Stefan H. Simond

Game Worlds to Take a Vacation in

Have you ever played a game and just thought to yourself: “wow, I would really love to take a vacation in that world”? – Well, we certainly have! Here are our top picks, ten game worlds that would make for a splendid getaway.

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How Persona works

This is one of our monthly plus episodes. You can access it by subscribing to Studying Pixels Plus. You will then receive an individual plus feed that you can add to your favourite podcast app. Over the years, the Persona series has developed from a spin-off to a niche title and with Persona 5 Royal at…

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The Ethics of Pirating Video Games (with Shlomo Sher and Andy Ashcraft)

Most of us have done it at some point, possibly without any awareness of the harm it might cause. After all, piracy has for a long time been an integral part of video game culture. To discuss whether there is any moral angel from which piracy can be justified, we collaborate with Shlomo Sher, Philosophy…

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Subverting Hypermasculinity

Men must be strong, show little emotion, and speak with violence—that is an exceedingly common trope in video games, referred to as hypermasculinity. We explore the concept of hypermasculinity to then focus on games that subvert or deconstruct it. Shownotes Measuring a macho personality constellation (Donald L. Mosher and Mark Sirkin) Walking, Talking and Playing…

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The Quarry

After it’s surprise hit Until Dawn, Supermassive Games has rather consistently underwhelmed fans of cinematic, decision-based horror games. The Quarry is its attempt to return to form. With a couple of teenagers on the last night at summer camp, does this spiritual sequel stick the landing? Here’s our spoiler-free review!

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Summer Game Fest 2022: Mediocre at best

Since E3 is taking an extended vacation, Geoff Keighley has taken it upon himself to fill the summer lull with a major showcase. But does it live up to expectations? We go over the high- and lowlights of Summer Game Fest 2022. Shownotes Summer Game Fest 2022 Full Presentation (GameSpot) Summer Game Fest Showcase 2022: Everything…

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Reading Schulzke’s Defending the Morality of Violent Video Games

Do we have a moral obligation towards virtual characters? Or do games threaten to corrupt our understanding of virtue? Time to continue our conversation about violence in video games; this time with Markus Schulzke’s Defending the Morality of Violent Video Games. In our side quests, we then talk about France trying to maintain the purity of…

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How to Survive a Conference

This is one of our monthly plus episodes. You can access it by subscribing to Studying Pixels Plus. You will then receive an individual plus feed that you can add to your favourite podcast app. Attending a conference can be inspiring, productive, and potentially change your future. However, it can also be exhausting, confusing, and even…

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Terrible Marketing Choices

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 attention to…

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Reading Waddington’s Locating the Wrongness in Ultra-Violent Video Games

The list of controversies revolving around violence in video games is long. But is there anything morally wrong with explicit violence in games? And moreover, where does our the apprehension towards violence in games come from? Join us for a reading of David I. Waddington’s Locating the Wrongness in Ultra-Violent Video Games. In our side…

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