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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.

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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Latest Episodes

Practicing Failure in Breath of the Wild with Poet Angbeen Saleem – Pixel Therapy Pod

Spring has sprung and our backlogs are already piling up! Spencer kicks things off by spotlighting a few under-hyped indie titles that have come out recently: Studio Seufz's 9,600hr long idle adventure The Longing, Captilight's charming puzzler Path of Kami (https://www.captilight.com/pathofkami), and 4615 Theatre Company's QTBIPOC-led solar punk visual novel DARK CITY (https://www.4615theatre.com/dark-city) — the latter two are both free to download on itch.io (but by all means support these indie devs if you're able)! Meanwhile, Jamie shares the view from her haunted island in Cozy Grove, a charming new life sim that's like Animal Crossing-meets-Spiritfarer, plus bears. Then we're joined by writer, poet, and connector Angbeen Saleem! Angbeen works as a digital communications coordinator for North Star Fund, a social justice org based in New York. We chat about their previous life working in social impact for MTV, how games teach Angbeen to write poetry, and how Breath of the Wild provides a safe space to practice failure– and why that's something we need. Get 20% off TomToc's Nintendo Switch Lite case with promo code "pixeltherapy" using our affiliate link!: https://amzn.to/31miLnj Check out Angbeen's work and writing: https://www.angbeensaleem.com/ Side Quest The Let Us Breathe Fund is the only NYC-based fund led by and for Black activists organizing around police reform and building Black liberation. Learn more and donate at https://northstarfund.org/ 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? Join our little community over on Patreon! Support this podcast
  1. Practicing Failure in Breath of the Wild with Poet Angbeen Saleem
  2. The Quest for a Trans Tag on Twitch (plus, Pokemon!) with The Juliancito
  3. Alternative Controls and the Importance of Touch with Designer Amanda Hudgins
  4. Facing Our Fears in Super Mario 64 with Game Critic Gameonysus aka Janet Garcia
  5. Crafting a Modern Dystopia with Backbone's Narrative Designer Alex Korabelnikova
  6. The Emotional Benefits of Gaming with Counselor Jamiere Leslie
  7. Queer Theory, Fandom, and Relationship Dynamics with Power Couple Jude and Kerey

Nice things folks have said about us

It’s really opened my mind thinking about how queerness and gaming can intersect.

5-Star Listener Review

This podcast is absolutely amazing. I have never heard people talk about this aspect of video games.

5-Star Listener Review
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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! 😄 Breath of the Wild is a HARD game!! You have to manage your energy 😰and then your weapons break 😩 and those divine beasts 🥲 We were so grateful to Angbeen for the Legend of Zelda Strugs Solidarity — and her incredible insight on how playing it, as well as other games, has helped her grow as a poet and a person, and shift her perspective on what it means to fail ❤️ It’s breathtaking sometimes, how hard I have to fight just to be here. How we dare to dance and talk and dream and love, and live, and live, and live in the face of a hatred that runs so deep, our very existence is twisted into a threat. Our pain seen as a joke. Our deaths seen as a necessary sacrifice. Every time I come on here and choose joy, I am fighting for it, tooth and nail. NEW episode! 💖 Spring has sprung and our backlogs are already piling up! Spencer kicks things off by spotlighting a few under-hyped indie titles that have come out recently: @studio_seufz’s 9,600hr long idle adventure The Longing, @captilight’s charming puzzler Path of Kami, and @4615theatre's QTBIPOC-led solar punk visual novel DARK CITY -- the latter two are both free to download on itch.io (but by all means support these indie devs if you're able)! Meanwhile, Jamie shares the view from her haunted island in @spryfoxgames #CozyGrove, a charming new life sim that's like Animal Crossing-meets-Spiritfarer, plus bears. 🐻 𝙏𝙤𝙢𝙏𝙤𝙘 🎮✨ Hey gaymers! We have something fun from our friends at @tomtoc_official this week! For all you Switch and Switch Lite players who wouldn’t dream of sacrificing aesthetic for function, TomToc makes beautiful, affordable, and high-quality travel cases and storage solutions for your Switch (and games). ✨They hooked us up with a promo code for the Nintendo Switch Lite protective case (slide 2!) that’s good thru May 4th, 2021 - use promo code ‘pixeltherapy’ to save 20% when you shop the case (in 4 colors!) using the affiliate link in our bio ❤️ Thanks so much to TomToc for sending us some cases to try out - we love them, and have been using them constantly to bring the Switch on the go! 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙬 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 💖 Thanks so much for the love on yesterday’s post! I just wanted to show y’all my favorite area of my Stardew home - a little meditation corner that I’m continuing to fill with plants until I can’t navigate it anymore 😂 it’s surprisingly soothing to sit here at night in the glow of the fish tanks, listening to music and watching them swim after a long day of harvesting pumpkins for Abigail and battling dragons in the mines💧⚔️ 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙬 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 💖 Forgive me for the VIBES but I just got color-changing LED tape for the back of my 12yo TV and it’s just completely changed the game(s) lol. This is the best $10 I have spent in a minute 😄 My partner got FOMO watching me play Stardew with all the fun updates on Switch, so now I’m experiencing it all over again Theyfriend Reviewing as he plays on the PS5 😅 Meanwhile my PS5 is like...”y’all know I got new games right?” 😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭I hope everyone’s having a relaxing Saturday and enjoying the sunshine, whether it’s pixelated or IRL!! Jamie and I are recording our next episode for you this morning, looking forward to sharing! ☀️🌞 Hey gaymers! 💞 In Episode 18 we shared space with @the_juliancito, a #TwitchAffiliate and member of the Radically Kind Gamers stream team. Julián helped us unpack a lot of feelings around visibility in the LGBTQIA+ community - and how oppressive systems can do so much harm to us that we sometimes cause harm to each other ❤️ The LGBTQIA+ community is not a monolith, which is why it’s so important for platforms like @twitch to make it easier for us to find each other and create niche spaces (like with a trans tag!) - and for all of us to continue the work of healing our trauma, dismantling toxic masculinity and white supremacy, and dreaming up the future we want to live in!

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.