e153. Seeking a Game for the End of the World

Do you remember the before times? The long, long ago. Do you remember a time where you used to have real live friends that you used to be able to do stuff with? Maybe you held a weekly game night where you got together and… well, you mostly probably hung out and drank beer and talked, but the game was an excuse to do that. Then came the pandemic and games just went away. Or at least they changed. The world has done a lot of adapting in the face of COVID. But how have we adapted gaming in the pandemic? And really, don’t we all need that more than ever? On this week’s show, Katya, Hannah and Mav welcome returning guest Josh Stroud and new guest Ryan Henyard to talk about gaming in the pandemic. What games are we playing to maintain our sanity? how are we adapting games that are usually in-person activities to online play? What games do we recommend and what are the problems we see with both video games and gaming over zoom? Why are there loot boxes when everyone hates them? We discuss the culture of gaming in the current unique cultural moment and we even have a spirited discussion over whether or not you should play Oregon Trail again. Yes… that Oregon Trail. Isn’t that enough reason to tune in? Listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Citations and Links: * This episode’s Call for Comments* “Nintendo bans brands from using Animal Crossing: New Horizons for politics” by Tom Phillips* “Germany to potentially ban sale of games with loot boxes to minors” by Evgeny Obedkov* Hannah wants you to support The John Company:Second Edition Kickstarter * Hear Ryan on The Black Movie Podcast* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme* Follow Hannah on Twitter: @hannahleerogers* Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick* Follow Katya on Instagram: @justthatnerdkid * Follow Mav’s Personal Blog: http://chrismaverick.com* Follow Wayne’s Personal Blog: http://wayne-wise.com * Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast* Follow us on Instagram: @voxpopcast* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast*