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Studying Pixels combines game studies and a joyful engagement with video game culture. Every Sunday, game studies scholar Stefan Heinrich Simond and Japanese scholar Dan Hughes cover anything from reviews of contemporary games to news stories and from academic deep-dives to controversial discussions—all wrapped up in a sincere appreciation of everything geeky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We have been podcasting diligently every week for approximately two years. Now, we decided to take a hiatus to recover a bit and organize some things in our private and professional lives. We look forward to returning, because we have got so many more episodes already planned. It's going to be fun! If you are a Studying Pixels Plus subscriber, you …
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How do we go about analyzing video games? Well, close playing is one of the most prominent methods to do so. Together with Prof. Dr. Theresa Jean Tanenbaum, we discuss what close playing means and how to pragmatically go about it. Shownotes Well read: Applying close reading techniques to gameplay experiences (Jim Bizzocchi and Theresa Tanenbaum) He…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on August 14, 2022. Technically, JRPG simply stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. Yet, it seems like the genre ascription has taken on a life of its own. Is every RPG made in Japan automatically a JRPG? And what differentiates them from Western RPGs? Here’s our take on the matter! Shownotes Japanische Ro…
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The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster was recently released for PS4 and Nintendo Switch, and you know Dan has some thoughts about it. It’s another solo episode, this time with Dan and his theories about the Final Fantasy series, it’s origins, and how it came to be what it is today. Visit studyingpixels.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…
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We are all familiar with names such as Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft, or Konami. But how did these names come about? In this short episode, we explore the background behind some of the most influential company names. Shownotes The Stories Behind the Names of 15 Gaming Brands You Know (Kelvon Yeezy) The History and Meaning of the Ubisoft Logo (FreeLogoDes…
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E3 was the event that kept the entire video game industry in suspense for a whole week. It brought for bouts of joy and sighs of disappointment. Now, that E3 might be no more, we reflect upon its history. Shownotes E3 (Wikipedia) A Tale of Two E3s - Xbox vs Sony vs Sega (Christopher Dring) Geoff Keighley will not participate in E3 2020 (Christopher…
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Trends, they come and go. But some peculiarities of video game culture disappeared for a while only to make a more or less major comeback. Visit studyingpixels.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We discuss the problems neurodiverse students and academics may face throughout their studies and provide a series of tips and tools. Shownotes Neurodiversity in higher education: a narrative synthesis (Clouder, L., Karakus, M., Cinotti, A. et al.) Autism spectrum disorder: reconceptualising support for neurodiverse students in higher education (Ev…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on January 16, 2022. Learning any language is a lengthy and, at times, tedious endeavour. So why not make the process as fun as possible? – On his YouTube channel Game Gengo (ゲーム言語) our guest, Matt, does exactly that. Because how could learning Japanese be more fun than learning with video games? Hosted on…
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Ludo-narrative dissonance occurs when a game’s story appears to be at odds with the gameplay. When The Witcher has to urgently save Ciri, but must first explore every village and cave, master a trading card game, and visit all the brothels in the realm. But can ludo-narrative dissonance also have creative merit? We discuss precisely this question, …
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No, you didn’t misread that. Stefan and Dan watched the original Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 and they… have some thoughts. Was it a good film? No. Was it influential in the video game adaptation space? For better or worse, yes. Let’s see what it has to offer and what we can expect from the new movie coming out in April. Shownotes Bob Hoskins:…
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Motion capturing might look so smooth and effortless on screen but it is often the result of an intricate process. Our guest, Jimmy Corvan, can attest to that. He worked at the motion capture studio House of Moves for eleven years and shares his insights on how characters in The Last of Us, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and many more games (and films…
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We’ve played so many games recently and barely had the time to squish them all into the show. So that is exactly we are doing with this episode. Here are our impression of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Forspoken, Fire Emblem Engage, Octopath Traveller II, and the Dead Space Remake. Visit studyingpixels.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…
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Dan has played Like a Dragon: Ishin, and is very excited to share not only his thoughts, but a bit of a history lesson on the Bakumatsu period, Modern Japanese history, and the ramifications of a game that uses real history for it’s narrative. Don’t miss it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on May 22, 2022. How about we advertise a new game by paying off people’s speeding tickets for one day? Or, even better, how about we showcase a dead goat for some extra PR? Or maybe we plaster the inner city with racist billboards? – Sometimes it is truly impressive what publishers come up with to draw at…
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It is one of the biggest launches this year so far and at the same time one of the most contested one. In our review, we focus on the actual game and discuss how the magic of Hogwarts enthralled us just as much as the incessant repetition of the open world repulsed us. Visit studyingpixels.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa…
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Every now and then, video game companies come up with the weirdest, most peculiar, and often entirely unusable gaming gadgets and accessories. Here are our favourites! Shownotes Plus 13. Heaven is a Halfpipe: The Story of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Studying Pixels) Title image by Marcin Wichary (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/45221968804/) und…
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Rolling the credits usually marks the end of a game. But some titles effectively flip the script. The credits are just the beginning of another adventure. We discuss games that present us with surprising, memorable, or simply extensive post-game content. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on November 28, 2021. We might nostalgically look back at the beauty of game boxes and fail to realize how strongly they are linked to the economization of games. With our guest, game studies scholar Claudius Clüver, we trace how games got into the box and how, with the advent of digital distribution, they…
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Gamification is one of the most extensively used buzzwords these days. And rightfully so, considering that the logic of play pervades just about all domains of daily life. We discuss Niklas Schrape’s critical reflection, based on the text Gamification and Governmentality. Shownotes Schrape, Niklas: Gamification and Governmentality. In: Mathias Fuch…
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U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, B, A – an abstract sequence of inputs that is deeply ingrained into cultural memory. We explore the history of the Konami Code, with lots of fun trivia and gimmicks to try yourself! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord | Twitter | Instagram Shownotes The Story Of The Konami Code And Early Days Of NES Development (Aria)…
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Oh no, your family has been abducted and your village burnt to the ground! Better start a bloody vendetta…or so the story of many video games starts out. Our guest, Dr. Thomas Spies, argues in favour of more complex and differentiated trauma representations. Here’s our conversation about titles such as Max Payne, Distraint, The Last of Us, Hellblad…
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Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion has been out for some time now, and Dan has really sunk his teeth into a game he’s already pretty familiar with. Join him and Stefan as they talk about how the Remaster stacks up to the original, and what it means for the FFVII Franchise moving forward. Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord | Twitter |…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on January 9th, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Merry Christmas! As is tradition, we come together to evaluate our predictions from last year and put up a bunch of new ones for 2023. Will we be even remotely correct? – Join us to find out! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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Great expectations were set for The Callisto Protocol. Is it going to bring back space horror in a major way? Well, it might not, because in our review we discuss how the game is impressive at first sight, but in itself conceptually torn. Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord | Twitter | Instagram Shownotes Plus 6. The Rise and Fall of Viscera…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on October 31, 2021. “I am god here.” A strangely unsettling sentence, especially if uttered by a character in a game that might very well be cursed. For this Halloween we collect and retell our favorite gaming-related creepypastas and urban legends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat…
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The Game Awards have become a mainstay in the annual cycle of marketing and industry celebration. We go over our high- and lowlights of the show! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord | Twitter | Instagram Shownotes The Game Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List (Logan Plant) The Game Awards 2022: Everything Announced (Adam Bankhurst) That Guy Wh…
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Ah, a new Pokemon game. Scarlet and Violet have quickly shown up on our Switches and have generated some controversy around it’s performance issues. Is all the vitriol really warranted? Kind of. But! It’s also one of the best Pokemon experiences to date. Join Stefan and Dan as they break down why that is! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Discord …
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Seeing beyond what seems to be real, seeing a ‘truth’ obscured from others—there seems to be a proper fascination with this exclusive gaze. We explore the notion of true sight in video games such as The Cat Lady and Fran Bow with Dr. Sarah Stang, Assistant Professor of Game Studies at Brock University in Canada. Shownotes Madness as True Sight in T…
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Is it getting chilly in here? God of War: Ragnarök has landed and received raving reviews across the board. We took some time, engaged with it deeply, and yes…it is totally awesome. Here’s our review! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Shownotes Our brand new Discord server Plus 14. How God of War Works (Studying Pixels) Hosted …
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Gaming communities can be a lovely place of bonding and encouragement. However, and in no contradiction to the former, they can also be excluding, pervaded by extremism, and profoundly hostile towards anything ‘different’. Why is that so and what can we do about it? – Those are the questions we ask Dr. Rachel Kowert, renowned research psychologist,…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on October 24, 2021. Could that school friend really be right about this Pokémon that is not supposed to exist? Is there really a way to infinitely multiply items as this Nintendo magazine suggests? – We're diving back into our childhood to unravel how Missing No. changed the ideas about how video games wo…
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The witch is back in town—frantic, silly, and always in the mood to dance. We played through Bayonetta 3 and consider it exceedingly stylish though some of the shots it fires miss the mark. Here’s our review, including our commentary to the drama that revolved around the change in voice actresses. Shownotes PlatinumGames confirms Jennifer Hale is t…
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Okay, in this Halloween special Dan and Stefan are talking about games that actually scared them. And some of those titles you probably have not heard of so far. Buckle up, it’s pumpkin time! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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From Assassin’s Creed to Civilization and from The Oregon Trail to Valiant Hearts—video games are profoundly fascinated with history. But how can we analyse those representations of history without simply ‘fact checking’ the games? We are joined by the historian and long-running high school teacher Dr. Jeremiah McCall for a conversation about his f…
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In recent years, we have seen a wave of media nostalgically embracing the 80s. Unusual Findings is the latest entry: a Maniac Mansion inspired point’n’click adventure. Does the crowdfunded project manage to transport us back to the childhood we never had? And what is the appeal of 80s nostalgia anyway? Here’s our review! Get Studying Pixels Plus We…
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This is a replay episode, originally aired on September 26, 2021. It is finally time for our very first episode! Our mascot Pixel-kun is celebrating and so are we. For introductions, we share five stories of our gaming biography, only three of which are true. Can you tell the difference? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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Some interesting stories flew under our radar and so it is time to catch up! We are talking about the end of Google Stadia, videogamedunkey starting a publishing company, the turmoil revolving around the GTA 6 leaks, and the unification of chargers in the EU. Afterwards we are sharing our impressions of games we have recently played: Infernax, GRIS…
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The influence of H.P. Lovecraft on the domain of (video) games can hardly be overestimated. The introduction of the sanity meter, the ripples of madness in Bloodborne, and Batman’s Arkham Asylum—the exploration on the fringes of knowledge fascinates today still. We discuss Lovecraftian aesthetics with horror aficionado Richard Mertens, who is not o…
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Time to return to Monkey Island! For the series’ original creator Ron Gilbert as well as for us—after many years and some mixed experiences. Does Return to Monkey Island hold up as a proper sequel to the original titles? – Here’s our review! Shownotes Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for …
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We are turning 50 years, uhm, episodes old! And at the same time, we are celebrating our one year anniversary. What an occasion! So let’s go ahead and ponder some “would you rather” questions. For fun! Shownotes Nintendo Direct, 09/13/2022 (Nintendo) Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m…
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Many of us still have vivid memories of 11 September 2001. The worlds deadliest terrorist attack left a gaping wound of societal trauma. Video games are no exception to this. So today, on the attack’s anniversary, we are dissecting how 9/11 changed video game culture, how individual games were altered, and how games actively engaged with the ensuin…
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Exploring a cyberpunk dystopia from a cat’s perspective—best idea ever. But does Stray hold up to scrutiny? Or does it cutify the dire setting? – Here’s our review! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Gamescom, the biggest video game trade show in the world, has come and gone. Of course, we were there to check out a whole range of games and to discuss the status quo of video game culture with experts. Here is our report! Shownotes 00:05:42 One P I E C E Odyssey (Our hoster does not allow the word to be written normally here, sorry. It is that fa…
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With its plague themed setting and its sprinkles of role-play mechanics, Thymesia attempts to employ the strengths of Soulsborne games and run with them. But does it manage to stand out enough? Here’s our review! Get Studying Pixels Plus Website | Twitter | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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Technically, JRPG simply stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. Yet, it seems like the genre ascription has taken on a life of its own. Is every RPG made in Japan automatically a JRPG? And what differentiates them from Western RPGs? Here’s our take on the matter! Shownotes Japanische Rollenspiele: Was macht ein Spiel zum JRPG? – Podcast E054 (Behin…
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Each year a new, mainline Pokémon game comes and goes. This time, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet promise a continuation of the series’ tradition while also integrating the innovations of recent titles. We discuss what we know so far. Shownotes Our Pokémon Legends: Arceus review Everything we know about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Nicole Carpenter) Poké…
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Some games are designed to be played over and over again. And others, we just return to every once and while for comfort, insight, or even self-reflection. We discuss how we replay games and how our approaches have changed over time. Shownotes We mentioned that Dan was a guest on last week’s episode of The Pike Horror Show to talk about a whole ran…
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Some games deliberately hide certain mechanics to make player actions feel more satisfying—such as barely escaping death—or secretly track player actions to determine the ending they are going to see. In this episode we are opening some black boxes for a sneak peak! Shownotes Games aren’t always fair, the magic lies in making you think they are (Je…
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