Video Game Studies, Digital Cultures, RPG/LARP, & Fandom Roundup #4

Games of Color/Nerds of Color

After decades of dwarfs and elves, writers of color redefine fantasy
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2018/0521/After-decades-of-dwarfs-and-elves-writers-of-color-redefine-fantasy

Assassin’s Creed video games are steeped in history, but how educational are they?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/assassins-creed-discovery-tour-teaching-tool-1.4566553

Black Genius: A Privilege Afforded Only to Straight Black Men
https://www.theroot.com/black-genius-a-privilege-afforded-only-to-straight-bla-1825829527

https://www.tor.com/2018/06/27/five-indigenous-speculative-fiction-authors-you-should-be-reading/

http://neveralonegame.com/bafta-2015/

New Book Teaches Importance Of ‘Woke Gaming’
https://www.dailywire.com/news/28741/new-book-teaches-importance-woke-gaming-paul-bois

https://www.indiewire.com/2018/04/new-legends-of-monkey-review-netflix-chinese-whitewashing-1201958569/

Orientalism is Alive and Well in American Cinema
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonwillmore/isle-of-dogs-jared-leto-orientalism

Spirit Island review: Finally, an anti-colonialist board game
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/03/spirit-island-review-finally-an-anti-colonialist-board-game/

This Inupiaq Video Game Is Fun, Deep, and Just Might Change Your Life
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/culture/arts-entertainment/this-inupiaq-video-game-is-fun-deep-and-just-might-change-your-life/

Trail of Lightning is a breathtaking Native American urban fantasy adventure
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17474566/trail-of-lightning-rebecca-roanhorse-native-american-urban-fantasy-book-review

The Ugly Truth of Being a Black Professor in America
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Ugly-Truth-of-Being-a/243234

The video game industry has a diversity problem – but it can be fixed
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/15/video-game-industry-diversity-problem-women-non-white-people

Washington State University Intersectional Game Jam Winners!
https://megancondis.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/washington-state-university-intersectional-game-jam-winners/

Queer Games/Gender and Games

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ to Introduce Sexfluidity in Elves
http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/03/14/dungeons-and-dragons-genderfluid-elves/

Let Queer Characters Be Happy
https://kotaku.com/let-queer-characters-be-happy-1827147707

WOUB Outlet Quotes Chang on ‘Queer Representation in Video Games’
https://www.ohio-forum.com/2018/05/woub-outlet-quotes-chang-on-queer-representation-in-video-games/

Nerd Culture / Fandom

Analog Game Studies is back! Volume V, Issue I with “Blinded by the Roll: The Critical Fail of Disability in D&D,” “Pilots, Squad Leaders, Commanders, and Filmmaker,” & “Simulating the Community Bank”
http://analoggamestudies.org/volume-v-issue-i/

‘Actual play’ RPG experiences like Critical Role, Adventure Zone are having a moment
https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/9/17549808/actual-play-critical-role-adventure-zone-kickstarter-graphic-novel

An Alternate Reality Game That Takes Freshman Orientation to a New Level
https://www.wired.com/story/an-alternate-reality-game-that-takes-freshmen-orientation-to-a-new-level/

Anger as comic book hero beats up homophobes with a Pride flag
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/02/anger-as-comic-book-hero-beats-up-homophobes-with-a-pride-flag/

D&D character names – generated by a neural network
http://aiweirdness.com/post/173546448332/dd-character-names-generated-by-a-neural

How Real-Life Quidditch Has Become the World’s Most Progressive Sport
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bnpqk4/is-quidditch-the-first-ever-lgbtq-inclusive-game-to-change-sports-forever

Marvel teases upcoming ‘Universe of Super Heroes’ exhibition at Seattle’s MoPOP with new trailer
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/marvel-teases-upcoming-universe-super-heroes-exhibition-seattles-mopop-new-trailer/

Meet Frederick’s first D&D B&B, a weekend retreat for rest, relaxation, and Dungeons and Dragons
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/theater/meet-frederick-s-first-d-d-b-b-a-weekend/article_c9ba83ca-1b26-506b-bdf1-63eccfdbd01a.html

Meet the World’s Most Hardcore LARPers
https://www.wired.com/story/photo-gallery-larping/

New ‘Firefly’ Series Announced
http://comicbook.com/comics/2018/07/02/firefly-boom-studios-series-unification-war-greg-pak-dan-mcdaid-/

Old Spice Creates New Playable Class for ‘Dungeons and Dragons’
http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/02/08/dungeons-and-dragons-old-spice-/

https://www.dopemagazine.com/larping-lord-trevenant/

Patrick Stewart is set to reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard for a new ‘Star Trek’ series

Peak superhero? Not even close: How one movie genre became the guiding myth of neoliberalism
https://www.salon.com/2018/04/28/how-superhero-films-became-the-guiding-myth-of-neoliberalism/

Players Have Crowned A New Best Board Game — And It May Be Tough To Topple

Pro-‘straight white male hero’ group behind Star Wars actor’s abuse
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jun/11/anti-disney-group-harassment-star-wars-female-actors-daisy-ridley-kelly-marie-tran

Qapla’! Duolingo’s Klingon Course Is Finally Here
https://io9.gizmodo.com/qapla-duolingos-klingon-course-is-finally-here-1823794113

The Ready Player One backlash, explained
https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/26/17148350/ready-player-one-book-backlash-controversy-gamergate-explained

In South Korea, Gamers Stage An Inquisition Against Feminists
https://kotaku.com/in-south-korea-gamers-stage-an-inquisition-against-fem-1825398846

Star Wars “fans” have apparently driven Kelly Marie Tran off of Instagram
https://news.avclub.com/star-wars-fans-have-apparently-driven-kelly-marie-tra-1826578819

Suffragette board game up for auction
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-43243286

Ye Olde Goblet of Stanley: How historically accurate is the Vegas Golden Knights’ medieval hockey pregame show?
https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/the-vegas-golden-knights-medieval-hockey-pregame-show-is-great-is-it-historically-accurate.html

Digital Cultures/Cyberculture

Bias detectives: the researchers striving to make algorithms fair
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05469-3

Is your software racist?
https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/02/07/algorithmic-bias-software-recommendations-000631

#PrettyPlaneGirl and White Exploitation of Women of Color

Why don’t women code? A UW lecturer’s answer draws heat
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/why-dont-women-code-a-uw-lecturers-answer-draws-heat/

Why I won’t “try on” disability to build empathy in the design process (and you should think twice about it.)
https://blog.prototypr.io/why-i-wont-try-on-disability-to-build-empathy-in-the-design-process-and-you-should-think-twice-7086ed6202aa