Welcome to episode 6 of Gaming With the Moms! Host and Pixelkin Managing Editor Nicole Tanner leads the conversation about family gaming news. This week we talk about the scourge of Amiibo, gaming across the world, and how games can teach diversity.
You can download the episode here!
Housekeeping:
- We went to the Power of Play last weekend! It’s a local indie game event where developers can get in touch. The Seattle Indie Game Competition took place during the Power of Play, and a bunch of teams pitched their games to industry judges. Among those teams were a bunch of awesome teenagers who had started making their own games! They competed in the Youth Division. The result? A tie, unfortunately. But it was fun to watch.
- Mamacon! Pixelkin had a table at Mamacon, where we gave away our ebook and chatted with local moms, who were all super excited to learn more about video games
In the news:
The Nintendo World Championships have revealed the locations of the qualifying matches! They’ll happen on May 30th at Best Buy locations around the country. You’ve got to brush up on your retro Nintendo skills if you want to compete. Is Reggie Fils-Aime going to participate in the finals? Can Simone pronounce Reggie Fils-Aime’s name? Also, Nicole met Jimmy Fallon. Because of course she did.
- K
onami is haunted. Or possibly cursed. After implying that they’re going to be moving exclusively into mobile games, Konami is also applauding a recent Nevada law that allows skill-based gambling machines. That’s a big change for gambling fans! Gambling fans? Is that the right term? Either way, the house always wins.
Nintendo is reissuing those precious sold-out Amiibo! Marth, Ike, and Meta Knight are all coming back to store shelves. Nintendo is probably making their Amiibo scarce on purpose, but it sure isn’t hurting their business. Except in the case of people getting burnt out, like Gamespot’s Alexa Ray Correia. Also, Simone has some shocking confessions about her relationship with Disney Infinity.
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan by Cameroon developer Kiro’o has been picked up by a publisher! This game uses Cameroon mythology and imagery to tell its story, and it looks really gorgeous. Simone is also back with more info about African game developers, going off of her convo with Curtis in Episode 2. Okada Ride is a Nigerian game. Nigeria is actually one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world, right behind India and China. Here’s some more games from all over the world, in Simone’s slam-jammin’ article about games from World Cup countries! Take a deep breath.
- Also relevant: The Guardian talks about the booming Nigerian game industry.
The Main Course:
- Parable of the Polygons is an interactive media tool that teaches kids about neighborhood segregation. Sound sad? It’s actually really cute and pretty fun. Keezy interviewed one of the creators of the game. Teachers can interact with the code and change the game however they want; some teachers have added more shapes to the game to complexify the gameplay. It’s a cool way to demonstrate that games can be really effective at teaching abstract concepts.
- We discuss diversity in games—is Grand Theft Auto really that bad? Well, yes and no. GTA IV tells an interesting story about Eastern European immigrants. Some parents even play GTA with their kids. The fact is, despite being super socially problematic, Grand Theft Auto has a lot of diversity in its characters.
- Here’s a hilarious College Humor video about how armor for women, uh, isn’t quite up to snuff.
- Dragon Age is a series that actually does diversity really well! They tackle racial oppression and let the player explore different sexualities and fantasy race. Like, elves and stuff. It’s an allegory.
- Nicole’s 3-year-old loves watching her play Broken Age. Hearthstone? Not so much.
What We’re Playing:
Nicole: Dragon Age Inquisition
Keezy and Simone: Neko Atsume and Hearthstone
Linda: Candy Crush Soda Saga
This podcast was recorded in the studios of the Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle. Music by Pat Goodwin at Novelty Shop Creative. Nicole Tanner, Linda Breneman, Simone de Rochefort, and Keezy Young participated in this podcast. Thanks for listening! And if you like this podcast, please consider rating us on iTunes! And subscribing! It really helps us out!
