1 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha, and welcome to stuff 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:09,880 Speaker 1: I've never told you a production of I Heart Radio. 3 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: Today's episode is a suggestion that we got from our 4 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: friend Jamie. Hi. Jamie, Hi, Jamie. We got our letters. 5 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: Thank we did. The stamps are awesome, yes, and the 6 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: station area was beautiful yes. So thank you for that, 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: and thank you for the suggestion and for the sources 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: that you sent. So it's always a delight hearing from 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: you and all of your listeners, So always keep those 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: suggestions coming. So today what we're talking about is online 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: gaming and particularly during our times of quarantine and social isolation, 12 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: the benefits and the pitfalls when it comes to online harassments, 13 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: typically when it concerns women. And a big part of 14 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: this conversation is going to be the game Animal Crossing 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: New Horizons, which I have not played. Um but I love, love, love, 16 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: love love hearing about people's updates. I love hearing about 17 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: their mortgages. It's one of my favorite things. Um So, 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: I would love for listeners to send in stories about that, 19 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: about your the islands you've built, any of your successes 20 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: or failures. Um So, I haven't been playing that, but 21 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: I have been doing a lot of online gaming, particularly 22 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: with friends with Mario Kart. I've been playing a lot 23 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: of Final Fantasy seven remake with friends virtually, so that's 24 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: not really a game you play with people, but you 25 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: can play it while people watch or enjoy it with you. Um. 26 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: I've been playing Werewolf and Dominion. Just had my first 27 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: two virtual Dungeons and Dragon sessions, so I kind of 28 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: counts is online gaming does account because if a Dominion, well, 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: I haven't played Dominion online. I've played the board game, 30 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: as you know, or of card games, a board game, 31 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: tabletop tabletop game, tabletop game. Okay, and then you kicked 32 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: my butt and Mario Kart, so we know that randomly 33 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: really good are really bad at Mario Karts awful. The 34 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: entire time that we were playing that, I was like, 35 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: I'm off off again, fell off off again. Yes, Samantha 36 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: likes to announce when she was and frequent yes, so 37 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: it's just kind of a constant commentary, Well there I 38 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: go again, off again, off again. Yeah, we've played Dominion online. 39 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: A couple of us did a week is a week 40 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: or so ago, and it was fun about two of 41 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:46,959 Speaker 1: us really knew what we were doing and the other 42 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: two me included did not, so it made for an 43 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: interesting dynamic in the game play. Uh And I did 44 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: want to say one of my favorite quotes from this 45 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: pandemic um came from I don't know if you remember 46 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: when all those videos came out of Italian mayors yelling 47 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: at and or threatening their citizens who were not observing 48 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: social distancing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, 49 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: look it up. It is very funny. It was trending 50 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: for a while. Yeah. Yeah, And and one of those videos, 51 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: one of the mayors yelled at some dude who's outside 52 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 1: playing ping pong ping pong is not allowed go home 53 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: and play the PlayStation. That is a sign of our times. 54 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: Government officials are telling us don't go outdoor, stay indoors. 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: And yeah, and the who recently launched the hashtag play 56 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: at home Together, a campaign which I've actually seen pop 57 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: up while I'm being beaten awfully, I don't know that 58 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: that's a word, which is probably why I'm being beaten 59 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: on words with friends too. So if y'all are on that, 60 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: come find me, because I'm not great at it and 61 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: I don't understand this. A hundred points scored because you 62 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: put them the letter on the triple war with double 63 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: triple you know, let her count Good God that j 64 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: sounds confusing. Yes, and I would like to say some 65 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: of these words are not words. Oh, I'm gonna put 66 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: that out their firm stance. I'm just saying. I would 67 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: also like to say the WHO as in World Health Organization, 68 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: not the band. Um. I would rather be the band, 69 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: I think, but the band probably would agree, I hope 70 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: if they're responsible. Uh. And this is after this is 71 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: on the heels of the w h O announcing like 72 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago that they thought video game 73 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: addiction was a real problem. So they've suspended that at 74 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: least for now. During this time of social self isolation 75 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: right um and Steam reported a record breaking twenty million 76 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: simultaneous users. It's a lot of people and the first 77 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: week of isolation gaving one up by seventy five cent. Yes, 78 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: so there are a lot of us gaming right now 79 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: and a lot of a lot of those people are 80 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: playing Animal Crossing. So since we are going to be 81 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: talking about that a lot, we did wanna kind of 82 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: dive into what that is. You've probably seen it, even 83 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:09,840 Speaker 1: if you haven't played it, you've probably seen it. In 84 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: the news because celebrities make a splash when they go 85 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: in there and play um and it is. Yeah, it's 86 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: a big part of the conversation we're having in a nutshell. 87 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: This is a Nintendo game from the Animal Crossing franchise 88 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: where players make islands that other players can visit. It's 89 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: sort of a virtual way of hanging out, sometimes called 90 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: a life simulation game or a tend and befriend game. 91 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 1: You can do things like maintain a guard and decorate 92 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: your house, catch butterflies. There's no combat or violence or death. 93 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: It is a slow paced game. It doesn't end, and 94 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: the timing of the release was perfect for our time 95 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: of Quarantine Hit pretty much coincided with the start of 96 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: self isolation. When this game came out, when a lot 97 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: of our routines went out the window, and a lot 98 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: of our other popular forms of inner team it like 99 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: sports and new movies and television were put on hold. 100 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: Millions of people downloaded it. For many it's been a 101 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: tool for maintaining a routine and a virtual social life. 102 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: Because of the nature of how the game works, it 103 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: encourages checking every day. You know, you check your mail, 104 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: you go the store to see if there are new items. 105 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: You say hello to everyone, you water your plants, try 106 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: to pay down your mortgage. I love it. Um, I 107 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: really love the Saturday Night Live. One of the last 108 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: things they did before they went on break was a 109 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: digital short about animal crossing and it was really, really funny. 110 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: I recommend going to look that up. It's like one 111 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: of the players gets murdered animal crossing, foul play is suspected. 112 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: It's really good. Um So, I was thinking about this. 113 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: I haven't played, but what what would your island be like, Samantha? 114 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: What would it be called? Honestly, I'm so literal and 115 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: so bad at all these naming things in being clever 116 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: and cute. Probably just my island. Maybe you should do 117 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: lonely island like that. That's that's too let's to let's 118 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: who said come on now, I'm not trying to Morrows. 119 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: I'm trying to be like yeah, but I have no 120 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: no sense of imagination when it comes to naming things 121 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: or um, come visit my island, but only if I 122 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: ask you to. I like that name at straight to 123 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: the point, what would you communicate a lot? Um mne 124 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: would probably be some weird like Star Wars, Marvel Harry 125 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: Potter mash up Island. I imagine it would be something like, 126 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: you know, hey, Mark Hamill tweet me island. Yeah, I 127 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: de really don't know much about it. Apparently everything is 128 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: really expensive? Is it? Turn ups? Is that people by 129 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: you use turn up harvest turn ups to buy bells? 130 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: And ever since I've done this research, Google has been 131 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: giving me updates about animal crossing news, which I love too. Um. 132 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: And right before we started, I got an update from 133 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: I think it's a Polygon article and it said the 134 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: turnip market is getting too stressful. I did see you, 135 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: I think the loan shrug or something that someone made 136 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: a tweet about him being arrested. Oh my god, I think, um, 137 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: and I know yeah, I'm definitely see that celebrities have 138 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: really got involved. It made it made the news when 139 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: Elijah would went on someone's island. I do know that. 140 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: I thought that was really funny. Oh my, that's this 141 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: is where we are now. And um, I'm definitely seeing 142 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: Quissy Tigan's being named in the Unofficial Ambassador because she's 143 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: been doing a social media about it so much that 144 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: she's been called the unofficial ambassador. Because I think the 145 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: animal crossing Twitter account has replied to her when she 146 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: gets upset, she gets upset. Yeah, it's like what is this? 147 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: Why is this so expensive? Why are there so little 148 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: bells or something? I don't I don't even know. Yeah, 149 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: Jamie wrote about I think she said she played with 150 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: Gayle King Um. Yeah. Yeah. And I read another really 151 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: funny article from someone who's writing about how kind of 152 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: annoying but in a fun way the game can be. 153 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: Like it's annoying that you have this mortgage and you 154 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: have to get like frequent flyer miles and all this stuff, 155 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: but it's like a manageable kind of fun annoying. I 156 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: really enjoyed it. I've been I've been digging reading about 157 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: all of this so much. And I will say, like, 158 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: I do like the peaceful things. And so the way 159 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,079 Speaker 1: my partner tries to get me involved in the video 160 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: gaming is bringing me really cute things that are easy. Um. 161 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: And I wouldn't say that I'm one of those like 162 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: oh so, but yeah, I've become that person. I'm like, ohway, 163 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: so cute, look at that little messy thing. I want 164 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:41,559 Speaker 1: to go ahead and then too like that that's the 165 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: noises that I make. And I'm like oh yeah, okay, yeah, 166 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: he knows me. He's got your number. Oh yeah, he 167 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: said a few times. I think when you get in 168 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: up Crossing, I think you'd like it. But it's sold out. 169 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: As we know, there's a shortage of them because they 170 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: got brought out so quickly, and apparently people are like 171 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: gouging prices. But oh my gosh, I think a lot 172 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: of people have asked me to play, and honestly, I 173 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: think I would be the person who would turn it 174 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: into a stressful thing. I would take something that's supposed 175 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: to be relaxing and I would make it stressful. Uh 176 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,959 Speaker 1: so I I for right now, I'm satisfied hearing all 177 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: the updates and seeing the things people are making, keep 178 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: that coming. I love the memes that are happening and 179 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: all the gifts. I'm like, I'm cool with that. Yeah. No, 180 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: I I enjoy it so much. It brings me so 181 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: much story. So, what we're specifically talking about with this 182 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: is mental health benefits of gaming, which we've talked about 183 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 1: before um using it to work through PTSD for instance, 184 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: we've done a lot of episodes on tabletop gaming when 185 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: it comes to that and video games too, and how 186 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: they have positive benefits like learning things from negotiation and collaboration. Um, 187 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: they're clearly negatives that some of us have heard about. 188 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: Two When we look at now and the anxiety and 189 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: stress and grief that a lot of us are feeling 190 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,960 Speaker 1: and going through for many, gaming has proven to be 191 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: something incredibly therapeutic, right And one of those things that 192 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,599 Speaker 1: you did mention was grief. So we're gonna talk a 193 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: little bit about grief. Online gaming can help with grief 194 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: during a pandemic, and not only as something calming in 195 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: a distraction, but to have a virtual space to grief together. 196 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: And many of us are grieving collectively at the loss 197 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: of normalcy and specifically for some the loss of loved 198 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: ones to this horrible pandemic. And again, due to social distancing, 199 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: many aren't able to visit sick loved ones or attend 200 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: the actual funerals. So one of the things you can 201 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: create in Animal Crossings New Horizons is a quote Western 202 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: style stone, which is essentially a tombstone. Some players have 203 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,079 Speaker 1: been making them to honor and remember lost loved ones, 204 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: and these players have often found it cathartic and soothing. 205 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: Some do you find it unsettling, but but for a 206 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: lot of people, it's something that is does help them 207 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 1: go through this grieving process. The spot for the tombstone 208 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: is usually lovingly chosen and cared for, often with flowers 209 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: planted all around it, beautiful flowers. Others opted instead to 210 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: recreate spaces like a grandparents room as a memorial, and 211 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: this doesn't necessarily have to involve a death. Maybe a 212 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: player just misses a relative that they can't see right 213 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,079 Speaker 1: now and they find it comforting to make that digital space. 214 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: During this time of uncertainty, we need our friends and 215 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: failing more than ever, but we can't see them in person. 216 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: A lot of the time, online games like Animal Crossing 217 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: facilitate building comforting spaces that are familiar to us and 218 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: sharing that space with loved ones. It's a way to 219 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: socialize and connect. If you have voice video chat functions, 220 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: you can even see and hear other people. It's a 221 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: way to share our isolation of staying apart but not 222 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,679 Speaker 1: being alone, which remind us of what makes us human. 223 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 1: Other people right and experts say routine is a part 224 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: of warning and working through grief is routine, and that's 225 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: what Animal Crossing is all about. And during this time 226 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: where we can't go out and find the routine, and 227 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: also we can't pursue normal morning routines like visiting a 228 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: place or a cooking a specific food item associated with someone. 229 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:16,839 Speaker 1: It's been a big comfort and help for a lot 230 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: of people, whether grieving a loss of a job or 231 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: again normalcy, or or an actual loved one. Yeah, and 232 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: you can have events like funerals, graduations, weddings, birthdays, other 233 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: celebrations inside the game. And if a player passes away 234 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 1: in real life, other players can still visit their island 235 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,719 Speaker 1: and leave items like flowers and comments, sort of a 236 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: virtual comment board where people can share this their grief 237 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: of this person together and their memories of that person together. Now, 238 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 1: all this being said, experts, do you recommend placing time 239 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: limits around how much you play if you feel like 240 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: it's becoming an unhealthy thing that's taking up all of 241 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: your time. And as a part of this one thing, 242 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: I did stumble across on several articles about online gambling 243 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: addiction and how that has gone up during this time, 244 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: and that's something we will definitely come back to in 245 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: a future episode. We've actually been meaning to do that 246 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: since the Super Bowl. It's been there has been sitting 247 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,680 Speaker 1: in there right yeah. Yeah. So we'll come back to 248 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: that in a future episode, but for now, we wanted 249 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: to talk about another part of online gaming that we're 250 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: seeing on the rise, which is harassment. But first we're 251 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: gonna pause for a quick break for word from our sponsor, 252 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you sponsor. So we've talked about 253 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: women in online gaming and harassment. Uh and just as 254 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: a reminder, women make up more than fifty of gamers, um. 255 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: But we thought we would do a quick update here 256 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: because since so many of us are doing online gaming 257 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: out and more women than ever are entering the space, 258 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: many citing boredom and escapism as the reason, I thought 259 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: we'd revisit the whole harassment part of it. The Women's 260 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: Media Centers Speech Project found that users and female user 261 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: names were twenty five times were likely to be threatened 262 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: and or harassed compared to users with male or gender 263 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: neutral user names, and female video game journalists are two 264 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: thirds more likely to be harassed. Right. Um. As in 265 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: most of the different organizations and nonprofits around US, many 266 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: are reaching out to make sure they can sustain during 267 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: the pandemic, and one of the causes specifically to the 268 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: gaming industry is a fun called hashtags stay in the Game, 269 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: which is specific to nonprofits that work in the gaming 270 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: industry that focus on mental health, diversity, and overall support 271 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: from marginalized people in that community and industry. And in 272 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: my very new introduction to this world, I'm definitely seeing 273 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: a whole new side because I've never really focused on 274 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: it um. One thing is abundantly clear, women and those 275 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: who identify as women or feminists seem to be under 276 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: constant scrutiny, and honestly, that's a nice way of putting 277 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: it um. The amount of vitrol that is directed towards 278 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: them as unreal. And I know most of you who 279 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: have already been in this world no better than I do, 280 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 1: but I will say, as an outsider, I was completely like, 281 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: what is happening? Because I don't think even that the 282 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: contentious political uh debates or or divisions has caused the 283 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: abuse that this has, so that I've seen the language 284 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: and the threats, so just the nastiness that's behind it now. 285 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: Of course, the support is also there too, and I 286 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: did see that and the people who will step up. 287 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 1: But when scrolling through the comments and replies, the sheer 288 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: anger and hate is beyond evident. Just a couple of 289 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,239 Speaker 1: the comments that I found under them advertising the fundraisers 290 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: that had nothing to do with opinions or such. Um. 291 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: I wanted to read because I was like, Wow, this 292 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: has nothing to do with why you're angry. Um. But 293 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: one of them says I would rather give I'm gonna 294 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 1: try to write read it verbatim, and you know, grammars 295 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: all over the place. Though forgive me, I'd rather give 296 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,159 Speaker 1: my money to actual game creators and not to a 297 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: bunch of s j w's parasites whose mission is to 298 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: control how others enjoy video games. And then another one 299 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: was just women's with Dick. That's it. That's I'm sorry, 300 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: not women's woman's with Dick, Woman's with Dick? Um? And 301 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: I was like why, And then they're just like random 302 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 1: posts of really harassing corn shots. It was so weird. UM. 303 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,960 Speaker 1: I was like, wow, okay, um, I am happy to 304 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 1: report that they have this specific fundraising has exceeded their 305 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: goals and I love that, um. And but the overall 306 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: attacks and it was definitely a lot of repeat trolls, 307 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: Like there was names that popped up, but was overwhelming. 308 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: I don't understand, and I will say the negative outweigh 309 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: the positive for a majority of those cam versations or 310 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: those comments and the things that people would post her 311 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: obviously sci fi elations, but they were still on there, 312 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: which says a lot to whether the site actually cares 313 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: for the people on their platform. But yeah, that's a 314 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: whole different conversation, I'm sure, And I know we've already 315 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: talked about it on this show repeatedly about the online 316 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: harassment and death threats and just discussing this, but I 317 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: was just kind of shocked, Like I really thought, because 318 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: it's been a few years since gaming Gate kind of 319 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: started coming out and the women were being harassed, I thought, 320 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,960 Speaker 1: maybe it's slowed down just a little bit, but it 321 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: really doesn't seem like it has on platforms like Twitter 322 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: and Instagram and all of that. Yeah, and I know 323 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: I've told this story before, but I stopped UM online 324 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:57,959 Speaker 1: gaming for a while because I was harassed so much, 325 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: and I even had like the gender new trull name. 326 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,479 Speaker 1: But the problem with that is UM, if you ever 327 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: did want to use video or voice chat, you can't UM, 328 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: and so people usually harass you then to try to 329 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: convince you to like, oh, show your show, your camp, 330 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: show your cam, UM, and it's just relentless and it 331 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: never gives up. And there are whole websites dedicated to this. 332 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 1: I think one of the biggest ones. I think it's 333 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: called that are slut because that's normally what you'll get 334 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: called UM is one of those things, or both of 335 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: those things probably, So it's just women posting posting that, 336 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: and then there's this sort of whole default assumption that um, 337 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:44,640 Speaker 1: most gamers online gamers are men, and with that, they're 338 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,359 Speaker 1: all this harassment that comes with that. So there are 339 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: stories of people like being in a chat room of 340 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: eight or something and one finally being like, I'm actually 341 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:54,479 Speaker 1: a woman, and then it turns out everyone and there 342 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: is a woman. They're like, oh me too, Oh me too, 343 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: Oh me too. But everybody was staying quiet because they're 344 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: afraid theyre gonna be her used. So it just creates 345 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: this whole community of silencing people and harassing them away 346 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 1: and keeping them from playing, which is really sad because 347 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: as we said, there are health befits, mental health benefits 348 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: and ways you can uh like challenge your brain through gaming, 349 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: especially in this time when we are looking for something 350 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 1: two help us get through um quarantine, um, and to 351 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: still have this like vocal angry group of trolls, so 352 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: just fighting for what they see as they're entitled video 353 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: gaming world that where women are marginalized, communities are threatening, 354 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: right because they just want space. And again, I'm just 355 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: so baffled. I think this is the question I've been 356 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: asking you repeatedly, is like, why do people think there's 357 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: this such small amount of space and this vast concept 358 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: of is limitless? Why are you so angry because you're 359 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: afraid that someone's gonna be better than you? Yeah, well 360 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: I've told you that S three before. I once won 361 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: a Super Smash Brother's melee competition, and um, right after 362 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,439 Speaker 1: it ended, all the players they were all shouting at 363 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: me at once because I was the only woman, and 364 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:18,160 Speaker 1: they were like, they claimed said I cheated, because yeah, 365 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,679 Speaker 1: cheated because I was. I was just kind of waiting 366 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: while they fought each other, and I was like, you 367 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: could have attacked me at any time I was attacking you, 368 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: you were attacking me. That is on you, buddy, chet, 369 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: That's just strategy. Well, and also I was trying to 370 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 1: get in the fray they were jays just didn't see 371 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: me as a threat. They thought, she doesn't know what 372 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: she's doing. Let's attack the other dudes, and they killed 373 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 1: each other and I was like, well, I want five 374 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: hundred bucks. Yeah, sorry about it, dudes, but you lost. UM. 375 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: This has also been in the news recently. I know 376 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: the I didn't read too much into it, so I'm 377 00:21:58,359 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: not going to talk about it too much. But the 378 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 1: executive producer of Valerie UM has said that she's trying 379 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,239 Speaker 1: to make it her mission to get rid of UH 380 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: in game harassment on their platform. So yeah, this is ongoing. 381 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: UM Xbox has community guidelines. Is kind of upsetting that 382 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,479 Speaker 1: they had to go out and say, like, women, if 383 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: you if you're facing harassment, consider going with a gender 384 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 1: neutral avatar. I'm like, oh my god, Okay. We could 385 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: also try to address the problem, which they have. They've 386 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: made steps, but just the fact that they felt like 387 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,919 Speaker 1: they had to put that in there, and there's one 388 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: more conversation of shrink yourself, be invisible, right yeah, Like, 389 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: we're not going to fix this world. We're asking you 390 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: to accommodate this toxic, toxic world. UM. Something else that's 391 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: been in the news UM is UH ferociously steph, which 392 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: a lot of you've probably heard of because it's made 393 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: a lot of headlines. Um Or, as she's known on 394 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: live stream, fail dear Girl. So this has to do 395 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: with Twitch, which is a popular space for online gaming 396 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,959 Speaker 1: and streaming, and they recently introduced the Twitch Safety Advisory Council, 397 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: which is made up of activists and streamers that are 398 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 1: supposed to moderate and to draft and enforce new policies 399 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: and guidelines. Whether or not it's effective is up for debate, 400 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,399 Speaker 1: but anyway, ferociously, Steph is one of the council members, 401 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: and she is a trans woman that identifies as dear. 402 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 1: She has some controversial opinions in the gaming community that 403 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,880 Speaker 1: voice chat gives this males gaming advantage in chat rooms 404 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: because they don't want to deal with the harassment gamers 405 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: from marginalized communities do, so their voice chat functions should 406 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: be disabled during competitions. For instance, She's made claims that 407 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 1: she thinks most gamers are white supremacist and if you 408 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: disagree with her, she might call you a Nazi. She 409 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: is toxic masculinity slash, a trolls worst nightmare, and they've 410 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: been letting her know it, which has been driving a 411 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: ton of traffic to her channel, and she is living 412 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 1: for it. Her stream is called troll Warning. She went 413 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,679 Speaker 1: from barely one hundred views two thousands, sometimes over ten thousands, 414 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: so essentially she's being very successful at trolling trolls. That's hilarious. 415 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,640 Speaker 1: That takes a lot of resilience to sit there, because 416 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,119 Speaker 1: that's just it feels like a never ending, never winning battle. 417 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: But someone should but it's just like, oh my gosh. Yeah, 418 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:29,640 Speaker 1: I think it takes a particular type of person who's 419 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: able to reframe it, like you know, like male tears, 420 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: like the whole living for upsetting. Someone who clearly doesn't 421 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: is missing the point. Like, um, yeah, it wouldn't be 422 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 1: something I would be particularly good at, but I know 423 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: some people are. Um. I also just want to throw 424 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: out there if you're not currently watching What We Do 425 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: in the Shadows a TV show, and you can do it, 426 00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: because I love every I love it. Mark Hamill was 427 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: in it reasently. It's amazing, But the most recent episode 428 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: was um about trolls, and I bet you can guess 429 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: what the twist of that story was knowing that show, 430 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: if you know the show or the movie. Yes, it 431 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: was excellent. It was excellent. And one last thing while 432 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: we're talking about this, UM, there are problems too in 433 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: the gaming community with the racism, homophobia, fat phobia, able 434 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: is um, all kinds of things UM. And it's really 435 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,479 Speaker 1: unfortunate because I feel like the gaming community those problems 436 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 1: exist obviously outside in the real world, but the gaming 437 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 1: community is just magnified them or amplified them or something. 438 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: So I'm really glad to hear people speaking up and 439 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 1: um claiming their space, and it's something that we should 440 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: all continue to do and support. And if any listeners 441 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: are involved um on in any of those kinds of things, 442 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 1: or um in the creation side of video games or 443 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: any any part like that, because that's another piece of 444 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: this problem is that the video game industry on the 445 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:09,879 Speaker 1: production side is largely male and has been for a 446 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: long time, and a lot of those creating environments are 447 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: also uh just toxic. Masculinity abounds, and we've all, well 448 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: probably most of us have seen those articles about that 449 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: and about women being kind of forced out. So it's 450 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: a lot of pieces to this UM And as more 451 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: and more of us get into gaming and online gaming, 452 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: hopefully that means more and more of us can make 453 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: our voices heard and change this sort of toxic side 454 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: of it because it can be such a beautiful and 455 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: healthy thing. And if you're wondering about the fundraiser that 456 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: I was talking about is called Staying in the Game 457 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: Relief Fundraiser. It is a really good um fundraiser and 458 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: I went immediately to donate, even though I don't know 459 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: much about the community. I'm learning as we go, obviously, 460 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: but just the comments alone maybe be like, yeah, I'm 461 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: absolutely donating, here's some money. Because awful, but we can 462 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: be better, exactly, And this is instead of fighting with them, 463 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: I will just give money and so go look them up. 464 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: They are fantastic and I'm sure if you're a gamer, 465 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: you're probably already following a lot of the organizations that's 466 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: part of this relief. Yes, yes, and there are resources 467 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: available for you. Uh, if that's something that you're interested in, absolutely, 468 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,359 Speaker 1: we do have a little bit more for you. But 469 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: we have one more quick break for a word from 470 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:49,359 Speaker 1: our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsoring. So we 471 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: did want to close out with some game recommendations and 472 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: uh it's a listener mail. So I I am a 473 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,959 Speaker 1: big gamer. I probably not so much in the online 474 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: gaming side because, as I said, unfortunately, I was kind 475 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: of frightened away from that when I was young, and 476 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 1: I haven't really returned to it outside of games with 477 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: friends that I know. Um So, I got my classics 478 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: like the Last of Us, Final Fantasy. I just beat 479 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: the Final Fantasy seven remake, Kingdom Hearts, BioShock, Silent Hill, 480 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,119 Speaker 1: resid Evil, Fallout, Mass Effect. But I did want to 481 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: shout out some lesser known some of them are feminist 482 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,159 Speaker 1: or feminist e games. So when I played recently was 483 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: on Steam called Oxen Tree, which I really loved and 484 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: it's it's a really beautiful game. It's not that long, 485 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: but it does have replay value because there's time travel involved. 486 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: And I describe it as it was described to me 487 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: as Stranger Things meets the Goonies. Um So, that one 488 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: is really good. I like The Path, and I know 489 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: I've talked about the Path on the show before, but 490 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: it came up recently in some episode we talked about 491 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: and I didn't get to go into it. But the 492 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: Path is this game where you play as Little Red 493 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,080 Speaker 1: riding Hood and the only way to win is to lose. 494 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: So if you follow the Path to Grandmother's house. The 495 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: wolf is there waiting for you, and you lose, so 496 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: you have to not follow your objective and you just 497 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: wander around the woods and do things, and eventually you 498 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: meet your wolf that kills you. And the wolf UM is, 499 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: or at least the way I interpreted it is supposed 500 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: to represent the dangers that women face in our society. 501 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: And that happens eight times, I think, and then on 502 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: the last time, you finally make it to grandmother's house 503 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: and you're able to survive because of everything you've learned 504 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: from the generation that came before you. So I feel 505 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: like that's pretty cool. UM Journey, which is a really 506 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: beautiful game all about finding ways to communicate with people 507 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: through song and dance, and it's just really really moving 508 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: and beautiful. UM Gone Home, which is also a Steam game, 509 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: and it's a really cool storytelling game about UM, a 510 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: young girl coming out to her religiou family. UM Braid, 511 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 1: just the puzzle game on Steam. The Bridge, which is 512 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: about nuclear war, but it's really pretty and you wouldn't 513 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: know that until you get to the end. UM. And 514 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 1: then I like fun games you can play with friends. 515 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 1: Quip Lash is well loved at our office for our 516 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: virtual Hangouts psych is real well loved by my friends, 517 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: which is that ellen degenerous app Um, you can play 518 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: and then Jack in the Box where you can draw 519 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,720 Speaker 1: and all you really need is a is a phone. 520 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: So those are my some of my recommendations. Yeah, and 521 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:34,719 Speaker 1: I don't really have that main recommendations because I am 522 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: not really I'm getting into their I'm getting into there. 523 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say like that. Um, and I have just 524 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: got VR games virtual reality games, and have gotten really 525 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:49,240 Speaker 1: into beat Saber. I did finally beat an expert level song. Okay, excited. 526 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: I celebrated very loudly. Also Space Pirates, which is essentially 527 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: a robot shooter game, and I really liked it. Um, 528 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: soh yeah, no, let's hope for me yet in this 529 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: world thing. Uh. Definitely got nauseous with those games. And 530 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: I may have definitely stumbled because I thought I was 531 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: really falling in those games. For sure. I'm definitely more 532 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: of those. Uh into my phone games. Apparently you told 533 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: me I'm a gamer because I got into my phone games. 534 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,720 Speaker 1: Uh huh, yep, that's true. Okay, and that means you 535 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: know wards with friends too, y'all if you want to 536 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,720 Speaker 1: confine me. Um, best fiends. I haven't really gone into that. 537 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: They got me. Um. And then I think there's one 538 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: really pretty VR game I guess is color Space, and 539 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,959 Speaker 1: all you do is make pretty pictures and they come 540 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: to life and animated and I loved those. Oh yeah 541 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: that sounds yeah yeah, And I guess I like I 542 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: should shout out Mario Kart, but people already know that 543 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: Mario Party. Oh yeah, that yeah, that is when I 544 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:54,400 Speaker 1: get into that's the one that I'm like, I'll play 545 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: that even though I'm really bad at it. I'm really 546 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,080 Speaker 1: bad at it. I'm not so great either, But sometimes 547 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: rabomly Am just dances like my new exercise of choice 548 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: since I can't go out. Um, I play hours of 549 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:09,800 Speaker 1: just dance a week. I was gonna say that's the 550 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 1: new benefit. Even though people talk about, you know, gaming 551 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: and being inside too much, I've gotten the most exercise 552 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: while being in quarantine due to these games. Yeah no, 553 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,760 Speaker 1: they're fun too. That's why I joke that I'm making 554 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 1: a list of quarantine skills. And one of my quarantine 555 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: skills is I can anticipate the bad dance moves and 556 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: just dance only just dance, but I can do it. Um, 557 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: and now yeah, I'm I know. I asked on Twitter 558 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:40,719 Speaker 1: what my next game should be, and I put up 559 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:44,760 Speaker 1: like Control, Red Dead, Redemption, God of War, and Zelda 560 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,400 Speaker 1: Breath of the Wild, and everybody, pretty much everybody voted 561 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: for Breath of the Wild. It's pretty cave story, cave story. Um, 562 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: so I guess that's what I'll be playing next. But 563 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: if you all have any suggestions, please please always looking 564 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: for suggestions, recommendations, um. And speaking of listeners, we do 565 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: have some listener mail we want to read. Carrie wrote, 566 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: I've been a long time listener, but never want to comment. 567 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,360 Speaker 1: I just want to send a book recommendation, although I 568 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: admit I have to listen in chronological orders. I'm a 569 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 1: bit behind both current episodes. And maybe you've already read it. 570 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: It's called a beautiful work in progress by Myrna Valerio 571 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: and her journey through life to becoming an ultru runner. 572 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,000 Speaker 1: I think you guys would love it. Yes, we met her, 573 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: kind of the vernervator of her. I saw her at 574 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: an event. I don't think you were there, but I 575 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: was there. Yeah, I missed that event. I remember when 576 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,000 Speaker 1: they were um advertising and I was like, man, I 577 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: want to go there and I couldn't. I was gone 578 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 1: for some reason. But I was like, man, yeah, look 579 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: so she's amazing. She was great. She was so great 580 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: and inspiring. Um. So yes, I have not had a 581 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: chance to read it yet, but thanks for the reminder. 582 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: Uh sounds right up our alley. I think we need 583 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: to for sure. Um. And then another listener, Ashley wrote, 584 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: there's a podcast I found called Terrible. Thanks for asking. 585 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 1: And I've seen this as well, and it's amazing for 586 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: if you want a good cry, and we've already talked 587 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,360 Speaker 1: about the five but yes, I enjoy a really good cry. 588 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:06,719 Speaker 1: You ladies should check it out if you ever need 589 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,680 Speaker 1: some inspiration for cheers. So thank you. Actually I definitely 590 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:13,319 Speaker 1: will so I can just sit and cry. Yes, um. 591 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: And we love the podcast recommendations too, so please keep 592 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: those coming. And also please please please write in about 593 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: your animal crossing a new horizons villages or islands or 594 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: they called what they look like some pictures. Honestly, it 595 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:30,879 Speaker 1: is such a source of chory. I need a picture, Yes, yes, 596 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,279 Speaker 1: please send those our way. You can do that at 597 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:35,440 Speaker 1: our email which is stuff Media Mom Stuff at iHeart 598 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: media dot com, or you can find us on Twitter 599 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,399 Speaker 1: at mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram at Stuff I've 600 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,880 Speaker 1: Never Told You. Thanks as always to our super producer 601 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: Andrew Howard. Thanks Andrew, and thanks to you for listening 602 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:47,359 Speaker 1: Stuff I Never Told You. The protection of I Heart 603 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:49,400 Speaker 1: Radio for more podcasts from My Heart Radio is that 604 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,879 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you listen 605 00:34:51,920 --> 00:35:00,120 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. Oh