Video Game Feelings - podcast cover

Video Game Feelings

"This podcast is tender without being twee, the kind of soft and open that isn’t an aesthetic, just a genuine question. It’s a special vibe that gives me games discourse nostalgia..." - Sarah Elmaleh, Video Game Voice Actor and Director "It reminds me of my most cherished conversations with other game makers." - Hayden Scott-Baron, Senior game designer at ustwo Games Video Game Feelings is an interview podcast about the way video games make us feel, and the reasons we play them. Each week, host Richard Clark speaks to a video game insider to delve into their hearts and minds and discover the various ways video games make us feel. You'll love this series of conversations with video game developers, journalists, and personalities where we explore why open-world games can feel so lonely, why hype can ruin a video game experience, or what video games can teach us about grief. Video game Feelings is an Area Code Production. Find out more at AreaCodeAudio.com. Theme song by Bruce Holtman.
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Episodes

BRAVERY (with Pentiment's Josh Sawyer)

Josh Sawyer felt less pressure working on Pentiment than any game he's worked on in the last decade. Easily. Josh Sawyer is the design director at Obsidian. He worked on Pillars of Eternity I & II, Fallout: New Vegas, and Icewind Dale I & II.

Feb 17, 202358 minSeason 3Ep. 1

The Year in Feelings

To round out the year, we invited three friends to gather and discuss the games that made them feel most deeply. (plus, I share my top ten games of the year) Featuring special guests: Allegra Frank, frequent guest on one of my fav podcasts, ICYMI, editor at The Daily Beast, formerly at Vox, Polygon and Slate. Sarah Elmaleh, co-host on Eggplant, a podcast about videogames (not sex!),voice of high-profile video game villains (spheres, not cubes!), voice actor, director and advocate. M Joshua Caull...

Dec 24, 20221 hr 7 minSeason 2Ep. 8

FOCUS (with Spawn On Me's Kahlief Adams)

Kahlief Adams is moving past angst. Kahlief Adams is the host and Founder of Spawn on Me and The Spawnies . On this episode we processed: How God of War: Ragnarok made Kahlief happy he didn't have children How to address the non-inclusionary layers in the video game industry How to have empathy for complaining Getting old Why Final Fantasy feels exclusionary. Video Game Feelings is an Area Code Audio production. Hosted and produced by Richard Clark . Mixed and Edited by Nettie Smith. Additional ...

Dec 09, 202250 minSeason 2Ep. 7

DISCOVERY (with Just the Zoo of Us' Ellen Weatherford)

Ellen Weatherford loves the feeling of finding a bird she's seen before doing something weird. Ellen Weatherford is the host of Just the Zoo of Us and Spellbound and Gagged . Video Game Feelings is an Area Code Audio production. Hosted and produced by Richard Clark . Mixed and Edited by Nettie Smith. Additional help from Ashley Whitehurst and Matthew Linder....

Dec 02, 20221 hr 2 minSeason 2Ep. 6

HARD (with Salt and Sacrifice's James Silva)

James Silva makes his games difficult, because creation is difficult. James Silva is the developer behind Salt and Sacrifice , Salt and Sanctuary , Charlie Murder , The Dishwasher , and I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings XBox Live Indie Games was maybe more special to the developer than to the gamer Fallout 76 is an alone in a crowd kind of situation Contra Box Art does a little bit of the up-resing for you Video Game Feelings is an Area Code A...

Nov 18, 202254 minSeason 2Ep. 5

GUT PUNCH (with Spec Ops: The Line and Wolverine's Walt Williams)

Walt Williams doesn't want his video game to hate him. He just wants to be entertained. Walt Williams is a video game writer who has worked on Star Wars Battlefront, Bioshock, Civilization, Borderlands, Mafia, The Darkness, and Spec Ops: The Line. His book, Significant Zero , explores the hardships and insanity of AAA game development. Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings The Mass Effect 3 ending debacle made Walt question his narrative approach in Spec Ops: The Line. Kirby All Star A...

Nov 11, 20221 hr 9 minSeason 2Ep. 4

SAFE (with rapper and hip-hop producer, Yons)

Yons is playing Borderlands with his son, and living out the example his big brother gave him. Yons is a musician, music teacher, and producer. You can check him out on his website , or listen to his music on Spotify . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Borderlands 2 is how Yons bonds with his son. Red Dead Redemption 2 may have been a little too cinematic? Yons has never played the "original-intent" version of Skyrim . Sonic 2 was Yons' safe place with his brother. Spotify does hav...

Nov 04, 202248 minSeason 2Ep. 3

GRIEF (with Polygon And Triple Click's Maddy Myers)

Maddy Myers is grieving the loss of her real-life friend while running silly video game errands and stabbing dudes. Maddy Myers is the deputy editor at Polygon and the co-host of Triple Click and The Mutant Ages . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Assassin's Creed Origins is a video game about grief. Maddy's not trying to call out The Last of Us , but let's be honest, video games writing is bad. Maddy Myers' on Depresh Mode Turns out the reason I don't play video games sometimes is...

Oct 21, 20221 hr 6 minSeason 2Ep. 2

LOST (with Buffering the Vampire Slayer's Jenny Owen Youngs)

Jenny Owen Youngs is coping with life transitions by getting lost in a whole variety of worlds. Jenny Owen Youngs' most recent EP is It's Dangerous to Go Alone . She hosts the podcasts Buffering the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars Investigations . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings " That Josh Whedon stuff that went down " Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games Pac-Man is maybe the clearest metaphor for modern life as we know it Jenny is deep in The Witcher 3 When Jenny's brain won't shut...

Oct 14, 202244 minSeason 2Ep. 1

Coming October 14th: Season 2 of Video Game Feelings

Lost in Skyrim. Grief in Assassin's Creed. Bonding with your little brother in Sonic 2. Crying while playing Yakuza. These are just some of the video game feelings we'll explore in the next season of Video Game Feelings!

Oct 07, 20222 min

BONUS: Board Game Feelings with "Games & Feelings" host, Eric Silver

Eric Silver welcomes you to the human experience. Eric Silver is the host of Games & Feelings and Join the Party , and the head of creative at Multitude , a podcast collective. Some feelings we explored: Our Feelings That feeling when you hit a dead end in Betrayal on the House of the Hill That feeling when you're participating in a superhero story via Sentinels of the Multiverse That feeling when you're collectively experiencing powerlessness playing Ghost Stories ....

Jul 15, 202246 min

STRANGENESS (with Hypnospace Outlaw's Jay Tholen)

Please take a moment to fill out our listener survey! Jay Tholen is not very comfortable with success. Jay Tholen is the creator of Dropsy , HypnoSpace Outlaw , and the upcoming Dreamsettler . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Doom makes Jay feel relaxed. Doom (2016) makes Jay feel out of control. The Giant Bomb "SpeedTree" video....

Jun 02, 202253 minSeason 1Ep. 8

EMPATHY (with That Dragon Cancer's Amy Green)

Amy Green doesn't regret making That Dragon, Cancer . But she doesn't want it to define her life. Amy Green is a writer and game designer behind That Dragon, Cancer and Area Man Lives . Note: Toward the end of the interview we should have been using the term "unhoused," or "houseless." Apologies. Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Phase 10: World Tour makes Amy feel empowered. Papo and Yo showed Amy that deeply serious, emotional games are possible. Is Papers Please too disempowerin...

May 26, 202248 minSeason 1Ep. 7

PRECARITY (with Citizen Sleeper's Gareth Damian Martin)

Gareth Damian Martin found their happy place. Gareth Damian Martin is the sole developer behind the recently released Citizen Sleeper . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Destiny 2 had a weird amount of influence on Citizen Sleeper. Watching Jack De Quidt play through and read along to Citizen Sleeper opened Gareth's eyes to just how much they were writing about themselves. Subnautica Below Zero : You could just hang out there, really. Rogue Legacy 2 overwhelmed Richard....

May 19, 202253 minSeason 1Ep. 6

FUN (with Triple Click's Kirk Hamilton)

Kirk Hamilton is having fun with Destiny, until he's not. Kirk Hamilton , one-third of the videogame podcast Triple Click , and the host and producer of the music podcast, Strong Songs . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Elden Ring is full of little surprises. Destiny 2 : It's Complicated....

May 12, 202249 minSeason 1Ep. 5

TERROR (with Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator's Xalavier Nelson)

Xalavier Nelson is terrified that his dad won't like his game. Xalavier Nelson Jr . is a game developer and head of Strange Scaffold , the studio responsible for games like Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator , An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs , and the upcoming El Paso, Elsewhere . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings If you want to reconnect with your Dad, play Elden Ring The Magic Circle made Xalavier a different person Evil Within 2 made Xalavier feel inquisitive...

May 05, 202259 minSeason 1Ep. 4

HYPE (with Devolver Digital's M. Joshua Cauller)

M. Joshua Cauller is always searching for that new highest level of tension. Joshua crafts trailers for Devolver Digital . You can see his work at the Devolver YouTube channel . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Sifu makes Joshua feel plugged in, jacked in, hyped up, and frustrated. The back of a Super Mario 3 box . It was all about the screen grabs. Contra actually got the cover right. Did I make a huge mistake buying Dying Light 2 ? Kert Gartner was who Joshua wanted to be when h...

Apr 28, 202248 minSeason 1Ep. 3

NOSTALGIA (with Slate.com's Allegra Frank)

Allegra Frank really misses her sister. Allegra is a former editor for Polygon , a writer, a podcaster, and senior editor at Slate , where she covers music, culture, and the internet. She also has a lot of fun over at Aw, Would You Look at the Time . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Unwinnable and Kill Screen , which Allegra read more than Polygon back in the day, no offense. Kirby and the Forgotten Land reminds Allegra of time with her sister Breathe of the Wild : a SIZZLING hot ...

Apr 21, 202244 minSeason 1Ep. 2

ANGER (with Fortnite and Halo: Infinite's Sarah Elmaleh)

Sarah Elmaleh is giving voice to her frustration. She's a voice director and actor whose work has been featured in a number of videogames, including in Fortnite (as Cube Queen) and Halo: Infinite (as the Despondant Pyre). She's currently working on voice direction and consulting for The Wreck . Here's some stuff we talked about: Our Feelings Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games is a podcast you simply must listen to, especially now that Sarah's on it Super Mario World as a place for creativity Ho...

Apr 14, 202258 minSeason 1Ep. 1

Introducing: Video Game Feelings

First episode coming April 14th! Introducing a new kind of video game podcast, focused on honest, vulnerable conversations about video games and the ways they make us feel.

Mar 30, 20224 min
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