Game Studies for Everyone

About Game Studies for Everyone

Welcome to Game Studies for Everyone, the podcast where complex game research becomes accessible to everyone! Join our co-hosts as they break down cutting-edge research in games and interactive media. Each 15 to 20 minute episode transforms academic findings into bite-sized, engaging discussions that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re a gamer, developer, or just curious about the science behind the games you love, Game Studies for Everyone is your go-to source for easy-to-digest insights. No jargon, just fascinating research from peer-reviewed, published research in the humanities, computer science, narrative and more. Learn what’s new and how is shapes the way we play, learn, and develop. Hosted by Eliza Jiqiren and Nat Weizenbaum.

Publisher

Learn Video Games / Mindtoggle LLC

Category

education · leisure · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Oct 2024

Latest episode

16 May 2025

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 May 2025

   Checkpoints & Choices: Bureaucracy, Borders, and Playing Through Deportation Machines

   As immigrations tensions escalate and policy grows ever more dehumanizing, what can indie games teach us about the systems behind the suffering? In this episode, we examine how Papers, Please, North, and Borders use gameplay—not just storylines—to simulate the moral deadlocks and mechanical cruelty of U.S. deportation politics. Drawing from academic critiques that invoke Max Weber’s “iron cage of bureaucracy,” we explore how these games reflect the cold logic of enforcement agencies like ICE, trapping players in procedural loops that echo real-world immigration enforcement. Can feeling stuck in a game make us see the injustice of those stuck in the system? Tune in to explore how indie developers are turning gameplay into powerful protest. Cosner, J. (2024). Engaging Action: Procedural Rhetoric and Agentive Arguments in US-Mexico Border Video Games. In Digital Culture and the US-Mexico Border (pp. 211-222). Routledge. Grace, L. D. (2023, October). Gaming the system: case study in investigative journalism and playful interactive narrative design to explain systemic bias in immigration policy. In International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (pp. 38-49). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. Morrissette, J. (2017). Glory to Arstotzka: Morality, rationality, and the iron cage of bureaucracy in Papers, Please. Game Studies, 17(1).

2. 

   15 May 2025

   Borderlines & Backstories: Can Games Teach Us to Empathize With Immigrants?

   What happens when players step into the shoes of immigrants—not just to win, but to understand? In this episode, we explore how video games like Citizenship Quest, Everyday Racism, and Escape from Woomera attempt to foster empathy and cross-cultural awareness through gameplay. Drawing on studies that analyze classroom role-play, online discussions, and game design, we ask: can digital experiences create real emotional insight, or do they just rehearse familiar narratives? From school simulations to dystopian checkpoints, join us as we navigate the thin line between meaningful play and performative understanding in the world of migration games. Bouchillon, B. C., & Stewart, P. A. (2023). Computer games, trust, and immediacy: Role-playing as immigrants in the South. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, 107571. Chin, E., & Golding, D. (2016). Cultivating transcultural understanding through migration-related videogames. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 26(1), 83-98. McKernan, B. (2021). Digital texts and moral questions about immigration: Papers, Please and the capacity for a video game to stimulate sociopolitical discussion. Games and Culture, 16(4), 383-406.

3. 

   14 May 2025

   Playing for Papers: How Video Games Expose the Cruel Logic of U.S. Deportation

   As deportation politics in the U.S. grow ever more punitive and chaotic, what can a video game reveal that headlines can’t? In this episode, we explore how games like Papers, Please, Tropico, and ICED! simulate the immigrant experience—and critique it. Drawing on recent academic insights, we unpack how these digital worlds use frustration, limited freedom, and procedural rhetoric to reflect the dehumanizing systems faced by undocumented people. Can a game really challenge anti-immigrant policy? Or are we just clicking through dystopia? Tune in for a timely dive into the politics of play and the stakes of representation. Amaya, H. (2015). ICED: Videogames in the battle between the citizen and the human. Popular Communication, 13(2), 158-169. Cleger, O. (2015). Procedural Rhetoric and Undocumented Migrants: Playing the Debate over Immigration Reform. Digital Culture & Education, 7(1), 19-39. Diamond, J., & Brunner, C. (2008). Evaluation of Breakthrough's ICED! Video Game

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

58

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.