First Person Podcast Episode 45

Content Gaming Videos

Welcome to the 45th episode of First-Person Podcast. This is the final part of our three-part series that we are doing to examine how games are introduced to us and played with on YouTube. For part three, we are going to be looking at the Content videos that we see comic youtubers and casual gamers making for us. We can see what’s new on Twitch and where the YouTube community can go from here. Continue Reading

First Person Podcast Episode 44

YouTube Game Analysis

Welcome to the 44th episode of First-Person Podcast. This is part two of our three-part series that we are doing to examine how games are introduced to us and played with on YouTube. For part two, we are going to be looking at the Lore Analysis videos that get worked into the mainstream YouTube feed every so often. And, yes this was my way of working in a reason to talk about Dark Souls. Continue Reading

First Person Podcast Episode 43

Parasocial Play on YouTube

To commemorate our transition to YouTube, this is part one of a three-part series that we will be doing to examine how games are introduced to us and played with on YouTube. For part one, we are going to be looking at the Parasocial play involved with a lot of retro and modern YouTube content. From Walkthroughs to Let’s Plays, this is the foundation of our YouTube gaming experience. Continue Reading

Remembering Katamari Damacy

YouTube era nostalgia and memories of childhood play in Keita Takahashi’s cultural critique

The last time a work of art made me cry was at a local screening of My Neighbour Totoro. It was the first time I’ve ever seen a film that captured what playing pretend as a child felt like, befriending magical creatures that live separately from the world of adulthood.

The credits rolled, and a little girl sitting in front of me asked her mother in amazement, “Mommy, is Totoro real?” and I was a sappy, sobbing mess.

In games, such overwhelming, positive experiences often come from the resolution of an epic story, or completion of a difficult final boss. Think to the moment in which we complete a difficult final boss, with quivering hands and your heart in your throat as you land the final strike. Continue Reading