Pretty Much Pop #6: Adults Playing Video Games

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Mark Linsenmayer, Erica Spyres, and Brian Hirt are joined by Ian Maio (who worked for marketing for IGN and Turner in e-sports) for our first discussion about gaming. Do adults have any business playing video games? Should you feel guilty about your video game habits?

Ian gives us the lay of the land about e-sports, comparing it to physical sports, and we discuss the changing social functions of gaming, alleged and actual gaming disorders, different types of gamers, inclusivity, and more. Whether you game a lot or not at all, you should still find something interesting here.

We touch on the King of Kong documentary, Grand Theft Auto, Overwatch, The Last of Us, Borderlands, Super Mario, Cuphead, NY Times Electronic Crossword Puzzle, and more. Be sure to watch the Black Mirror episode, "Striking Vipers."

Sources for this episode:

• "The eSports Phenomenon" by Jason Mok
• "For Men Who Hate Talking On The Phone, Games Keep Friendships Alive" by Cecilia D'Anastasio
• "How Video Games Affect the Brain" by Hannah Nichols
• "Seven Reasons to Play Computer Games" by Ryan Anderson
• "Playing Video Games Too Much Might Be Bad for Your Mental Health" by Jesse Hicks

For more Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast, see prettymuchpop.com. This episode includes bonus content that you can only hear by supporting the podcast at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. This podcast is curated by openculture.com. Please go check out Modern Day Philosophers at moderndayphilosophers.net and See You on the Other Side at othersidepodcast.com.