Ep. 22: Modding Appalachia (Playing Appalachia Part 4)

What do Minecraft and Appalachia have in common? They both have people trying to modify them. So could Minecraft mods teach us something about how to go about ethically modding Appalachia?

This week we're joined by Jerel Culliss (aka King Lemming), an Appalachian-raised engineer who moonlights as a reknown Minecraft modder. Jerel is founder of Team CoFH, the group responsible for Thermal Expansion, a mod that adds technology, like machines, to the world of Minecraft. Coincidentally, there's also been some recent media hype about bringing big names in tech to the Appalachian region (like Amazon HQ, for instance). Not to mention the fact that "silicon hollar" is really coming into its own as a google-worthy buzzword.

But adding technology, whether that technology is pixelated or Appalachian, isn't as simple and straight forward as you might think. Tune in to learn more about the lovely LAN history behind Team CoFH, the ethics of hacking and modding video games, and ways to imagine a tech-savvy Appalachia that doesn't leave the dedicated fan-base that lives there out in the cold with the mobs.

Jerel Culliss is an engineer and hacker originally from Southwest Virginia. He has a PhD in electrical engineering and currently lives in Knoxville, TN. He is most well known online as "King Lemming," head of Team CoFH and the co-creator of Thermal Expansion, a popular mod for Minecraft.

This episode is part four of "Playing Appalachia", a series of conversations with Appalachian and Appalachian adjacent gamers and game makers. To start at the beginning, check out "What Games Are Getting Right About Appalachia" with Dr. Elizabeth Catte, followed by our conversation with Cardboard Computer about Kentucky Route Zero, their game set in rural Kentucky, to learn more about the relationship between magical realism and Appalachia. The third part of the series is "Rural Flight, Virtually Speaking" with Meredith Wilson, an Appalachian transplant whose experiences in the region have affected the way she makes games (and who she makes games for). 

Stuff We Mentioned...
Minecraft
Caipirinha
LAN Party
Diablo
Everquest (aka "the Dark Souls of MMOs")
Half-Life
Video Game Mod
Destiny 2
Uncanny Valley
StarCraft
Counter-Strike
Esports
They Are Billions
Hacking
Cyber Security Consultant
Fate of the World
MINECON
Cynycal
Mine Little Pony: Friendship is Crafting Mod

JD (The Broad)
Website: GamingBroadly.com
Twitter: @JayDeeCepticon
Instagram: @JayDeeCepticon

Jerel Culliss aka King Lemming (The Cast)
Website: TeamCoFH.com
Twitter: @KingLemmingCoFH 

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 inventory? Sign up for some occasional(ly) playful newsletter updates. Thanks to Ben Cohn for the music for this episode!