PPR 120

ehind all of the larger-than-life voices, brands, streams, and memes, the video game industry is made of people—it seems more folks in high places are forgetting that.

In an effort to deliver better content, at a more consistent pace, we'll be continuing the format we introduced last episode, and it's one that’s going to be different from the one we’ve done for the last ten years. Instead of catching up on all the news and games that have happened between shows before the chosen featured topic, we have decided to release each of these segments as a dedicated episode in their own right, including the featured topic, with a projected weekly schedule in mind—so this week, it’s a featured topic.

One that we felt was important to discuss—the ever-growing toxicity of the game industry in terms of its operation, and the harmful culture that’s been unavoidably seeping from it as a result. Between Jason Schreier’s recent coverage of the work environment of Nicalis behind the scenes, to the Nathalie Lawhead’s harrowing account of her time with Smoking Gun Interactive, and the traumatizing experience of working with Jeremy Soule—the industry has just been so shitty lately…

We share our thoughts and ideas for what kind of solutions that we, as a community, and a force (however humble) in the industry can serve to fight back against the ugliness shown this past months or so in video games. Just a heads up; we get pro-union real quick, and could give a shit less if you disagree, so save that energy for something more productive than a stupid comment yeah? Oh, and also, on a lighter note, if you were hypothetically involved in a tragic accident that mutilated your genitals in attendance to a TV broadcast of a game show, how much of a settlement would the studio need to pay out to you to resolve the whole thing?

This is the question that we leave with you for the nest show…enjoy the show!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

Click to read more ...

Examining the masculinity of the newest God of War

Note: The author originally wrote this feature for Pixel Jizz; a gaming culture publication for California’s Bay Area Queer community, and has been given permission to publish it on to Press Pause Radio as well. You can obtain the latest issue from Comikake this upcoming September.

nder the creative direction of Cory Balrog, Santa Monica Studio was able to deliver a radical reimagining for the God of War series that not only changed some of the most fundamental gameplay dynamics of the series, but it also managed to re-characterize its protagonist into something more than a bland cipher for juvenile aggression. While there’s no denying the quality of the franchise and what it did for the character-action genre of video games, the heart of the property was ultimately nothing more than a navel-gazing male power-fantasy that embellished upon all the token signs of toxic masculinity to an obnoxiously troubling degree. There are plenty of reasons to celebrate the newest God of War title, but my favorite reason has to be the fact that it finally redeemed its hero with something far more meaningful than revenge porn, and I couldn’t be happier with the effect it’ll have on male culture as a whole.

Click to read more ...