Kritiqal Care

This week on Kritiqal Care, I was so excited to talk to the core dev team of ValiDate (upcoming), a dating sim about the weird complexities of dating as a twenty-something that features an all people of color cast, queer characters, different body types, and challenging personalities.

I spoke to Dani (Head Developer, she/they), Percy (Head Editor, shethey), Kevin (Head Composer, he/him), Alexis (Head Designer, she/her), and Lisa (Head Programmer, she/they) about how the game began, what it’s trying to do differently within the dating sim genre, and if we will be getting body pillows of the cast. I have absolutely no idea how to run an interview with this many heads, but it’s a fun time so give it a listen and then go checkout ValiDate on Kickstarter (running until August 10th).

You can learn more about ValiDate on its official site and on Twitter @ValiDateGame, as well as checkout the whole dev team on Twitter. Also, find Alexis at wizardkicks.com just for fun.

The ValiDate Team’s Inspiring Things to Share

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

This week’s episode is a little different, featuring Quinn K. (she/her, they/them) and Kyra (she/her) to discuss collaboration, the daily uncertainty of work during Covid, and old internet lore I somehow missed. Quinn and Kyra do not currently work on projects together but are a game dev power couple so I thought it would be fun to have them both on. There’s a lot discussed here, some of it games related, some otherwise, but it’s a good time so I hope you’ll join us.

You can support Quinn on Patreon, follow her on Twitter @QuinnPixelArt, and checkout her games on itch.io. Kyra is on Twitter @kyra_dev, Mastodon @[email protected], and you can support her work on Patreon.

Quinn’s Hopeful Thing to Share

Kyra’s Hopeful Thing to Share

Things Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

On episode 14 of Kritiqal Care I talk with artist and curator Eva Khoury (they/them) about their approach to different mediums and how they define themselves as an artist. Then we go way to deep on refrigerators and the complexities of our relationship with them, before ending on a short discussion of Eva’s local mutual aid efforts.

Eva Khoury is a multimedia artist who has worked with 3D, games, short films, and gallery installations. You can follow them on Twitter @eva_khoury_, check out their projects at evakhoury.com, and learn more about Baby Castles @Babycastles

Eva’s Hopeful Moment to Share

Things Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

This week I had the absolute joy of talking to the developer of the recent masterpiece, Wandersong, Greg Lobanov (he/him). Greg is an indie game developer known best for the musical adventure game Wandersong, and is currently working on the upcoming dog-with-a-paintbrush game Chicory. We talk the long lineage of painting games, Wandersong's atypical design structure, how to write cute well, and get the show's first musical rec.

Greg's Good Thing to Share

Things Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

Hey folx, there's no normal episode today because now's not the time to be talking about video games. The world is on fire and people are fighting back against police brutality, the murder of black people in our streets, and the systematic racism baked into this country. I hope everyone is safe if you're out protesting, and if you can't make it out to the street give your money to bail bonds and organizations on the front lines.

If you don't know where to start, buy the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality on itch.io. It's increadible and all the money goes to the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund and the Community Bail Fund. Give what you can, and a little more.

Bail Funds (via Rev Left Radio)

Educate Yourself

Ways to Support Black Creators & Businesses

News/Podcasts/Youtube Channels

Episode 12 of Kritiqal Care switches things up by having two guests! Kiki (she/her) & Alicia (her/she) of the Youtube channel Transparency join me to discuss how they approach video production, the differences in their writing styles, and how The Last Jedi is objectively the best Star Wars. Kiki also goes hard on LORE and why there’s so darn much of it.

You can find Transparency’s videos on Youtube, follow them on Twitter @transparencyboo, and support Kiki & Alicia on Patreon.

Kiki’s Good Thing to Share

Alicia’s Good Thing to Share

Videos Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

On episode 11 of Kritiqal Care, I was delighted to get to talk to Jay Tholen (he/him) the developer of one of my all time favorite games, Dropsy (2015). Jay is an indie game dev now based in Germany, who last year released the faux-internet moderation game Hypnospace Outlaw (2019). He joins me to discuss Dropsy’s storied history from boss-sprite to unlikely video game hero, how the internet has evolved (arguably for the worse), and how very good it is to have a dog right now.

You can follow Jay on Twitter @jaytholen, and play Dropsy and Hypnospace Outlaw on Steam.

Jay’s Good Thing to Share

Games Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

It’s episode 10 of Kritiqal Care and on this episode I talk to the delightful 3D artist and game designer Kate Olguin (all/any pronouns). Kate has worked on games such as Friend Sighting (Gungus, Wungus, & Jimmy, 2020) and joins me to discuss her upcoming project, Call of Karen (Trumbus Games, 2020), why games culture is so humorless, and the stigma around game design students.

You can follow Kate on Twitter @DragonDirigible and check out her work at kateolguin.com. You can also join the mailing list for Call of Karen at callofkaren.com which I highly recommend doing as it looks like a joy.

Kate’s Good Thing to Share

Games Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

On the last of the single digit episodes of Kritiqal Care, designer and community activist Elaine Gómez (she/her) joins me to discuss E-Line Media’s upcoming BBC partnership Beyond Blue, which adapts the Blue Planet documentary series into an underwater adventure game. She also touches on the challenge of working on personal projects while at a full-time position, gives some updates on her independent game Cooking with Abuelita, and discusses how Latinx in Gaming is adapting its work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, she helps me pick out a plant neither myself nor my cat is likely to kill.

You can follow Elaine on Twitter @chulatastic, find out more about Latinx in Gaming @LatinosinGaming, and keep up with Beyond Blue on its official site.

Elaine’s Good Thing to Share

Things Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.

Christina Neofotistou (she/her) is an artist based in Greece who has been making pixel art almost since she was old enough to use a mouse. On episode 8 of Kritiqal Care, she joins me to discuss how she approaches a project, what she values in pixel art, and teases an upcoming project for the Playdate console. She also gives some backstory on the Steven Universe game that almost was (maybe some day).

You can follow Christina on Twitter @castpixel and find many of her games on itch.io.

Christina’s Good Thing to Share

Things Discussed

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts.