
Podcast 99 - Toxicity and Support
Toxicity in video games has been a long-standing and long-studied problem. In this episode, I talk to someone who has not only studied toxic behavior among gamers, but specifically looked at how playe...
7 Nov 202453min

Episode 98 - Embedding Values in Games
Many games put forth some kind of value that they hope will be communicated to players, be they ones that see obvious (like the value of empathy) or subtle (like experiencing life under capitalism). W...
1 Okt 20241h 3min

Episode 97 - Why We Like Really Hard (and Really Easy) Games
We have some decent theories for understanding the appeal of many different types of video games. But one thing I've always struggled to explain is why people love really difficult games (like Dark So...
1 Sep 202446min

Episode 96 - Psychology of D&D Book Kickstarter
My publisher is running a Kickstarter to offer discounted, early copies of my new book on the Psychology of Dungeons & Dragons. To help you decide if you want to back it (I think you should, but I'm a...
24 Jul 202451min

Episode 95 Sense of Place
Have you ever become attached to a place in a video game? A virtual environment that you've obviously never visited in the flesh but which you start to think of it like a real place? Maybe the dwarve...
1 Jul 202458min

Episode 94 - The Psychology of Gaming Passion
Many of us have considered ourselves "passionate" about one thing or another, including video games or even specific game series or franchises. But what does this mean and is it always a good thing? W...
4 Jun 202454min

Podcast 93 - Do Games Make You Smarter?
In this episode, I'll explore some research on whether or not video games can make you smarter or help you develop certain cognitive skills.Audio Credits:“Robot Motivation” by The Polish Ambassador, l...
1 Mai 20241h 3min


















