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Nicole, Linda, and Simone are joined this week by Mark DeLoura, game-industry super-veteran and former advisor to the President (yes, the POTUS) in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Mark is not a dad, but he’s an uncle. We talk about family gaming and really dig deep into what we’re playing. Listen up!

You can download the mp3 directly here, listen to the podcast in the player above, or…

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News & Views

Mark DeLoura, the White House, and Video Games

Mark DeLoura has worked at Sony, Nintendo, Google, Ubisoft,  THQ, and other tech and gaming companies. He comes to us fresh from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “It is this amazing group of 90 people in the White House who are trying to do good things to move America forward using their expertise for a few years.”

Yes, Mark worked for POTUS.

Yes, Mark worked for POTUS.

  • Was the ’90s the heyday of educational games, with games like Reader Rabbit? And where have they all gone? Joan Ganz Cooney Center has a great report, “What in the World Happened to Carmen Sandiego?” that talks about the golden era of edutainment games.
  • Where do you go to find good educational games?  Mark says….wait for it….Pixelkin. Or Graphite.org. Or Coolmomtech.com. Sometimes you can find good things on 148apps.com. One of the best sources is still word of mouth from other parents. You can also find a publisher you like and keep going to them. What’s the best educational game out there? In Mark’s opinion, the title might go to Dragon Box Algebra. On Pixelkin, you might want to check out:
  • How do you sort out all the conflicting information about video games and violence? Mark says we should read Grand Theft Childhood for a great review of the research. (And some reassurance.)
  • Virtual reality might be the next controversial technology, but Mark thinks it’s going to be really useful for treating PTSD and phobias. We can’t wait for a VR Portal game.
  • Mark doesn’t play many console games—he’s more of a PC guy. The great new console experiences might be VR and alternate reality. We really wish there were more great Kinect games like Disney Fantasia (and Just Dance and Dance Central Spotlight).

What We Played

Miscellaneous Stuff You Should Do

  • Everyone should check out Mark’s Games for Impact Report. We love it! Sign up here to get this treasure chest of great information every week.
  • Send us questions!! We love to answer your video gaming questions in the podcast. Send questions to hello@pixelkin.org!

Credits

This podcast was recorded in the studios of the Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle. The music is by Pat Goodwin at Novelty Shop Creative. Nicole Tanner, Linda Breneman, Simone de Rochefort, and Mark DeLoura participated in this podcast. Thanks for listening and if you liked this episode, please rate us on iTunes and find us on BlogTalkRadio!

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This article was written by

Linda learned to play video games as a way to connect with her teenaged kids, and then she learned to love video games for their own sake. At Pixelkin she wrangles the business & management side of things, writes posts as often as she can, reaches out on the social media, and does the occasional panel or talk. She lives in Seattle, where she writes, studies, plays video games, spends time with her family, consumes vast quantities of science fiction, and looks after her small cockapoo. She loves to hear from people out there. You can read more about her at her website, Linda Breneman.com or her family foundation's website, ludusproject.org.