the Netherlands, anyone?
This episode is part three in Gaming Broad(ly)'s series on violence and video games. For the full conversation, start with “Episode 10: Moral Combat—Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong” with researchers Chris Ferguson and Patrick Markey on the (lack of) data about video games causing real life acts of violence, followed by “Episode 11: Why Are You So Angry?”, with Ian Danskin of Innuendo Studios, to learn more about why folks get so, well, aggressive about making sure games stay violent.
Gijs Molsbergen is a Virtual Reality gamer and content marketing consultant in the Netherlands, with experience developing an award winning VR experience.
Stuff we mentioned...
Lab4242
SpaceLAB (Category Management VR App for retailers) by Lab4242
VTime
PaintLab by Lab4242
“Making virtual reality matter” TEDxYouth Talk by Gijs Molsbergen
Man’s reaction to rollercoaster VR prank
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (example of a VR horror game)
JD (The Broad)
Website: GamingBroadly.com
Twitter: @JayDeeCepticon
Instagram: @JayDeeCepticon
Gijs Molsbergern (The Cast)
Twitter: @Gijs_Molsbergen
Work: OrangeValley.nl
Website: GijsMolsbergen.nl
Email: ghf.molsbergen@gmail.com
Gaming Broad(cast) is the official podcast of GamingBroadly.com. Thank you to everyone who has liked, subscribed, and commented about Gaming Broad(cast) on Apple Podcasts! You can also follow this podcast on Spotify, Podbean, Stitcher, Google Music, or subscribe directly using our RSS feed. Want some gamey goodness in your email inbox? Sign up for some occasional(ly) playful newsletter updates. Thanks to Los Kurados for the use of their song "Rojo Y Azul" for the intro and outro music of our podcast.