A podcast by Many Cats Studios, hosted by Chris Goodyear.
DNA of Games stands for the Disability, Neurodiversity and Accessibility of Games.
Chatting with disabled and neurodiverse developers / content creators that make games and play them we explore how they got into games, how their disability or neurodiversity has effected their life and those awesome gaming moments that stand out to them.
Support us! - https://ko-fi.com/manycats
Li (they/them) is a QA Tester with Sumo's The Chinese Room.
They are an autistic individual with chronic illness who utilizes their lived experiences to impact their work. Passionate about accessibility their understanding shapes them as a QA Tester who has enhanced skills in accessibility.
Support us on Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/manycats (https://ko-fi.com/manycats)
Li's Twitter: https://twitter.com/wiredusagi (https://twitter.com/wiredusagi)
Li's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wiredusagi (https://www.youtube.com/@wiredusagi)
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/chris_goodyear (https://twitter.com/chris_goodyear)
Many Cats: https://www.manycats.uk/ (https://www.manycats.uk/)
This week is the talented Talent Marketing Specialist of Blizzard, Arin Goldsmith.
Arin is a popular marketer who shares the life and culture at Blizzard. She has been vocal about her identity with cerebral palsy to show that anyone can find their place in this industry.
What games have made the biggest impact on her? Find out in this episode.
Support us on Kofi (https://ko-fi.com/manycats )
Follow Arin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/arin-goldsmith/)
Follow Arin on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/arin.sinclair/)
9 Nov 2022
Episode 13 - Tommy Millar; General Artist & Animator
Joining host Chris for this week's episode is the talented Tommy Millar, artist and animator.
Tommy has a great career in games as an artist working in companies like Ubisoft and creating his own. Tommy has lived with osteoporosis, better known as brittle bone disease, and he had to learn the hard way of pushing himself beyond his body's needs.
What great game made Tommy love gaming? And what is his personal story that makes him love making games?
Follow Tommy on Twitter: @TotoMimoTweets (https://twitter.com/TotoMimoTweets)
19 Oct 2022
Episode 12 - Wren Snowball; HR Admin Assistant
Joining host Chris this week is the HR Assistant of Third Kind Games, Wren Snowball.
Wren may have got their diagnosis of autism later in life and it helped them inform more of their identity now. Working with people is important to Wren, using their own experiences to help foster an inclusive and supported environment for anyone on the team. Wren is different to most in the industry as they didn't get into games until recently, check out the episode to find out which game unlocked their love of gaming.
6 Sept 2022
Episode 11 - SightlessKombat; Gaming & Technology Research Officer
This week host Chris is joined by gamer without sight streamer, accessibility consultant and recently an addition to the RNIB team, SightlessKombat.
SightlessKombat has worked hard to show and speak about how gamers without sight can still enjoy games like The Last of Us, God of War and Sea of Thieves. As more games become accessible of a wide range of blind gamers, SightlessKombat has started to enjoy more games than ever from his humble Killer Instinct beginnings.
You can follow SightlessKombat on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/sightlessKombat)
Support us! - ko-fi.com/manycats (https://ko-fi.com/manycats)
24 Aug 2022
Episode 10 - Sandra 'Maxi' Molina Juan; Creative Director & Voice Director
Host Chris is joined by Maxi, the creator of The Hayseed Knight. They are the Creative Director for the project but have started their experience in creating comics. Maxi is autistic and was diagnosed with OCD in recent years which has helped them manage their work. The Hayseed Knight is available on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332990/The_Hayseed_Knight/)
Maxi's Twitter (https://twitter.com/SandraMJdev)
10 Aug 2022
Episode 9 - Kaitlyn Jones; Gaming Accessibility Program Manager
Host Chris is joined by one of the Xbox Accessibility team members. Kaitlyn Jones is the program manager for gaming accessibility and has built up her knowledge through her work with her father and veterans but also lived experience with chronic pain and ADHD.
Kaitlyn's Twitter (https://twitter.com/KaitlynJones_)
Support us on Kofi (https://ko-fi.com/manycats)
This week Chris is joined by the delightful Neera who is best known by her online persona Mahatmama.
Mahatmama has lived with Hepatitis B through her life and has had to battle with some serious health conditions including cerebral aneurysm and stroke. This has led her to share her story online through a honest blog and her Twitch channel so other disabled gamers could see someone like them, going through similar experiences. Part of the Xbox Ambassadors squad find out what games Mahatmama loves to play.
She is a woman on the autistic spectrum that loves to share family life and the love they all have of gaming.
Follow Mahatmama on Twitter: @Mahat_Mama (https://twitter.com/Mahat_Mama)
13 Jul 2022
Episode 7 - Dan Pearson; Product Marketing Manager
Episode 7, host Chris is joined by Dan Pearson, Product Marketing Manager for Genvid Technology. Dan got his diagnosis of ADHD only recently and has explored what it meant for him and his neurodiversity. He talks about Aphantasia and SDAM (Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory) in his life and work. And he chats about the games he loves to play.
Follow Dan on Twitter: @Danbojones (https://twitter.com/Danbojones)
This week, host Chris is joined by up and coming producer Harriet Frayling. Harriet is a stand out disability and neurodiverse advocate who has lived experience with autism, ADHD and fibromyalgia. Though she received her neuro diagnoses later in life and it has helped her understand her abilities within a production environment.
Follow Harriet on Twitter: @wonderpusgospel (https://twitter.com/wonderpusgospel)
Episode 5 has the AAA of gaming, Annabel Ashalley-Anthony joining host Chris Goodyear. She founded the gaming group, Melanin Gamers, to improve the connection between black gamers and build an awesome community. She has sickle cell and grew up in and out of hospital but always had the love of gaming and books to get her through.
Check out Melanin Gamers: https://themelaningamers.com/
1 Jun 2022
Episode 4 - Dom Shaw; EDI Coordinator
Join host Chris Goodyear as he chats with EDI expert at Ukie, Dom Shaw.
Dom is autistic and is passionate about equal opportunities for everyone, especially if you come from an underrepresented group. He is the champion for the #RaiseTheGame campaign at Ukie and has won awards for his efforts.
Support us on Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/manycats
18 May 2022
Episode 3 - Morgan Baker; Designer & Accessibility Lead
Episode 3 of DNA of Games; Host Chris Goodyear chats with Morgan Baker, newly hired Games Accessibility Lead at EA.
Morgan (she/they) is deaf with cochlear implants and has been most of her life. She has learnt the value of accessibility through her education career and applied it in games development. She is a member of the Games Awards Future Class ‘20 and worked for major companies like Naughty Dog, Square Enix, Xbox Games Studios and Netflix Gaming as a consultant.
Find out why her corgis are called Midna and Zelda!
4 May 2022
Episode 2 - Nickie Harper-Williams; Community Manager
Host Chris Goodyear is joined by another Cats member, Nickie Harper-Williams. Nickie is the community manager, a Twitch streamer, accessibility consultant and artist when she can find time in her schedule. She wears hearing aids like Chris, but became deaf / Hard of Hearing much later in life. Nickie speaks about her experiences becoming deaf and how that effected her outlook and view on games. She explains why she didn't get in to games as a career until much later in her life. Also, she reveals one of her favourite games series of all time.
20 Apr 2022
Episode 1 - Antonio I. Martinez; Editor & Consultant
Host Chris Goodyear is joined by creator and editor of Games Accessibility Nexus, Antonio Martinez. Antonio has Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA Type 3, which is a genetic and progressive condition that affects strength, dexterity and general mobility. He is the founder and editor of the Games Accessibility Nexus and is an accessibility consultant for games development.
14 Apr 2022
Introducing: DNA of Games, hosted by Chris Goodyear
A podcast by Many Cats Studios, with Chris Goodyear chatting to disabled and neurodiverse people working in video games.
Breaking down the taboo of disabilities and neurodiversity in an industry that prides itself on diversity and inclusion. DNA of Games, standing for Disability, Neurodiversity and Accessibility of Games, is a podcast series spotlighting the talents of disabled developers and professionals in the most exciting industry. Chris learns more about how their lives are shaped by disability and how it impacted their career. Most importantly discovering why the guest has a love of gaming. Join us every 2 weeks to meet another developer, content creator or professional working in games.
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