Pixel Therapy Podcast

Get cozy – this is Pixel Therapy.

We believe that video games can serve as tools for understanding ourselves, each other, and the world around us— and we celebrate gaming in its many contexts: as a hobby; as an art form; as therapy.

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The Future of VR and Learning to Drive in GTA V with Sugar Gamers' Esha Todd – Pixel Therapy Pod

Our little break behind us, we're so happy to be back! This week Spencer and Jamie kick things off with a deep dive into the mysterious island of Die Gute Fabrik's Mutazione — a breathtaking game about friendly mutants, small-town gossip, chosen family, and redefining our relationship to the earth. Omg, just typing this has me in my feels all over again. Then we're joined by the hilarious and effortlessly awesome Esha Todd, a writer and artist drawing on her experiences working with Apple, Makerbot, and Oculus to imagine the future of gaming and help people embrace emerging technology. Esha currently works for Sugar Gamers, a content creation hub and community founded in 2009 by Keisha Howard as a platform for women gamers that has since evolved into a diverse group of trendsetters and aficionados within the worlds of technology, gaming, and the arts. We chat about the power of immersion, how living in VR isn't THAT far off from how we operate today, and how Grand Theft Auto V helped Esha process and move through her trauma with driving! Plus: That time Spencer became a tree, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, mixed martial arts, and more! Follow Esha: https://twitter.com/eshaknows_ Side Quest https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-gazas-samir-mansour-book-store "Gaza’s largest and most beloved book shop and library was destroyed by air strikes. The two-story Samir Mansour book store was built 21 years ago and served as a community centre and book shop for the local Gaza community and Palestinian school children. Tens of thousands of books were destroyed. All of the heart, creativity and talent poured into this magical place is gone. As a result of the complete siege on Gaza Strip, construction supplies are in extreme short supply and heavily inflated. Please donate generously and help Palestinians get books back. All funds will be given directly to Samir Mansour to rent new space and rebuild a new library and book shop. This fundraiser is managed by human rights lawyers Mahvish Rukhsana and Clive Stafford Smith." About Pixel Therapy New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Learn more at pixeltherapypod.com or follow us on social media @pixeltherapypod. We're proud members of the But Why Tho? Podcast Network: visit ButWhyThoPodcast.com for everything pop culture in an inclusive geek community! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) & subscribe! Want more? Unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo and help us save up for streaming equipment at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod ! Support this podcast

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It’s really opened my mind thinking about how queerness and gaming can intersect.
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This podcast is absolutely amazing. I have never heard people talk about this aspect of video games.
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Our little break behind us, we're so happy to be back! This week Spencer and Jamie kick things off with a deep dive into the mysterious island of Die Gute Fabrik’s #Mutazione -- a breathtaking game about friendly mutants, small-town gossip, chosen family, and redefining our relationship to the earth. Omg, just typing this has me in my feels all over again.

It turns out moving, coordinating the creation of a homestead, and making time to see family after over a year takes up lots of time, energy, and capacity! 😅 In lieu of a normal episode today, we’re publishing the recording from our first-ever live episode at @uplinkcon 2021! 💖 We’ll be back in two weeks with more amazing guests, and cozy chats about gaming and gay shit 🤗 See you soon and thank you so much for all the support!

Gentle reminder that you don’t need to “earn” the right to rest. Your worth has nothing to do with your productivity! 💖 That feels a little ironic to say in the context of Stardew Valley, a game that can feel overwhelming in its demands for your very limited (in-game) time. The longer I’ve played, I try to look at it another way: my time in Stardew Valley is endless. If I get out of bed, don’t like the weather, and go right back to sleep, that’s just as valid as spending an entire day optimizing my farm layout, planting crops, and mining. In fact, it’s in the time I spend venturing aimlessly off of the farm that I’m most likely to encounter a cutscene to get to know a character more deeply, or stumble across a patch of dirt concealing an exciting artifact. No one’s going anywhere. The cyclical flow of town life goes on with or without my involvement. I have nothing but an abundance of time.✨

We are so psyched to bring you today’s new episode! ✨ Y'all, why's everyone keep talking about "return to work" when we never stopped working? Not just in places like jobs, but literally working to emotionally, physically, and mentally survive a literal pandemic? This week, Spencer and Jamie kick things off by chatting through the feelings of overwhelm that a lot of folks seem to be able to relate to right now, especially as technology continues to blur the boundary between work and life. You are not alone! Capitalism just wants you to think you are! And who better to break it all down than @drdevonprice, nonbinary icon, social psychologist, and author of Laziness Does Not Exist!

If you plant nine or more of the same crop in a grid, there is a 1% chance each morning that you’ll wake up to a giant crop. It’s my fourth fall in Stardew Valley, and I’d had yet to see one — until today. 🤗 I read a beautiful post by @neuroemergent_insurgent this afternoon (their most recent one!) and it inspired this little mantra. Marta writes about how no time is ever “wasted.” Like the rings of a tree, everything we’ve ever experienced plays a part in who we are today. Sometimes I can be hard on myself, in gaming and in life: not being “good enough”; starting things and not finishing them; getting frustrated and stopping. These days I’m trying to have more fun with failure, to embrace the importance of doing nothing, and to celebrate stillness, a state I simultaneously crave but have been conditioned to feel guilty about!

🎙”It feels very simple, but it also feels very opening to be able to practice failure in a way that feels safe.” ❤️✨

𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙥 𝘽𝙤𝙮 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙭 𝙀𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣🥕 I really needed something fun and light this week, so when @tenderchris of @lagaymers posted about #TurnipBoyCommitsTaxEvasion, it was an instant download from the Switch store for me 😂 You play as Turnip Boy, a sentient veggie in a post-apocalyptic (?) world as he fights the gentrification of his town and uncovers a conspiracy, destroying tax documents, draft letters, receipts, and bills along the way. 💥 On the surface, this game is adorable and laugh-out-loud hilarious; it’s chock full of gaming and real-life references, from Portal callouts to gently poking fun at streaming culture. Going deeper, it’s a thoughtful and dynamic RPG combining farming sim, adventure, and bullet hell elements with a fun and surprisingly robust combat system. ✨ It’s super fun to play and a refreshing break from Stardew Valley! 😄

About the show

We’re a bi-weekly podcast bringing you new perspectives on video game culture and current events with folks who may or may not identify as gamers– from streamers and industry folks to artists and activists, everyone deserves a little pixel therapy. Launched September 2020, we have fun, we go deep, and we explore the love of games within a broader social and cultural context while challenging conventional notions of what it means to be a “gamer”— and who gets to call themselves one. Pixel Therapy Pod is independently produced and co-hosted by Spencer Icasiano (they/them), a queer and trans, mixed race Filipino writer and UX designer, and Jamie Siebenaler (she/her), a queer team and project manager with a deep passion for games.