Podcast 40: Our Avatar Relationships

It's frequently argued that playing games like Dungeons & Dragons can help you develop social skills like, cooperation, teamwork, and interpersonal communication. Get in there, use the game as scaffol...

2 Feb 202545min

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

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

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

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 Juli 202451min

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 Juli 202458min

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 Juni 202454min

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 Maj 20241h 3min