They Play Games – Details, episodes & analysis

Happy New Year Folks!

Sorry for the delay, your host needed some me time (read watch animes and lose at games) but I have an amazing podcast for you today!

We are joined by an amazing Content Creator and Charity worker, ErinusTV, or Jay to those who know them, to kick off the year!

Please note, this was recorded (at some point) last year.

Join us as we talk about queerness within games, which you can 100% take as us talking about Baulders Gate 3.

Make sure to follow us on socials and follow the podcast!

https://twitter.com/theyplaypodcast

Happy Black History Month over here in the UK!

I spoke with Leon (They/Them) about Imposter Syndrome and how it can appear in queer black folks. 

This was a deep conversation for both of us but we hide it underneath our laughter.  All raw and unedited 👀

About Leon:

Leon is a Black, Queer and Non-binary streamer and scriptwriter with an interest in advocacy and highlighting intersectionality and inclusion. They currently are working on a DND liveplay series 'The Last Ascension', and variety content on their Twitch, aswell as other projects...

Twitter🔗: https://twitter.com/ChochyPlays

Instagram 🔗: https://www.instagram.com/chochy1000/

Twitch 🔗: https://www.twitch.tv/chochyplays 

This episode Ladell is maybe too excited to speak to Anne (She/They) about Esports and changing the narrative.  Esports is known to be quite a male dominated space and we want to change the narrative on that.  Join us as we have an in depth discussion about how Esports currently looks and how we would like it changed.

About Anne (She/They)

Anne is a community operations lead at Community Gaming.  She continues to work hard to support grassroots tournaments and communities in any way she can.  She is also an amazing Esports broadcaster for various tournaments for games such as Overwatch 2 and Valorant.  

Lastly, Anne hosts a podcast called Pushing Buttons which is about Esports broadcasting! 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anniepoo_

Twitter: https://www.twitch.tv/anniepoo

Normally when thinking of Trans folk within workspaces, it is met with negativity but here we like to spread all the positive joys we have experienced so far within a Triple A workspace!

Join me and Sam (They/Them) gush over some heart warming stories and also some tips on how studios can become more trans-friendly.

About Sam Luangkhot:

Sam is a Southeast Asian game dev who specializes in Community Management and Production. They love dogs, playing Pokemon GO, and learning new languages. 

Sam's Website
Sam's Twitter
Sam's Linkedin

I am so excited to share my talk with Cinzia Musio (She/They) where we took a deep dive into EDI and the games industry especially regarding non binary identity and how they got into the games industry.  

So many powerful points were main in this talk that I literally cannot think of what else to say without spoiling!

About Cinzia Musio:

Cinzia Musio is an award-winning Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant in the UK, with an approach focusing on intersectionality. They work across the industry with helping build awareness and education, and using data to drive a culture of inclusion, knowledge sharing, and allyship. Cinzia is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant for Code Coven, a Training Consultant and Researcher for Limit Break, helps manage the UK Games Industry Slack, is a BAFTA member among other things. When not at work, Cinzia can be found cross-stitching or cuddling cats. 

Cinzia's Website

They Play Games Socials

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/theyplaypodcast/podcasts 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theyplaypodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/they-play-games 

Email: TheyPlayPodcast@gmail.com

We know that sometimes even though we are gender non conforming, we sometimes have other identities we connect with aswell.  This can cause us to have a flurry of thoughts and emotions flowing through us.  

Join Ladell (They/Them) and Sarah Taylor (They/Them) from Splash Damage discuss intersectional Identities and also mental health.

About Sarah Taylor:

Sarah is a graphic designer who has been working in the games industry for 6 years. As a mixed race, non-binary person they're passionate about improving marginalised people's access to and experiences in the games industry, so they're often involved with D&I initiatives and supporting organisations like Limit Break Mentorship and Black Twitch UK.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eirawave

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smtaylor95/

Ladell's Socials

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pastelbat90

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladellsmith/

They Play Games Socials

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/theyplaypodcast/podcasts 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theyplaypodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/they-play-games 

Email: TheyPlayPodcast@gmail.com

Everyone has a starting point right?  This is ours.  We will go on this journey together as Alice Liguori (She/They) joins us as we dive into how They Play Games came about and why it is important within not only the games industry but the wider gaming world. 

About Alice:
During the weekdays I'm lead marketing manager at games studio Auroch Digital, and in the evenings and on weekends you can find me on twitch, playing games like Elden ring, the sims, Skyrim, and cute indie games - usually of the puzzle variety. 
I'm vegan, bisexual, and i'm pretty sure i'm non-binary too! i'm still on a big ol' gender journey and learning more and more about myself every day. that's why i'm so excited for They Play Games - it's a space that's been so desperately needed for such a long time! 

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/theyplaypodcast/podcasts 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theyplaypodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/they-play-games 

Email: TheyPlayPodcast@gmail.com

It's been a while friends but I'm back!

I had to take some time off for me but I come back with a great episode with a friend 💚

Today I am joined with Owen Trett (They/Them) From Poncle, the makers of Vampire Survivors, to talk about Performativity within gaming spaces. 

About Owen

Owen is the video editor for poncle, currently creating trailers for the award-winning Vampire Survivors! They are relatively new to the industry, with just over two years of experience since joining in 2021, but in that time they have created trailers for games such as Little Orpheus, Zool and Mars Horizon 2. They also create video content for Limit Break, a mentorship program that strives to create opportunities to marginalized groups entering the video games industry.

Links

🔗 Owen Trett's Twitter https://twitter.com/Owen_Trett 

🔗 Poncle's Twitter https://twitter.com/poncle_games

🔗 Limit Break - https://www.limitbreak.co.uk/

🔗 They Play Podcast - https://www.theyplaypodcast.com/ 

Welcome back everyone and today we are cosying up with Nic (They/Them) on suvival methods...

but in true Ladell style, we go off topic :D 

About Nic!

They are a small, nonbinary variety streamer who enjoys playing puzzles, platformers, and horror games.  

They strive to create a warm, inclusive environment for people to relax and be goofy in. They love cats, coffee, and coding.

You can find them:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nict0rii

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nictorii 

A podcaster is always on time, never late 🙄
This, like all my episodes to be fair, was a delightful episode to record and I had so much fun while learning!
Neurodiversity is a topic that was once shunned, like gender, and is now getting the attention and love it so desperatly needs.  We still face the stigmas around it however I was able to sit down with Phoebe, (She/Her), and discuss how they both interlink with each other.

About Phoebe (She/Her)
Phoebe is a neurodivergent transwoman with a strong interest in neuro and gender diversity in the workplace. Once they were was diagnosed with autism and came out as trans, they became hyper-fixated on learning about neurodiverse experiences, gender diverse experiences, and the experiences of people who intersect the two. 

Phoebe also currently work as an Unreal and AI Programmer at Dragon's Lake Entertainment. 

Phoebe has an amazing side project, Take A Mo, that aims to provide support for gender diverse and neurodiverse people at work.
To find more infomation about Take A Mo follow:

🧠 Website: www.takeamo.co.uk
🧠 Instagram: www.instagram.com/phoebeattakeamo