True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

Episode 12 - The “Gayme” Awards

Let’s talk about E3 2024… I mean, The Game Awards 2024!
This year was an entertaining show full of fun reveals, exciting performances and some clever gimmicks. But from a queer standpoint, the show had no real soul. Queer representation was present, but there wasn’t nearly enough of it. And Geoff Keighley finally acknowledged the thousands of layoffs… kind of… not really…
This week, it’s just me, Zoey, as I recap and break down the relevant parts of this year’s Game Awards. Let’s dive in!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:30 - The Game Awards
 
This episode was recorded on December 15 2024.

Episode 11 - Interview with Zoe Straw: Chasing Your Game Dev Dreams

This week is a double whammy of Zoe(y)s!
I am joined by Zoe Straw, a transgender woman and very cool game developer from Montreal!
First off, we discuss what we’ve been playing, move onto the news (which includes a discussion about the unsustainable state of AAA games, an Elden Ring 2 update, and more), and finally an in-depth interview with Zoe about her transition, entry into the world of game development, and some advice for aspiring game devs.
Oh, and we might also mention a new “Indie” game once or twice…
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:05:55 - News
00:41:32 - Interview with Zoe Straw
 
This episode was recorded on December 7 2024.

Episode 10 - Interview with Undiscovered Country: Body-swapping and Killing Gameplay

This week I welcome Maddi Patton, a bisexual woman/writer and Alexander Martin (aka droquen), an ally/game director. Maddi and Alex are two thirds of Undiscovered Country, a brand new indie game studio from Toronto, Canada.
Maddi and Alex share their hopes, dreams, and plans for their upcoming visual novel, “Killing of the Quiet”. We talk about how they got their start, how they decided on their first game, and the ins and outs of their creative process.
The year is winding down, so the news is light, but I start off the episode with my thoughts on “Dungeons of Dreadrock 2: The Dead King’s Secret” which is the sequel to my favourite Zelda-like.
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:09:24 - News
00:19:25 - Interview with Undiscovered Country
This episode was recorded on December 1 2024.

Episode 09 - Interview with June in Black: Being Trans in the Games Industry

This week I interview June in Black, a transgender woman who works in the video games industry.
June shares her unique lived experience as someone who transitioned while working in video games. She has worked at some well-known studios in the past cutting trailers, promotional videos, and behind the scenes content for some of your favourite games! While June has most recently worked on Star Wars Outlaws, she also works to bring attention to indie games made by queer developers.
There were also a bunch of queer headlines this week. Most notably: queer nominations at The Game Awards!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:05:57 - News
00:26:02 - Interview with June
 
This episode was recorded on November 24 2024.

Episode 08 - A Queer Guide to Holiday Sales

Amy-Lynn and Ekamy are back this week for some Amy Squared double trouble! We discuss the news (including GOG's preservation program, DLC at The Game Awards, and the importance of unions in the video games industry), and in the second half we do a deep dive on how to take advantage of discounted video games during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:08:20 - News
00:43:13 - Taking Advantage of Holiday Sales
In this episode we forgot to mention the various rewards points systems, most notably Nintendo’s Gold Points and Sony’s PlayStation Stars programs. They’ll give you “currency” which can be used to discount future game purchases. Steam also has a way to earn some small amounts of money by selling the trading cards you earn for free when playing games. Don’t forget to take advantage of any rewards programs that give you bonuses and save you money!
This episode was recorded on November 17 2024.

Episode 07 - Discovering Bisexuality and Pansexuality through Video Games

This week I welcome Ekamy, a bisexual Twitch streamer. We cover what we’ve been playing, some concrete Switch 2 news, more Dragon Age: The Veilguard queer goodness, and the lack of first party single player PS5 games. In the second half, Amy discusses the exploration of her bisexuality (and potential pansexuality) through many video game romances. We also talk about games that let you date multiple genders.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:10:38 - News
00:39:50 - Discovering Bisexuality and Pansexuality through Video Games
 
***Spoiler warning for Arcade Spirits***
 
Games with Bi/Pan Romance Options:
Life is Strange True Colors and Double Exposure
Stardew Valley
Skyrim
Baldur’s Gate 3
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Fallout series
The Sims 2, 3, and 4
Hades
Potionomics
Arcade Spirits
Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers
Monster Prom series
Doomsday Paradise
 
This episode was recorded on November 9 2024.

Episode 06 - New Games! Life is Strange, Pokémon TCG Pocket, and Sonic

This week is a double length episode to make up for missing the previous week. I start the podcast off solo, discussing the latest news and rumours (including my big Nintendo Switch 2 theory), and then going on a rant about Life is Strange: Double Exposure (and yes, this game has a lot of queer representation… but it’s not enough to make up for the rest of it). Next, I’m joined by my partner Nicole to discuss the new Pokémon mobile app, TCG Pocket. And I wrap up the episode with Amy-Lynn, who returns to talk about Sonic x Shadow Generations.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and News
00:21:13 - Life is Strange: Double Exposure
00:38:25 - Pokémon TCG Pocket (with Nicole)
01:04:42 - Sonic x Shadow Generations (with Amy-Lynn)
 
***Spoiler warning for the Uncharted series, Life is Strange (the new game and the rest of the series), Sonic x Shadow Generations, and the live action Sonic movies***
 
This episode was recorded on November 2 and 3 2024.

Episode 05 - Pronouns in Podcast

Devona (Helldevo) and Amy-Lynn (returning from the first episode) join me this week as we discuss the latest gaming news — including Bandai Namco’s “layoffs” and Sony’s new PlayStation concert tour. For this week’s segment, we jump into a discussion on pronouns and customizable avatars in video games, with a particular focus on non-binary representation.
00:00 - Introduction and What We’ve Been Playing
07:25 - News
31:00 - Avatars and Pronouns in Video Games
***Spoiler warning for Spider-Man PS4 and The Last of Us (Show and Game)***
This episode was recorded on October 19 2024.

Episode 04 - Alarm Clocks and Retro Games

This week I take a little detour to rant about Alarmo, Nintendo’s over-priced and underwhelming new hardware. I also welcome my friend Enid to discuss her interest in retro video games, including increasing prices and how we define a video game as “retro.”
00:00 - Introduction, Astro Bot, Silent Hill 2 remake
05:25 - News
20:42 - Retro game chat with Enid
This episode was partially recorded on October 11 and finished recording on October 13 2024.

Episode 03 - Me, Myself, and Pokémon

This week it’s just me, Zoey, your host, as I cover the news, geek out about how great Astro Bot and the Dualsense are, and talk about why Pokémon is my favourite video game series. Plus, I speculate about my hopes and dreams for Legends Z-A, next year’s followup to Legends Arceus.
***Spoiler warning for the last scenes in The Legend of Korra***
00:00 - Introduction, Astro Bot and Dualsense fangirling
08:38 - News
16:40 - My history with Pokémon and Legends Z-A speculation
This episode was recorded on October 6 2024