PODCAST

Meaningful Play Podcast

Welcome to Meaningful Play, a podcast where we talk about video games, new or old, light or serious, controversial or inspiring, and everything in between with an academic flair. Meaningful Play is hosted by Sian Tomkinson and Heather Blakey, who are games studies scholars based in Perth, Western Australia.

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All Episodes

Episode 19 – Player Typologies

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2021/09/15

In this episode Jordana provides an analysis of the game Bully. After recapping what we’ve been playing lately, we explore player typologies: what are some of the ways that researchers have tried to understand player motivations and preferences? We take Quantic Foundry’s gamer motivation profile survey and discuss our results. Games: Animal Crossing, Bully, Greedfall,...Continue reading »

Episode 18 – Walking Simulators

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2021/06/21

In the eighteenth episode of Meaningful Play, Sian and Jordana discuss a genre of videogames that has become increasingly popular in the last decade – walking simulators! Resultingly, this episode discusses definitions of walking simulators and how they are categorised by games audiences and games scholars, as well as dissects and muses upon some notable...Continue reading »

Episode 17 – Neopets

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2021/04/01

We’re back! Neopets is a virtual pet website that launched in 1999 and surged popularity, but two decades later is under threat of becoming obsolete. Easing back into our podcast, we take a trip down memory lane and reflect on our experiences of Neopets as children. We reflect on what we enjoyed and why, the...Continue reading »

Episode 16 – Life Simulation

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2020/07/31

*Apologies for our extended absence and this episode’s recording quality, there were some technical issues and we have not been able to record with our usual equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the sixteenth episode of Meaningful Play, Jordana and Sian discuss Life Simulation videogames. They converse with a strong focus on what constitutes...Continue reading »

Episode 15 – Videogames and UGC (Part 2)

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2020/04/10

In the fifteenth episode of Meaningful Play, we continue to discuss user-generated-content related to videogames. Specifically, we discuss our favourite gaming-based YouTubers and Twitch streamers, and the reasons behind why we tune into these certain content creators – why do they appeal to us, and what use do we get out of their content? Moreover,...Continue reading »

Episode 14 – Videogames and UGC (Part 1)

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2020/03/13

In this episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss user-generated-content (UGC) focused on videogames. Specifically, we explore what makes UGC appealing to audiences (i.e. the use of cultural or ‘gaming capital’ – see Consalvo 2007, and common video templates, formats, and topics) as well as discussing some of our favourite YouTubers (such as Felicia Day, and...Continue reading »

Episode 13 – Decade in Review

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2020/01/17

In the thirteenth episode of Meaningful Play, Sian and Jordana discuss their favourite games of the decade, as well as the concept of a ‘canon’ of video games – what are the best games of all time, and how is their position justified? Games:Minecraft, God of War, Pokémon Sword/Shield, Death Stranding, I Love You, Colonel...Continue reading »

Episode 12 – Realism

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/11/18

In this episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss the notion of ‘realism’ in video games. Using a framework developed by scholar Ciara Cremin’s succinct typology of realism in video games, this episode asks questions such as what realism is (or is generated by) in video games and their construction, what forms of realism we personally...Continue reading »

Episode 11 – Empathy

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/10/18

Welcome back to Meaningful Play! Our second season begins with a discussion on empathy in video games. We reflect on how we understand empathy and feeling in games, and consider some of the ways that researchers and philosophers encourage us to think about these issues. We find that in many cases empathy is linked to immersion...Continue reading »

Episode 10 – Open World

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/07/24

In the tenth and final episode of the first season of Meaningful Play, we discuss the incredibly popular open world genre in video games. Specifically, we discuss key questions and issues pertaining to the open world genre, such as what constitutes the open world genre, how the genre is generally defined in terms of constructive...Continue reading »

Episode 9 – Horror

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/07/03

In the ninth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss horror as a video game genre. Specifically, we ask questions such as what elements we believe constitute horror, how current academic literature conceives of horror as a genre in games (with reference to scholarly research focusing on body genre), and how horror games will develop in...Continue reading »

Episode 8 – Genre Theory

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/06/16

In the eighth episode of Meaningful Play, we reflect on our favourite kinds of games, and quickly realise that genre is quite complex in game studies. We discuss what genres are comprised of, how they are established, and how they change. In particular, we consider the role that genre has in games compared to film,...Continue reading »

Episode 7 – Romance and Sex (Part 2)

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/05/31

In the seventh episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss sex and romance in games once again! In this much anticipated part two, we talk about sex with greater consideration, asking how sex, as well as the distinction between sex and romance, is discussed within the relevant academic literature. Moreover, we discuss depictions of sex and...Continue reading »

Episode 6 – Romance and Sex (Part 1)

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/05/15

In the sixth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss sex and romance in video games. We discuss our experiences of romance in video games, and the difficulties in portraying a believable romantic experience. One interesting aspect of this is procedural rhetoric, which Ware (2015) touches on in his discussion of how video games can encourage...Continue reading »

Episode 5 – Ann Takamaki [Persona 5]

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/05/02

In the fifth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 (2017), a character we feel is hypersexualized and objectified, and in conjunction with both audio-visual elements and mechanics, highly contradictory in her depiction. As is well documented in games studies, female representation in video games has been highly controversial, with female...Continue reading »

Episode 4 – Franchises and Nostalgia

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/04/19

Welcome to the fourth episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode, we discuss why there are so many franchises in the games market, as well as the industry’s struggle to balance innovation and familiarity. We also consider the role that nostalgia plays in game production and consumption, as well as discuss what our favourite franchises*...Continue reading »

Episode 3 – Player Identification

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/03/26

Welcome to the third episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode we discuss what kinds of avatars we design or choose in games, and what kinds of patterns we notice in this behaviour. We also discuss the ever-controversial concept of immersion – do you feel ‘immersed’ in certain games? How do you view yourself in...Continue reading »

Episode 2 – Co-operative Play

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/03/12

Welcome to the second episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode, we discuss our enjoyment (and frustrations!) in playing video games cooperatively. How does local coop compare to online play, and is passing the controller around enough? How do you deal with disagreements when playing with others? How is the video game industry currently approaching...Continue reading »

Episode 1 – Completion

Meaningful Play Podcast ·

2019/01/31

Welcome to the very first episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode we briefly introduce ourselves before having a chat about our difficulties in finishing games. What constitutes finishing a game? And what factors impact whether we finish a game? Articles: Bailey, EN & Miyata, K 2017, ‘Analyzing video game completion achievements: Implications for game...Continue reading »

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