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Category Archives: Show
a perspective on unpaid emotional labor of queer acceptance – An Arse Elektronika Talk
This past weekend I went to Arse Elektronika, a sex and tech conference in San Francisco that has talks from many different perspectives on whatever lies at the intersection of sex and tech. I wanted to share the transcript of my talk since I put a lot into it and it’s about a highly personal […]
Conversations with AM Cosmos: Personal Evolutions of Fandom
I often gripe about how I wish my job was just to sit around and talk to interesting people all day, having earnest, in depth conversations about joint interests. Social media isn’t the best place for this because there’s a risk with publicly revealing yourself, unedited, to a live audience. Last GDC, I sat down […]
Why Games DIY Shouldn’t Stop at the Digital
Recently, the nominees for IndieCade’s festival went up, and as it usually happens around the time judging results are out for any contest, there was a lot of disappointment and worries about the kind of forces that play out behind closed doors when awarding certain works and artists as exemplary for our community. Having judged […]
Letters with John Sharp: Inter-generational conflict in games
Trying something new! I decided to start up some letter series with other thinkers in games, or just generally interesting people I’m connected with to get different perspectives on topics I like to talk about, or important issues games may be facing. The first person I started chatting with was John Sharp, a professor at […]
Why Idle Games Need a Takeover
the fire is dead. the room is freezing. These are the first words of the idle, or incremental, game A Dark Room, listed next to an unassuming button labeled “light fire.” Pressing it, what I thought was just the title changes to “A Firelit Room,” like I moved to a new game where the descriptions […]
More Than a Beard: How Hot Ryu Turns Thirst Into Critique
If there is one particularly awkward conversation in media critique, I would give the award to discussion surrounding the sexual interests of women, and tangentially, anyone attracted to men. Codified on the ‘obviously bad’ platform of media activism, the objectification and sexualization of women calls into question the pervasiveness of pandering to men’s interests by […]
Intimacy and Digital Patina
From embodiment and kink to luxury and tea, I see myself reaching for something solid to hold onto. I feel disconnected from digital art and environments, and resist how much conversation is centered around theorizing the digital. There’s more to play than video games, and a lot can be learned if we stretch beyond this […]
Things I want the men in my life to know
I’ve gotten to a point, both as someone constantly engaging with social change and as a healthy human being, where I need to actively and thoughtfully incorporate men in my life. This might sound like a strange thing to announce, but it’s actually pretty important, for me and a bunch of other people. Obviously I’ve […]
Assimilation and the Double-Bind of Respectability
Upon learning more about activism and the many methods of resistance, I know there are parts of me that come up against and even alienate people of certain radical politics.
What is a Luxurious Video Game?
“Well wait, what exactly is a luxurious video game?”
Embracing the Messy: A Bit on Conversations We Have in My Head
I find that we are unable to really work through some complex aspects of our lives in the broader social media landscape because it is a context that doesn’t allow us to be human.
Passing and Self-Identification: Managing the Power and Visibility of the Closet
Having the ability to speak of our experiences without being forced to represent groups of people goes both ways.
Feelings about expressive games and museums
I find the lack of discussion and following action on supporting the arts hypocritical, since games relies so much on them to feel a sense of cultural legitimacy.
Play Like Everyone is Watching – Some Lessons from Running My Own Play Party
(Content note: this article discusses kink and sex in general, but doesn’t have any explicit descriptions or depictions of sex)