Kritiqal Care

Ex-game dev MadameBerry (she/her) joins me to talk creative burnout and becoming a Twitch painter. Having begun as an indie dev with games like Fragile Soft Machines and Visual Out , MadameBerry has since left games and is now pursuing live painting on Twitch, along with and helping others overcome their creative blocks. We dive into a lot of things surrounding creativity as a deliberate act and t...

Whitethorn Games is an indie publishing house focusing on “easy-going, bite-sized, stress-free games" for people who maybe don’t play them very often. Founder and CEO of Whitethorn, Matthew White (he/him), joins me on Kritiqal Care to talk what makes a Whitethorn game, appealing to non-gamers, and growing sustainably. Later on we talk about “the good groceries” and being awestruck by nature. You c...

Rachel Tanner (she/her) is a poet and prose author who writes the monthly column Extra Lives over at Video Dame . She joined me on this week’s Kritiqal Care to read a few of her poems and talk about how she got started writing video game poetry. It’s a nice, chill episode, so grab a cup of tea and nestle up under a blanket as this episode tucks you in. You can follow Rachel @rickit , and find her...

Something new on this week’s Kritiqal Care, I’m joined by experimental software developer Nathalie Lawhead (they/them) to talk about the weird side of the internet. Nathalie specializes in small art tools with 90s sensibilities and lots and lots of potatoes, and recently released Electric Zine Maker for anyone looking to become an amateur publicist. It was a delight to have them on to reflect on w...

Very excited to have gotten the chance to this week to chat with Andrew (he/him), creator and curator of Indiepocalypse, a monthly zine featuring games, comics, and an assortment of other curiosities. Each month Indiepocalypse highlights the breathe of work happening in the indie games scene uncoupled from the expectations of major conventions or commercial appeal, packaging them up as an indie zi...

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 (H...

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...

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,...

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...

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 o...

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 Yo...

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 ev...

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...

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 indep...

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...

For episode 7 of Kritiqal Care, Aubrey Isaacman (she/her; they/them) comes on to discuss how her games approach intimacy and emphasize player emotion. She has worked on projects ranging from the card game Intimacy to the VR experience everybody’s sad , and is currently pursing an MFA in Games & Interactive Media at the University of Southern California. You can find out more about Aubrey’s gam...

Joe Russ (he/him) is the founder of Mografi, the studio behind the Nancy Drew-meets-Cartoon Network puzzle mystery game, Jenny LeClue. He joins me on Kritiqal Care to discuss the release of Jenny LeClue: Detectivu last fall, how its structure evolved from episodic to a two part series, and how Apple Arcade influenced the game’s development. Joe is on Twitter @Mografi_Joe and you can learn more abo...

Jack  King-Spooner (he/him) is my guest on episode 5 of Kritiqal Care. We  discuss the importance of seeing the people behind art, how queer has  evolved (and is still evolving) from a derogatory term to one of self  acceptance, and the way our desire to find a "silver-lining" in all of  this might be blinding us to the real pain caused by the pandemic. Jack is on Twitter...

Leo Bunyea (he/him) joins me on episode 4 of Kritiqal Care to talk the biases of game engines, how to make academia more accessible, and the joys of the Animal Crossing tag system. Leo is an independent game developer currently pursuing a masters in interactive media and game design at the Worchester Polytechnic Institute. Leo is on Twitter @leopution , his games are on itch.io , and you can learn...

Welcome  to episode 3 of Kritiqal Care. I'm joined by indie game dev Marina  Kittaka (she/her), known for her work on Even the Ocean, Secrets Agent,  and Anodyne 2. She joins me to discuss authenticity in art, returning to  old projects, and how nice it is that we're (mostly) not in winter  anymore. Marina's games can be found on itch.io and she is on Twitter @even_kei . M...

Episode  2 of Kritiqal Care features tabletop rpg designer Jamila "Jammi" R.  Nedjadi (they/them) of Sword Queen Games. Jammi's games focus on queerness, Filipino  culture, and accessibility, including the Filipino cyberpunk of BALIKBAYAN and magical girl anime inspired REINCARNATION REDUX .  They join me to discuss their creative process, what life looks like in  the Phil...

On episode 1 of Kritiqal Care, I speak to indie developer Florian Veltman, creator of Lieve Oma, The Endless Express, and previously of ustwo. He is currently working on The Other Side, a puzzle game about ghosts learning to understand life in the afterlife. Florian's Good Thing to Share Amazon Killer - A browser plugin that let's you find books from Amazon in your local bookstore IndieBound - An...

Hey folx, Nate here. The world is really grim right now. Most likely you are listening to this while quarantined in your home, and if you’re not practicing social distancing you really should be. Nobody knows what the world is going to look like once the pandemic is over, but what is certain is that things are going to continue to be challenging for weeks and months to come. It’s hard not to fixat...