Games & tech for education and social change
About Month: December 2021
Oh what a hard topic this was! The Conversation asked me to recommend some of my favourite Australian games to play this summer and I had to narrow it down to 5!
Whilst there are so many amazing Australian games to choose from, I ended up recommending Florence, Fruit Ninja VR2, Crossy Road, Untitled Goose Game and the upcoming Rooftop Renegade!
On the last Cafe Booleans podcast for 2021, Kosta, Alex, John and I shared our table with a couple of extra guests Patrick Webb & Dr Damien Rompapas who stopped by for a chat.
We chatted about the Adelaide community’s game jam stories, Japan opening its first e-sports high school, video game industry statistics for 2021, developers remaking Kojima’s PT for the Oculus Quest, IGDA’s new guidelines for creating inclusive games, our predictions and hopes for 2022, and so much more!
Cafe Booleans are:
Alex Ferrabetta – @LowPolyPizza
Kosta Canatselis – @kostacana
Susannah Emery – @susannahkemery
John Oestmann – @john_oestmann
Articles:
– Japan to Open Its First Esports High School in Shibuya in April
– Video Game Industry Statistics 2021
– Play Kojima’s PT with Oculus Quest
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My esteemed colleague Dr Fae Heaselgrave and I have written an article in The Conversation discussing mothering and gaming.
Fae’s PhD research found that mothers struggle to find time to game, but that many enjoy gaming or say that it used to be an important part of their lives.
Mothers would, on the one hand, dismiss their gaming as nothing of consequence but, on the other, implied gaming is justified once other responsibilities have been attended to. This “time-filler” gaming profile is more common among female players – and especially those who live with children.
Guilt about the time spent gaming was associated with how a mother should and shouldn’t act.
Heaselgrave & Emery, 2021
But we think it’s a shame that games are seen as something to do when everything else has been done, as there are lots of great reasons to play games!
We know when gaming is shared with other household members, family cohesion is enhanced. There are also significant health benefits from playing games, including a reduction in stress and anxiety levels, conditions mothers are all too familiar with.
Heaselgrave & Emery, 2021
There are a lot of considerations in this area, such as the types of games accessible to parenting – can you pause it?! This is an area I’m keen to work with Fae on exploring more in the future.
I’m proud to announce that Henosis was announced as the winner of the Mercury CX South Australian Screen Awards Best Game Category!
[The SA Screen Awards] celebrate the outstanding South Australian screen industry. There were 81 nominees, across 24 awards which were presented to creatives and crew across a range of craft and genre categories.
South Australian Film Corporation
I was lucky enough to work on the narrative design of the game in collaboration with Odd Critter Games and Beer Labs. Henosis is available on Nintendo Switch and PC.
