In collaboration with the IGDA LGBTQ+ Special Interest Group, we kicked off a micro-conference last month exploring queer monstrosity in games with some pretty unhinged academic takes on queerness in horror. This month, we’re keeping the monstrous vibes alive, but turning our attention to game devs instead by chatting to Phoebe Current.

Phoebe is a narrative designer, community support intern on Hello Kitty Island Adventure (yes, really), and a queer horror dev whose itch.io page is full of weird experiments. We talk about balancing studio work and personal games, the joys of community roles, and why horror is the perfect container for queer joy, rage, mess, and meaning.

Also: haunted cassette tapes, SIG shoutouts, and a moment about customer service we had to edit slightly for fear of angering the NDA gods. Don't worry, we turned it into a treatise on how community in games is actually really important!

We had plans to speak to more devs, but the episode had to ship. So consider this a taste of how nerdy I usually get when talking to Cool People Making Cool Stuff!

Links & Shoutouts:

🦇 Phoebe’s games: https://catsket.itch.io/

🌈 IGDA LGBTQ+ SIG: https://igda.org/sigs/lgbtq/

🐱 Hello Kitty Island Adventure: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2495100/Hello_Kitty_Island_Adventure/

📧 Wanna be on a future ep? [email protected]

🧠 Adam lives here: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/twoleft.bsky.social

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In collaboration with the IGDA LGBTQ+ Special Interest Group, we planned a micro-conference themed around queer monstrosity in games. But we never do anything obvious: we made it a podcast instead! That resulted in a gloriously unhinged series of interviews with brilliant academics sharing their research on horror, queerness, commodified death, mental illness, and maybe some giant fleshy orifices.

Three scholars joined me for the madness:

Dr Karolina Szpyrko opens with a look at Squid Game and the commodification of death as entertainment. As Netflix sanitises the game for its digital format, she unpacks how boredom itself becomes a monstrous force, with only a slight detour into late-stage capitalism. Not quite as queer, but still as monstrous! Then Dr Eoin Murray takes us into the punishing climbs of Celeste, discussing how the game’s mechanics and narrative are a metaphor for mental illness as well as trans allegory. What followed was an earnest conversation about what it means to be queer and all the mountains that need climbing. Finally, Ana Laura Torquato delivers the tentacle-shaped cherry on top with a deep dive into the intersection of genital horror and queer monstrosity. From Silent Hill to The Last of Us, she explores how the monstrous, the fleshy, and the queer are often rendered indistinguishable, how upsetting that can be at times, and how that discomfort that might absolutely be the point.

As the queer horror devs are game jamming with the IGDA, we theory jammed instead. But, of course, that's Game Academy: smart people, weird topics, and probably slightly NSFW!

Links & Shoutouts:

🌈 Learn more about the IGDA LGBTQ+ SIG: https://igda.org/sigs/lgbtq/

Check out our guests:

Karolina Szpyrko - https://www.regents.ac.uk/about/our-people/karolina-szpyrko

Eoin Murray - https://eoinm94.wordpress.com/

Ana Laura Torquato - https://www.instagram.com/analaurarte

📧 Want to be a guest or submit an abstract to a conference-that-becomes-a-podcast? Email: [email protected]

🐦 Follow my descent into theory-induced madness at https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/twoleft.bsky.social

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Yes, I know we skipped April (sorry), but Game Academy is back (again) with a guest who wears many hats (literally, he just made that joke again when I saw him a few weeks ago). Designer, Doctor, Dungeon Master... Nerd! This month I’m joined by Dr. Matthew Whitby, who took his storytelling skills from Portsmouth to York and now Rebellion North, where he’s working on games like Speedball.

In this episode, we dig into Matt’s PhD research on reflection, mental health, and perspective-taking in games, and how all that theory translates (or doesn’t) into the day-to-day reality of working in industry. We talk about the shift from academia to professional development, what it’s like being "overqualified" for a Graduate Game Designer role, and why making D&D campaigns is surprisingly great training for game dev chaos.

Can game design ever be done without spreadsheets? Is academia secretly just the tutorial level for the games industry? And can you name a Rebellion character after your homebrew bard? Maybe! If you roll a natural 20...

Links & Shoutouts:

📚 Follow Matt Whitby on Twitter: @WhitbyWrites

🎮 Go play Speedball: Speedball 2024 on Steam

🧪 Check out his portfolio: https://www.matt-whitby.com/

🐉 For your next chaotic D&D session, listen to Matt's podcast The DM's Guild House

📧 Guest ideas or questions? Email us at [email protected]

🐶 Adam is still yelling about game feelings on https://bsky.app/profile/twoleft.bsky.social

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This month on Game Academy, we’re cracking open a booster pack of nostalgia, tabletop secrets, and indie dev wisdom with the one and only Matthew Bell!

Matt’s had the kind of career that makes you go, “Wait, you did what?” He started out wrangling tournaments and managing organised play for Yu-Gi-Oh! across Europe (yes, the one with Blue-Eyes White Dragon), before jumping into video game production at Sumo Digital, and now going full indie with his new card-based tabletop strategy game, Robot Raiders.

We get into the wild world of organised play (turns out, it’s more spreadsheets and fewer holographic dragons than you might expect), how Matt transitioned from TCGs to AAA production, and what it’s really like launching your own tabletop game in 2025. Spoiler: it’s hard, it’s exciting, and yes, there’s a Kickstarter!

We also chat about the craft of designing games for the people who play them, what makes a great gameplay loop in card games, and how Matt approaches “getting people to play the game” - the hardest design challenge of all.

Whether you're a lifelong duelist, a budding designer, or just someone believes in the heart of the cards, this one's got something for you. Your move!

Links & Shoutouts:

🎲 Back Robot Raiders on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattorigusstudios/robot-raiders-a-1-4-player-epic-card-game-battle-experience

📢 Keep up with Mattorigus Studios on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MattorigusStudios

📧 Got a question or guest suggestion? Email us at [email protected]

🐶 Follow Adam’s extremely nerdy ramblings at https://bsky.app/profile/twoleft.bsky.social

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Game Academy is back (again, like we are every episode, but we really are this time!) with a fresh coat of paint! This season, it's just Adam, so we’re shaking things up—no more long rants about his PhD (he finished it!), no more co-host (RIP to Steph’s podcasting era), just Adam nerding out in conversations with game designers, journalists, academics, and whoever else he can convince to talk to him. Expect passionate chats about game development, the industry, and the creative process, but let's not forget the occasional existential crisis about academia, because let’s be real, that never really goes away.

To kick things off, Adam is joined by the incredible Nina Freeman—an award-winning indie designer known for her deeply personal, sometimes gut-wrenching, always beautifully crafted games like Cibele, How Do You Do It?, and Last Call. If you love games that make you feel things (too many things), Nina’s work is required reading. We get into everything — how she went from theatre and poetry to making games, why she loves telling small, intimate stories, and how she goes about turning real life into interactive experiences. We also talk about the state of the industry, freelancing, and how AA and AAA studios are changing. Finally, because Adam couldn’t help myself, they also get into indie horror (Nina’s working on a new horror game, Size Zero), we shout out Pete's Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and discuss whether going to GDC is actually worth it.

Links that you should definitely go to:

Check out all of Nina's amazing work: https://ninasays.so/

Nina's My Perfect Console podcast episode: https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/nina-freeman-gamemaker-cibele-tacoma-last-call

Go and buy Lost Records - Side 1 is out today: https://dont-nod.com/en/games/lost-records-bloom-and-rage/

The More Perfect Union video we were discussing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WORsxfgoVjc&ab_channel=MorePerfectUnion

Nina's GuadalIndie 2024 Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqurS9ZHe8Q&pp=ygUdR3VhZGFsaW5kaWUgMjAyNCBuaW5hIGZyZWVtYW4%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFa6GVL1apQ&pp=ygUdR3VhZGFsaW5kaWUgMjAyNCBuaW5hIGZyZWVtYW4%3D

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Adam and Steph are back after a long break! They chat about the struggles with layoffs in academia and the games industry that has been all over the news lately. Then, they bring on special guest William Mellamphy, a PhD candidate an expert in all things nostalgia, video games, and, much to Steph's delight, Pokemon! A long chat ensues around the commodification of nostalgia, the newfound ability for parents to share gaming passions with their children, and what it all means for capitalism. We then zero in on some Pokemon myths, the mechanics of gender in the series, and the power of the hero's journey in children's media.

The podcast finishes off with talk of the many CFPs MultiPlay has out right now, including one for a special edition Game Boy issue of MultiPlay's new journal, as well as a call for abstracts around the communities of play in video games and "Gitting Gud".

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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Adam and Steph are back! This academic year started but never quite stopped. Life, PhD, and students, oh my! Exciting things are happening in the world of Game Academy. Steph submitted her thesis! And Adam's submitting before Christmas! The light at the end of the tunnel? They both hope so!

After a crazy few months of teaching their lovely students, Adam and Steph have some top tips for everyone at the start of their university journeys. The Game Academy is the best place to be, so enjoy every second. They then turn their attention to The Game Awards, which comes to us all at the end of a both very slow and blazingly fast year. Who are our host's GOTYs? Who's going to win Game of the Year? Adam and Steph have a particular pick they're both in love with but they would also like readers to very much convince them that sequel-itis is not a thing in video games.

It's full steam ahead for a holiday-themed episode next month! It truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Links:

Vote in the Game Awards: https://thegameawards.com/

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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Adam and Steph may have been hibernating throughout August, but at least the summer is over and their PhDs are almost done! And Steph got a new job! Yay!

This month, they actually talk about video games. Steph discusses how FIFA/EAFC had made her fall back in love with football amidst the chaos of the Women's World Cup, while Adam regales with tales of nearly falling asleep at the wheel with Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Why can't open world games just respect players' time?!

In the most unlikely saviour, in swoops two MOBILE GAMES?! We also had a lot of fun playing Good Pizza, Great Pizza and Pokémon Sleep which, at the very least, do respect our time. We almost forget that Cyberpunk 2077's DLC, Phantom Liberty, was coming out, but we suddenly remember, and talk a bit about that, too! Will Adam ever play it? Maybe...

Links:

Good Pizza, Great Pizza: https://www.goodpizzagreatpizza.com/

Pokemon Sleep: https://www.pokemon.com/uk/app/pokemon-sleep/

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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This month, Adam and Steph are joined by a special guest, Dr. Emma Reay. Contrary to what we say in the podcast, we're not early though! Sorry to our three listeners!

This month, we dive deep into the work of Dr. Emma Reay, who guests to tell us all about her work on childhood in games, her upcoming monograph, and the logical next step: a project about death. We talk about the horrors of the PhD experience (what would a Game Academy podcast be without it?) and Emma's tips on making it better before looking at Emma's work on the various ways children are portrayed in games, and what that might say about us as adults. We then continue our conference talk from the last episode where Emma and Adam give the rundown on GGC and Emma regales us with stories of DiGRA (and Eric Zimmerman's new book!), before turning our attention to the difficulties of conference season overall, and just how much work attending a conference really is.

Some links from the episode:

The Bildungsroman Innuendo Studios video on Life is Strange: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19xgdLF5agU

Emma's Child in Game thesis (in lieu of the book, coming next year!): https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/9e6d8e66-8b9f-49b3-a213-ee0fafca64ee/content

The Rules We Break (Eric Zimmerman's new book): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rules-We-Break-problems-better/dp/1648960677/ref=asc_df_1648960677/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606806103574&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1550320857166075467&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045774&hvtargid=pla-1643543564116&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs for next academic year: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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Adam and Steph are back together again! It has been a long time, but they promise they're back and better than ever, with so much to catch up on! They unpack Adam's PhD game, What We Take With Us (yes, the one he's been advertising non stop on the podcast for months) and the recent workshop for it that Steph went to. They also talk about all the other amazing events from the Massively Multiplay conference, including the amazing events by podcast favourites Dr. Matt Higgins and Lisa Meek. They then both briefly give PhD updates and dive into a discussion of the dark side of conferences.

Steering away from work, Adam gets Steph to gush about Jedi Survivor, her potential GOTY, and why she's not a fan of new announcement Outlaws or other "open world games". Adam agrees: too many open worlds, too little time (at least, until their PhDs are done)!

Check out all the awesome talks from Massively Multiplay: https://www.youtube.com/@multiplaynetwork/videos

We love this one in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUpuNYJImEs

Check out our Linktree to join the Discord: https://linktr.ee/Multiplaynetwork

You can still check out Adam's game, What We Take With Us here: https://whatwetakewith.us

Or even join the Discord server (the ARG is over. Now we mostly play Wordle): https://discord.gg/mhSpKmGQkv

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs for next academic year: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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