Tag: Critical Distance

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Documentary Delight

I interviewed the director of the gaming documentary Gaming in Color, Philip Jones. This was a bit different from the other interviews, as it seems every interview in this series is, that instead of a whole body of work that I could discuss we focused solely on a single piece, the film. Can’t think of anything else to add that didn’t make it into the interview. I will admit, this one is a little behind the original schedule. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – A Cagey Interview

This month I interview Scotsman YouTuber Kevin John for the Critical Distance Confab. We’re getting closer and closer to the present day. Going in chronological order means that the later interviews will be with people who have started not so long ago. Cagey, as he calls himself, started less than two years ago. He also has the smallest and least known channel of the people I’ve interviewed so far. Add that up all together and even John himself makes no bones about how rubbish he is at interviewing. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Think, Game, Love

On this episode of the Critical Distance Confab, I interview Heather Alexandra. It seems there is much variety on YouTube when it comes to video game criticism. This is my 11th interview with video producer and only now do I get to talk to someone about Let’s Plays. Heather Alexandra is also very different in that she is far more informal with a lot of her work. She can do the structured essays but also seems just at ease doing a video where it feels like you’re just chatting with her without you having to say a word. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Great Levels, The Best Levels In Gaming

It’s a little late, but the first episode of the Critical Distance Confab for 2017 is up. I interview Max Barnyard about his YouTube show Great Levels in Gaming. We were migrating the server, so uploading the actual mp3 got delayed by several days. This is January’s episode and, despite it releasing in February, you can expect to see another interview later this month. I’d also like to apologize about the first 4 minutes or so of audio. What happened to the previous recording, happened to this one. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

This Year In Video Game Blogging 2016 – Post-Mortem

Has it really been seven years of me doing This Year In Video Game Blogging. Good lord. I hate myself for doing this. Without a doubt, every time I do this project, I hate myself and promise myself outrageous things like, “I’m never doing it again.” It’s painful, exhausting and I usually end up miserable for the entire duration of December. Skipping both birthday and Christmas in my efforts to get this shit done. But, before we go any further, I must link the methodology post for how we do the year end roundup. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Every Game a Painting

November 30, 2016 | Filed under: External Sources, Recent Posts and tagged with: Critical Distance, Podcast The November episode of the Critical Distance Confab is finally out. Continuing in chronological order brings up to Mr. Mark Brown of Game Maker’s Toolkit. I do feel like I should apologize for this podcast being so late. Though probably in the end it was best I didn’t hit the 15th target date as it would have gotten lost in the shuffle. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Games Literary Studies on Youtube

Last week, we released our newest interview on the Critical Distance Confab featuring Sam Gronseth, the Game Professor. His whole project emerged out of a class he taught using games to teach literary analysis and critical thinking. From that he created a series of videos to explain the basics of understanding how games work to deliver meaning. Ironically, some of those videos are infuriating to watch despite there being nothing wrong with them. Flashbacks to all the arguments coming back. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – This is Innuendo Studios

I’m sorry this is a few weeks late. I wanted it out on time and instead the unedited audio just sat on my desktop for a month, mocking me. Let that not reflect on my interview with Ian Danskin about his work on his YouTube channel Innuendo Studios. We cover from its viral first video about Phil Fish (or not as the argument goes) to his continuing strong output of thoughtful criticism. The podcast is live in iTunes, please rate and review us, and on the podcast’s RSS feed. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – The Spawn of History

This month on the Critical Distance Confab I interviewed Bob Whitaker, the man in charge of the History Respawned YouTube channel. What Bob does is not too dissimilar from what I do. Though instead of interviewing critics, he interviews academics and scholars about their field of expertise through the lens of video games that overlap with that subject matter. It’s an interesting and underutilized lens from which to approach games, so I’m glad someone is doing it. | more