Shows / Overthinking Games
Overthinking Games
Overthinking Games is a podcast about what video games can teach us. We look at video games through an educational and critical lens.
Episodes
- Overthinking Games
Ep 38: A Year of Podcast
Hard to believe, but a year ago (at the time of recording…not the date of this episode’s release) Dempsey, Seth and Katie embarked on a podcast adventure… To…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 37: Time Well-Wasted?
Time Well-Wasted? Have you ever sat down to play a game and been hit with a case of the “I shoulds”? I SHOULD spend my free time in a more “productive” way, I…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 36: Mini Games
Side Mechanics & Mini-Games Whether it’s Gwent from “The Witcher,” the hacking game in “Bioshock,” or the myriad of fishing minigames across so many genres…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 35: Subversion
Subversion If a souls-like is not dressed like a souls-like, is it even a souls-like? “Another Crab’s Treasure” begs that question and is the jumping off point…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 34: Tend and Befriend
Tend and Befriend vs. Fight or Flight In this episode, we explore the topic of stress responses, framed in an article by Brie Code, previously a lead…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 33: Physical vs. Digital Games
What can video games do that board games, tabletop games or other physical games can’t? What makes for a good video game and/or board game crossover? Also…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 32: Dev Interview with "Potions: A Curious Tale"'s creator Renee Gittins
Potions: A Curious Tale Renee Gittins of Stumbling Cat Studio joins Seth and Katie to discuss her new game, Potions: A Curious Tale, global folklore, and the…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 31: The Long and Short of Game Length
The Long and Short of Game Length How do you decide what’s the best bang for your video game buck? Does the length of a game make a difference in your…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 30: Video Game Clones
Building on our recent discussions of both bad games and genre(iteration is everywhere!), we take a look at video game clones, and try to determine the…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 29: Platformers (But Mainly Celeste) with @FierceAxolotl
We are joined by special guest @FierceAxolotl, the fiercely kind and incredibly insightful streamer, as we chat about the ways platformers can deliver…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 28: Likes, Lites and Dislikes
This week, the gang’s back together to dig into video game genres. What the heck is the difference between a roguelike and roguelite? Nobody knows, but we’re…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 27: Indie vs. AAA Games with @cgdannyb
Go follow Danny on Youtube and Tik Tok. A conversation about indie games. Send us an email at overthinkinggamespodcast@gmail.com Find us on: Apple Podcasts…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 26: Bad Games
Are games bad? Does what i type here affect SEO? Dempsey is doing the notes for this episode. He is bad at summarizing stuff…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 25: Data Driven Gaming
Data Driven Gaming Ever had fun gaming even though your k/d was trash? Yeah, neither has Katie… This week we talk about how stats can make or break gaming…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 24: (Un)healthy Gaming
(Un)Healthy Gaming This week, we do the episode we meant to do last week but got distracted from by listener mail. In this episode, we discuss the line between…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 23: Listener Letter
Listener Mail This week, we pivoted from our originally planned topic, as we were way too delighted about responding to listener mail! If you’d like your…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 22: Escapism and Video Games
Escapism and Video Games Fear not! Dempsey is back this week as we tackle some -inescapable- questions: When is escapism an acceptable, or even beneficial…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 21: GOTY 2023 (But Make it Overthinking Games-Style)
Happy New Year! After a brief holiday hiatus (sorry, we should have mentioned we were taking a little break!), the gang is back for an on-air gift exchange and…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 20: World Building with Brett from Lore’d to Death Podcast
This week, we’re down a Dempsey. To fill the void, we have a very special guest; Brett from the Lore’d to Death Podcast! We chat about Brett’s (excellent) show…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 19: Video Game Preservation
Video Game Preservation The copyright duration for a video game is up to 120 years long…what does that mean for the preservation of video games? Are video…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 18: Gaming News Media
This week the trio discusses the relationship between gamers and the gaming news cycle. How does hype impact how we respond to games? Does it matter if our…
- Overthinking Games
Ep: 17 God of War with @gamersdrink
This week, we explore God of War, masculinity, and fatherhood. We are joined by very special guest, Joshua, from The Gamers Drink, a Tik-Tok channel where he…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 16: Existential Horror
Continuing our spooky theme, Seth brings us into the fascinating realm of existential and cosmic horror, Katie learns what both of those things are, and…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 15: Overthinking Horror w/ Nick from Smashing Game Time
TW: body horror, infant death (talking about fears) Spooky season is upon us! This week, Seth is out sick, and we’re joined by Nick from Smashing Game Time for…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 14: Co-op Gaming
This week, we got listener mail asking us to keep making fun of Dempsey, which is, fortunately, one of our favorite segments on the show. Then join us as we…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 13: Skill Checks
Normally Katies writes these but this week I have to... soo... um... We talk about skill checks. It's a good episode. Got something to share? Have an idea for…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 12: Achievement Design With Smart Goals
Designing Achievements With Smart Goals This week, Seth, our resident achievement hunter, leads the discussion on achievements! What’s the difference between a…
- Overthinking Games
Ep. 11: Violence and Video Games
Violence in Video Games On this week’s episode, we wade into some philosophical quandaries- Is violence portrayed in video games ever a question of morality?…
- Overthinking Games
Ep. 10: Interview with Josh GUITARofolo
This week, Dempsey talks with classical guitarist and video game enthusiast, Josh Garofolo, about music in video games, and his personal passion for creating…
- Overthinking Games
Ep. 9: The Master's Pupil Dev. Pat Naoum, Interview
Interview with Pat Naoum This week, Dempsey has the chance to interview Pat Naoum, the solo developer of The Master’s Pupil. A puzzle platformer, The Master’s…
- Overthinking Games
Ep. 8 Break Week: Games on the Go
This week, we take a break from our more scholarly content to talk about what games we like to play on the go. To determine the best portable games, it helps…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 7: What Games Teach Us About Thinking
This week, the crew tackle what games can teach us about thinking. We deep dive into different kinds of thinking, and how they’re built into games. From linear…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 6: The Beginner's Guide is Amazing
The Beginner’s Guide In this week’s episode, we seriously overthink The Beginner’s Guide, a masterpiece of video game narrative. Spoiler Warning: YOU NEED TO…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 5: Video Games and Literacy Standards
In this episode, we dive into 5th grade literacy standards, and examples of games we think are great at meeting those standards. Dempsey talks about Florence…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 4 Break Week: What Video Game Music Means To Us
In this episode, we talk about video game music and what it means to us. Dempsey loves some good space banjo in Outer Wilds, Katie hates nostalgia but loves…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 3: Different strengths in RPGs and the Classroom
In today’s episode, we talk about personal strengths, Persona 5, and valuing differing abilities in the classroom. Dempsey loves project based learning, Seth…
- Overthinking Games
Ep. 2: How Darkest Dungeon (and secretly Celeste) Teach Us About Failure
In this episode of Overthinking Games, we delve into Darkest Dungeon to discuss failure, and what we can learn from it. Also discussed: Fire Emblem: Radiant…
- Overthinking Games
Ep 1: Bloom's Taxonomy and Video Games
Overthinking Games is a podcast about what video games can teach us. In our first episode, we introduce the premise of our podcast and talk about what games…