Safe Space: The Video Games Mental Health Podcast

In this special episode of the podcast, Rosie talks to our new Strategy and Corporate Partnerships Officer; Benn Wiebe!  Benn has an incredibly varied and interesting career, from working on the Twilight film (!) to the United Nations. He talks about his passions in moving into the video games space, and actively pushing for positive change for topics such as environmental action and imp...

In this special episode of the Safe Space Podcast for Mental Health Awareness Month, Rosie talks to Alex King, Community Manager from Ripstone.  Alex and Rosie discuss the power of games communities, and in particular how Alex found his friendship group of 12 years through Minecraft.  There is also a wasp related incident that occurs mid-recording so, um enjoy? Rosie was very frightened....

In this short series of stories as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Rosie talks to Liam Wilson from Sock Monkey Studios about his journey in mental health, and how supportive workplaces are foundational to supporting our teams and employees.  We also discuss the power of FFIX in Liam's story and how a story arc within the game helped with his existential anxiety during a particularly di...

In the season 1 finale of the Safe Space Podcast, Rosie talks to Grant Hill, esports caster for Race to World First for Method and occasional streamer. He's previously delved into esports journalism, as well as casting for Starcraft II. In this episode, we discuss Grant's journey, including how he was introduced to Safe In Our World, and the recent Race to World First Tournament. Grant opens up ab...

In the penultimate episode of the season, Rosie chats to Paige Harvey about her incredible work with the gamers charity Special Effect and the annual Gameblast event that unites gamers each year in support of the charity. Paige also discusses their work in Charity Stream Team Cosmic Hearts , which is a team of content creators devoted to raising funds & awareness for vital causes close to our...

In this episode, Rosie chats to Dave Cottrell (aka Mindset by Dave) who is a content creator, mindset coach and fellow podcaster! Dave talks about his journey into becoming a Mindset Coach and Mental Health Educator, and his previous work in challenging the stigma, including in schools. The main focus of the podcast however, is around Dave's upcoming fundraiser and mental health marathon. Instead...

In this episode, Rosie talks to Jake K ulkowski about his role at D ead Good Media, his podcasts with Wired Productions and Special Moves , and his career path into the video games industry. We also focus on what games we go to for our own stress relief, and the kinds of titles that enable us to relax, including the discussion around why some gamers find escapism within horror titles.  We dis...

In this episode, Rosie chats to the lovely GeekyCassie; who is one of the most wonderful creators on Twitch, Director of Nox Lumina, Co Founder of Black Twitch UK and the Community Manager for the Noir Network! We discuss mental health through content creation and the pandemic, as well as the return to events through Cassie's recently announced Nox Lumina (an events company dedicated to catering t...

In this episode, Rosie is joined by Mark Flynn, PR & Community Manager at Numskull Games, PR and Marketing Manager at Lost In Cult as well as a content creator on YouTube! Mark delves into his passions about mental health, his current projects, and his journey into the games industry. We talk about Hoa; a delightful Ghibli-style puzzle-platformer, Chicory; a painting adventure indie, and Celes...

In this episode, Rosie is joined by Charlotte Callister, ‘New Impacts’ MCV/Develop IRL Award Winner 2021, disabled queer gamer and Press Engine Platform Coordinator. Charlotte opens up about the effects of epilepsy on her life, and how she games with that in mind. She also dives into the effects of bullying on mental health, as well as the experience of being pregnant with epilepsy. As a relativel...

In this episode of Safe Space Rosie chats to Char; Distribution Manager at Bossa Studios, as well as an Ambassador for Special Effect and Safe In Our World. Char opens up about what it's like to work in the games industry with BPD/EUPD and ADHD, and how they intertwine with her wellbeing. She talks about her fantastic work supporting charity through streams, including recently Gameblast, and previ...

In Episode 12 of the Safe Space Podcast, Rosie talks to Nigel Twumasi from Mayamada about his latest campaign: Do I Look Like a Gamer, and the importance of representation and diversity in games. We discuss the stigmatisation around the word "gamer" and the general associations with the word, and touch on how attitudes are changing around gaming and mental health.  Of course, we have to talk...

In this episode, Rosie talks to Rachel Henderson from the Samaritans.  Rach is the Streaming and Gaming Fundraising lead for the Samaritans, creating a unique position in combining the world of streamers with vital awareness for the Samaritans. We talk about The Night Shift Before Christmas, where creators fundraise over shifts as the volunteers at Samaritan Volunteers do on helplines, and we...

In this episode of Safe Space, Rosie chats to Dr Rachel Kowert PhD. Rachel is a research psychologist and research director for Take This, as well as a creator of content from books to her YouTube channel Psychgeist which bridges the gap between moral panic and scientific knowledge on psychology and games.  We kick off the podcast with important questions such as "What is a Cavill Influencer"...

On this episode of Safe Space, Rosie is joined by Eliana Zebro, creator of the recently released #AudioIndustryGame and audio professional in media projects. We discuss the motivations behind releasing the game, which tells the stories of marginalised gender folks and their experiences within the audio industry; including stories referencing discrimination and harrassment.  Eliana discusses t...

On this episode of Safe Space we welcome Dominic Shaw from UKIE as our latest guest.  In this episode we talk about Dom’s life; from games he enjoyed growing up through to the games industry introduction and eventually him settling into UKIE. We also go into depth about LGBTQ+, autism, dyslexia and support within the industry, as well as the journey he took to get where he is today. Dom also...

On this episode of Safe Space we welcome Adam Clarke from Game If You Are as a guest! We talk about his personal reasons into getting into the games industry, which include talking about his experience as a carer for his sister and her passion for games. We cover Hot Fuzz and the accuracy of the levels of Irish accents within Adam's world, which is surprisingly similar. Of course, it wouldn't be a...

In this episode of Safe Space, Rosie is joined by Shahid Kamal Ahmad for a fantastic discussion covering Code Is Just, imposter syndrome, game development and personal growth. We go from games industry history to jeopardising relationships in Monopoly, and it's worth the ride. Shahid is in his 40th year of working in the games industry, and discusses how he first entered the world of game developm...

This week we were delighted to have Raccine Malcolm on the Safe Space podcast!  Raccine is a communications professional that specializes in empathy-driven, engagement-based community development and management. Multicultural awareness, belonging, EDI, mental health, along with the interconnectedness of communities are some of her deepest interests and driving forces behind her work. We are deligh...

On this episode of Safe Space, Rosie and Jake chatted to Hannah Rutherford on all things charity streaming. We get into some of the evolution of games, from Mario is Missing to Lara Croft, as well as the struggles that individuals face when creating content and how we can take care of ourselves. 

We had a conversation on the support and challenges within the games industry for LGBTQ+ communities with the wonderful Robin Gray from Gayming Magazine. We chatted representation within video games characters, groups in the industry who rally for change, and touched on tips for those entering the industry on how to find support.  Robin is the Founder of Gayming Magazine, with over 1 million...

This episode, we chat with Mxiety (or Marie) about the work she does in broadening the conversation around mental health through platforms such as Twitch, Twitter and more. We discuss the importance of sharing our personal stories, boundaries between creators and their audience, and the pros and challenges that accompany the above. 

For the very first episode of Safe Space, we wanted to introduce our listeners to the Safe In Our World team, the aims and mission of the charity and some insight into why we're passionate about the conversation surrounding mental health within the games industry and beyond.