Game Academy

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 H...

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...

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...

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 produc...

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 h...

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 f...

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 a...

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 Assas...

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 e...

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 co...

Because it's just Adam this time, he gets to write all the show notes! Adam is joined by Dr Matt Higgins and Dr Peter Howell to talk all about making some games. Yes, he's taken over the podcast, and he's talking about the usefulness of making things! Of course, we all agree that there are multiple perspectives to study games from, but with a Practice research IN Games conference coming up, we tho...

On the actual anniversary episode of Game Academy, Steph and Adam talk about their busy, busy lives. PhDs are a drag. They never stop. But they should! Don't forget about your personal lives, everyone! They then split off a bit to do something different: two separate interview segments! First, Steph is joined by Amy Ahn to talk all things eSports and Overwatch 2 in the wake of the eSports courses...

In this near-anniversary episode of Game Academy (we launched on 6 March 2022!), Steph and Adam are joined by Lisa Meek to discuss ConfettiX's recent eSports summit in Nottingham. What does an eSports course even look like? They go down the rabbit hole and follow on to also talk about strikes in academia and debunk some myths about unions, much to Adam's surprise - unions are actually really cool!...

New Year. Not Happy New Year. Just New Year. - Adam Just kidding! Happy New Year everyone! In our first pod of 2023, Adam and Steph catch-up on everything they've been up to over Christmas and look ahead to the excitement (and exhaustion) of a new university semester. They chat about Steph's Christmas present, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin, a very fictional book about gam...

Coming in smoking hot and screeching into your podcast feed just before 2023 (Happy New Year everyone!), Adam and Steph are High on Christmas and full of Christmas cheer! Awww, geez! Justin Roiland would be pleased! This month, they talk about their multiple Games of the Year, Not-Games of the Year and how 2022 was possibly a bit of a nothing-burger for video games. 2023 is looking mighty tasty, t...

Game Academy returns! Adam and Steph are back podding (and arguing) together after Steph's break for a very special episode reflecting on the Mass Effect trilogy after MultiPlay's 10 year anniversary conference on N7 Day. Adam and Steph are joined by the conference host Calum Evans to discuss what made the series unique and just why, so many years on, fans still can't get over that ending. Game Ac...

Spoooooky! An eighth Game Academy episode appears just in time for Halloween! With Steph out of commission (she's not dead, we promise) Adam bravely faces the ghouls and curses (the ones that keep preventing us from releasing podcasts on time) with special guest Dr. Peter Howell. Adam and Pete chat a bit about Pete's adventure into being a student once again post-PhD by choosing to do a Masters in...

On the seventh episode of Game Academy, Steph and Adam present an incredibly delayed podcast. We battled freshers' flu to be here and we'll never leave! Long live Game Academy! Steph is more thrilled at the prospect of the academic year than Adam, who has been the target of some angry Twitterers again, having written an article NOT ABOUT GAMERGATE. It's about values. Obviously. Instead, they get d...

On the sixth episode of Game Academy, good times never seemed so good! Joined by Lisa Meek, Adam and Steph fondly (or, in Steph's case, not so much) remember when the Lionesses won the Euros. Lisa, amazing guest that she is, is firmly on the winning side with Adam while Steph laments Spain's misfortunes. Nevertheless, they fill us in on what it was like at Wembley during the Euro final. Adam, in a...

On the fifth episode of Game Academy, Adam and Steph take a breath after a hectic month! Adam fills us in on how this year's DiGRA conference went - and to Steph's despair - starts another ludology vs narratology debate. They continue, joined by Adam Crowley, to talk about his latest book "Representations of Poverty in Videogames". He opens our eyes to some fascinating approaches to dealing with s...

On the fourth episode of Game Academy, Adam and Steph get their monthly podcast out by the skin of their teeth! Is that an idiom? What about "next lady for a shave"? None of us are really sure anymore after this month. In this episode, we lament that there isn't a dog version of Stray and talk to the wonderful Dr Matthew Higgins, Adam's colleague who somehow (by the Maker!) finished a PhD. Steph a...

On the third episode of Game Academy, Adam and Steph apologise profusely for the lateness of the episode release amidst the craziness of marking season, submissions and new puppies! In this episode, we talk all about our hot takes on video game crunch, how it could be solved, or if it's just a symptom of creative industries. Then, Steph delves deep into Cyberpunk 2077, how it's changed since relea...

On the second episode of Game Academy, Adam and Steph chat about how they got into game studies, the power of Pokémon in our lives, and what we've learned so far in our academic careers. And the most important question: Can you make a career out of talking about games? Find out more in episode 2 of Game Academy! Join our workshop on raising your profile and finding employment in academia happening...

On the first episode of Game Academy, Adam and Steph are joined by special guest and games scholar Imo Kaufman to discuss sex and romance in video games. How are games handling aspects of sex and romance right now? Are games creating queer characters or queer stories ? Will Imo - or the rest of us - ever get over our love for Dragon Age's Dorian? Find out in episode 1 of Game Academy! CFP for the...