Shows
Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastOur Fave Games of 2024!For our last episode of 2024, we share our thoughts on The Game Awards and then have a good ol' fashioned GOTY chat on our favorite games of 2024!Listen... if we're being real, we honestly didn't play *too* many games released this calendar year, but the ones we did play were bangers nevertheless! Including an undisputed choice for our joint Game of the Year. Join us as we give the girls their flowers and talk about what vibed with us the most.Thanks for sticking with us through another year of G4P! We'll be back...2024-12-231h 28Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastHolding Space... (Wicked Pt. 1)Laurence and Eric work in tandem as they are joined this week by their partners, Hector Barajas (first time guest!) and Gerry Tonella (returning from our Olympics episode) to hold space for the musical/cultural blockbuster event of the year – WICKED (part one). Full spoilers ahead for the movie, the stage musical, the book kinda, the source material (The 1939 film The Wizard of Oz) and the source material’s source material (another book) as we discuss all things swankified in the Oz, Shiz, and beyond. We *are* in queer media so, naturally we have an Emerald City’s worth of thoug...2024-12-102h 16Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastLaurio and SonEric at the Paris 2024 Olympic GamesBonsoir! Bienvenue à PARIS!This week we set aside video games in favor of OLYMPIC games, as we are joined by the lovely Gerry Tonella (Olympic gold medalist in the sport of "being Eric's cutie-patootie boyfriend") to discuss the games of the 33rd Summer Olympiad in Paris, France! Collectively we found it to be our favorite Olympic games of recent memory, with soooo much to discuss! From Gaga and Celine to the extinguishing of torch, we dive into a little bit of it all in this episode! We start with breaking down the breathtaking opening ceremony that to...2024-08-162h 07Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastOur BRAT Summer of Paper Mario and RelaxationAre we still a video game podcast? Well, sorta kinda! That, pop culture, and beyond as we say, (with an emphasis on the latter two lately...) But still, it's a question we find we are asking ourselves lately! tbh, We find it a little difficult to care as deeply about video games when we are so busy living through major current events and existing in the context of all in which we live (& what came before us, as you will see in this time capsule of an episode)... alas in this episode we endeavor to anyway! This w...2024-07-271h 40Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastChallengers: Wii Sports Tennis if it SlayedWe've been Nasty girls for sitting on this episode for a couple weeks, but we are back! This week we discuss Luca Guadagnino's bisexual fever dream smash hit CHALLENGERS, as well as Another Crab's Treasure - a cute undersea Souls-like where you play as a hermit crab trying to get his shell back, the Met Gala (which we kinda dgaf about but discuss a bit anyway), the recent layoffs in the video game industry, Spy x Family: Code White, some theatre we've been digging into lately, the pop girlies' summer hits ("Nasty" by Tinashe & "Espresso" by Sabina Carpenter to...2024-05-271h 30Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEvangelion: 1.6 You Can (Not) Stardew (w/ Sara Brown)Get in the robot, listener, it's time for another Gay for Play! This week we're joined by bestie of the pod and G4P alum, Sara Brown! We get deep and philosophical about the re-release (and first North American release) of The End of Evangelion in theaters and discuss why this film and its anime is still one of the most beloved and mind-boggling series ever made, as well as a show and film rich with queer under(and over)tones. We also get into the new Stardew Valley 1.6 update, chat all about the new features that continue being...2024-04-071h 18Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastThrowing Cards the House Down in "Balatro" and "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth"It's all aces this week as Eric and Laurence chitchat about all the culture and games they've been playing this month. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the hotly anticipated follow-up to 2020's FF7 Remake. Rebirth reunites us with our favorite PTSD-addled twink Cloud Strife, as he and his gang of gay friends and divas leave the city of Midgar and embark on an open world adventure on their hunt for Sephiroth: fighting monsters, going on endless side-adventures, and playing countless minigames along the way (including a truly fantastic card game called Queen's Blood)And speaking of cards, we've both...2024-03-251h 13Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast"As a Trans Man with Dyscalculia..." (w/ Leo Grierson)Time marches ever onward, and here we are, with our first episode of 2024!Back in January (sorry for the delay, it's been a busy start to the year for us) we sat down with one of our OG G4P guests and dear dear friend Leo Grierson to discuss digital theatre and storytelling, A.I. and our complex and evolving opinions on the technology, the joys of grad school, the best farming sims to enjoy whilst recovering from top surgery, and so many more games and movies we've been into lately Games discussed include Story of...2024-02-231h 26Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEric, Laur, & The Great GOTYs of 2023"The GOTYs, said to portend... untold slayage, and the end of the *year*~"2023 is over! And we find ourselves at the end of a truly landmark year for gaming. On this episode we discuss some of our favorite games of 2023. We each pick 5 games from our personal lists that we want to highlight, then culminate the show with 3 "joint slays": games that made both of our lists that we want to celebrate together, the last of which we are considering to be our official pick for 2023 Game of the Year. Join us as we celebrate...2023-12-311h 59Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastCatching Up for our 3-Year Pod AnniversaryWe back y'all. This week Eric and Laurence hop back on the mics after a much needed break & discuss gaming ruts, our teacher-eras, the end of the actor's strike, AI, some light predictions for the Game Awards (we recorded this episode 2 days before the ceremony) and of course, gaaaaaames! Games discussed include: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (a slay), Alan Wake (the first one), Super Mario Wonder (wowie-zowie!), Overwatch 2 (fun and for the gays), Baldur's Gate 3 (which recently added ball-jiggle physics), Sea of Stars (also a slay!), and more.Later in the show we catch up on...2023-12-131h 46Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastGay For Role-Play: Fall 2023s Biggest RPGsAutumn has officially begun, and with it, massive Role-Playing Games have arisen as some of hottest games of the season. We're leaning into this genre trend this week and discussing 4 games we've been playing! -First we have the stellar new RPG Baldur's Gate 3, a colossal Dungeons & Dragons-based adventure where dialog choices & character interactions massively impact the story (and also all your party members are super gay and horny for you), - A stellar new flop in Starfield from Bethesda, a space exploration RPG from the creators of Skyrim and Fallout that unfortunately feels...2023-10-021h 41Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastMutha Courage and Her Beyhive - Renaissance World Tour (w/ Eriel Brown)It's Virgo('s Groove) Season and we have been blessed by the queen! Beyoncé Knowles (female pop vocalist) Carter brought her record-breaking, epic, indelible Renaissance World Tour to Los Angeles, California earlier this month, and we were there to witness it! (well, 2/3rds of us were, but Eric has watched multiple YouTube recordings of the tour, so he was with us in spirit). Our friend Eriel Brown joins us to talk about why Beyoncé is, without question, our greatest living performer. We talk the Renaissance album, her birthday show, the tour as a whole and its myriad cu...2023-09-151h 28Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastPrincess Mononoke & Studio Ghibli's Influence on ZeldaThis week, Eric and Laurence discuss the 1997 Studio Ghibli Classic, Princess Mononoke and discuss how it had so much more of an impact on the latest Zelda games than we had previously been aware of. We also get into some of our other favorite films from the beloved animation studio, Laurence converts Eric to a NewJeans stan, Eric extols the virtues of garlic confit, and so much more on this episode of Gay for Play! A note on audio: we lost the original recording of this episode and ended up using a backup of our recorded Discord...2023-08-181h 10Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastSummer Gay Fest! (Our Favorite June Game Announcements)This week it's back to business after the incredible joy and success our first ever live show in LA last weekend! Eric and Laurence debrief on our show with Super Dating Simulator and the weekend at large before diving into our main topic: JUNE VIDEO GAME ANNOUNCEMENTS! E3 may be officially dead and gone, but the games are here to stay. We cover our favorite announcements from the June Nintendo Direct, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, the Xbox showcase, Wholesome Direct, and more. The sheer number of game announcements can be overwhelming, so we're here to tell...2023-06-251h 33Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastThe Last of Us Part 3: The TV Show (Season 1) w/ Becca Rowland"Joel is sooo babygirl-coded."This week we're joined by our friend Becca Rowland, who first guested on our original The Last of Us episode, to discuss the stellar HBO adaptation of Naughty Dog's beloved 2013 video game. We knew that we would probably want to discuss this season of television, compare it to our thoughts the game, and talk about how much we are head-over-heels, madly, deeply in love with Pedro Pascal & would trade the world for a journey with him across a post-apocalyptic America, but it wasn't until after episode 3 broke our hearts into tiny little pieces...2023-04-011h 32Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastThe Nintendo 3DS: In MemoriamWe're gathered here today to mourn & celebrate the life of a video game console, Nintendo's last handheld-only device, the small but mighty Nintendo 3DS.As of March 27th, 2023, the Nintendo eShop for the 3DS and Wii U will be officially shut down, meaning 866 Wii U games and 1547 3DS games will no longer be available to purchase. We've already dedicated an episode in the past to the Nintendo Wii U, so today we're taking a look back at our memories of the 3DS: our favorite games to grace the device, StreetPass & other quirky apps, its hit-&-miss use...2023-03-241h 14Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastThe 2022 Video Game, Pop Culture, and Beyond AwardsIt's Awards Season, and you know what that means: it's time for us to once again honor the best and the gayest in gaming, pop culture, and beyond with the second annual VGPCBAs!Spanning 27 prestigious categories, Eric and Laurence present the awards and dish out legendary trophies for the best (and worst) people, games, and culture that the last year had to offer. Plus this year, extra special guest presenters join us to hand out some of the most coveted awards!It is truly THE most prestigious awards show of the season, we can't think...2023-03-121h 15Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastLet's-a-Go to Super Nintendo World!We are back! After a quick hiatus, Eric & Laurence are back to chat all about their trip to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood, which they visited back in January 2023 during its technical previews. Now, while this ep. may have been recorded a few weeks back, our takes are still hot n' fresh like a plate of Spicy Spaghetti from Toadstool Café! What did we think of the land's signature attraction, Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge? Is a visit to Bowser's Jr.'s Lair worth the $40 power-band upcharge? What about the rest of the interactive elements scattered throughout the l...2023-03-051h 09Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastM3GAN: The Little Doll Who SL4YS (w/ Sara Brown)~She's bulletproof, nothing to lose... Fire away, fire away~On this week's episode we discuss the film M3GAN! Returning guest Sara Brown (from our Persona 5 and Catherine: Full Body episodes) joins us to talk about the little murderous doll who has captivated audiences nationwide and immediately become a new gay horror icon.We talk about how she joins a lineage of haunted little dolls while also subverting the trope with a modern twist about our over-reliance on technology in child-care. Plus we ruminate on why she resonates so much with queer audiences. Is it because...2023-02-031h 27Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastGlass OnionThere's a mystery afoot! And that mystery, dear listener, is the question: is Glass Onion a worthy follow up to its 2019 predecessor Knives Out? Is there more queer stuff here that warrants a whole episode-length discussion of one of the best new detective film series of the 21st century? How good at Among Us was Stephen Sondheim, actually? Ok, so there's way more than just one mystery, but your sleuths Eric and Laurence are more than ready to take up the case in this first episode of our 2023 Filmuary series! We chat the yassification of Benoit Blanc, some stellar p...2023-01-201h 14Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast2023 and Me (& G4P)Brand new year, same fabulous us! Laurence and Eric welcome in 2023 with a fun little check-in ep. to start off an exciting year of queer games culture and more! We give an update on the highly anticipated and long awaited Video Games, Pop Culture, and Beyond Awards, Eric's work-related adventures with some Celebrity Gay Icons of NoteTM, how old Drag Race makes us feel, exciting new releases coming this year, and the plethora of Star Wars media out right now and whether any of it is good (spoilers: Andor definitely is). Thank you for listening to Gay for Play i...2023-01-1455 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastG4P's GOTYs of 2022Another year in the books, another Game of the Year list to make! We, as gay people, love to craft our little lists at the end of every year, so this week we’re having a good ol’ fashioned Game of the Year episode as we each share our individual top 5 favorite games of 2022, alongside a pretty substantial list of our honorable mentions! Which games scored 10s across the board and snatched a coveted spot on our lists? Only time (particularly the next hour and forty-five minutes of this pod) will tell!Here's to a Happy New Year...2022-12-311h 45Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastWhat if Kratos and Sonic Kissed? (God of War: Ragnarok & Sonic Frontiers)In our last regular episode of the year, we're discussing two huge games from November that we've gotten into over the past month-- Sonic Frontiers and God of War: Ragnarok. One is one of the most narratively compelling games of the year and one is, well, some good honest fun let's just say that! Eric and Laurence also discuss their Spotify Wrappeds (Spotifies Wrapped?), End of the Year List Season, feelings on the Game Awards (which aired the day after we recorded this episode), and later in the episode discuss some thoughts on Star Wars: Andor, the Don't...2022-12-161h 24Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastSchoolin' Life in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (w/ Travis Ryans)This week, our friend & fellow queer gaming podcaster Travis Ryans (they/he) from the Rainbow Road Podcast, returns to the show to discuss Pokémon Scarlet & Violet! The 9th Generation of mainline Pokémon games recently released for Nintendo Switch. Since its launch, the game has gone viral for its myriad technical issues, bugs, and poor performance, but is there still a worthwhile Pokémon RPG to be found beneath all of the mess? Well, as they would say in the Paldea region, "es complicado!"We dive into all of our thoughts, critiques, letdowns and plea...2022-12-051h 22Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastMajora's Mask4MascIt's Halloween time once again, and we are celebrating with an iconically spooky game! Well, first we're doing our civil duty as gay podcasters & sharing our love for Carly Rae Jepsen's The Loneliest Time, as well as briefly going over all the drama surrounding Bayonetta 3 on the internet this past week, but after that we're talking ALL about THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORA'S MASK-- the infamously dark sequel to Ocarina of Time released for the Nintendo 64 in the year 2000. For a 22 year old game, Majora's Mask was absurdly ahead of its time, having lots to s...2022-10-291h 35Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastSomewhere Overwatch the Rainbow (w/ Brian Moreno)This week, Eric and Laurence are joined by Brian Moreno (he/him), the president of the Los Angeles Gayming Society, to discuss Blizzard's mega-popular hero shooter OVERWATCH (2)! Initially released in 2016, Overwatch is a multiplayer competitive shooter featuring a roster over over 40 playable characters with unique abilities and diverse, international backgrounds. The game garnered massive popularity from it's super high-quality animated shorts, went on to become a massive e-sports venture, and garnered headlines for canonically confirming two of its mascot characters (Tracer and Soldier:76) as queer.Overwatch's servers shut down earlier this month with the release...2022-10-221h 41Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastI Dream of Disney (Disneyland & Disney Dreamlight Valley)The boys are back from a nice little vacay to discuss their recent trips to the famous Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure theme parks! We went in the same week but on different days from each other, and we review our experiences, ruminate on whether Disney is in its flop era, talk about childhood joy, Disney adults, Star Wars slaying, Marvel's Flop Avengers Campus, and the overall state of the theme park experience in 2022. Later in the episode, to keep the Disney train rolling, we discuss DISNEY DREAMLIGHT VALLEY, Disney's foray into the life-sim genre hoping...2022-10-081h 24Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastValiDate, Splatoon 3, and September Game Announcements!This week, Laurence and Eric meet up for a more casual eppy to discuss this week's Nintendo Direct, Sony State of Play, Tokyo Game Show announcements, and more gaming news*! (*and by "more gaming news" we mean a long tangent about astrology and how 6 planets are in retrograde right now which is really harshing our vibe.) But hey! The sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild finally has a name/release date, Pikmin 4 is real, and God of War: Ragnarok looks good, so even though the stars are giving us grief rn, the future looks bright...2022-09-171h 20Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastWe're Worried, Darling (Immortality & Ooblets)After a couple months of having lovely guests on the pod, this week Eric and Laurence sit down one-on-one for a classic catch up on the truly wild amount of culture that's been happening. From the "Don't Worry Darling" drama, to Lea Michele debuting in Funny Girl, to Queen Liz 2 kicking the bucket and reincarnating as Trisha Paytas's baby— there's a LOT to discuss. Plus, Video Games! We played a couple of great ones this week. Immortality is the latest FMV (Full-Motion Video) game by "Her Story"-creator Sam Barlow, in which you, th...2022-09-091h 17Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastALIEN POYO-STAR (Kirby! w/ Alejandro Muñoz)"Category: Pink Round Puff he's the BALL... Alien SUPAstar!" Today we are talking about beloved Nintendo icon Kirby!!! Created by then-19-year-old Masahiro Sakurai (who later went on to create the Super Smash Bros. series), Kirby first hit the scene in 1992 with Kirby's Dream Land for the Nintendo Game Boy. Kirby was designed to be approachable to new and younger players unfamiliar with games, and since his inception Kirby has been known as a series with something to offer for everyone: beloved by newcomers and veteran players alike. Kirby superfan and artist Alejandro Muñoz...2022-08-271h 16Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastThe Kwanstone Project (with TinTin V.)This week, we're joined by indie game developer, artist, founder of Sipsong Studios, and creator of the new mobile title THE KWANSTONE PROJECT, TinTin V! (he/him)We interview TinTin about his experience of becoming a self-taught game developer over the pandemic & how his Lao-heritage and queer identity/community inspired and shaped the creation of his game. We also take some tangents to discuss our thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Mario Kart, Beyonce's Renaissance, and more! THE KWANSTONE PROJECT is available now on iOS and Android! Go download it now! (not...2022-08-131h 15Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast"PSPSPSPSPSPS" (Prey & Stray w/ Travis Ryans)This week we are thrilled to be joined by our *EXTRA* special guest, Travis Ryans!! Travis (they/he) is one of the hosts Rainbow Road: A Gay Gaming Podcast, our fellow queer gaming podcast sibling to the north. They join us to discuss PREY, the 2017 FPS/immersive sim from Arkane Studios and Bethesda about a space station overrun by a hostile spooky alien force known as the Typhon. We dive into the game's themes of morality, empathy, queerness, and iconic moments that can only be experienced through the medium of games. Then, in the second h...2022-07-291h 29Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastYu-Gay-Oh! (w/ Jake Carlin)With the recent tragic passing of "Yu-Gi-Oh!" series creator, Kazuki Takahashi, this week we reflect on the legacy of his iconic franchise, from its manga origins to what is now one of the most popular trading card games & multimedia franchises on the planet."Yu-Gi-Oh!" tells the story of Yugi Motoh, a timid, kind, young gamer with an iconic spiky hairdo who becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, who becomes Yugi's alter ego as he battles his opponents in Duel Monsters, a card game that went on to inspire the real-life TCG we k...2022-07-161h 43Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastOur Fave Games of 2022 (So Far)!Well gamers, Pride month has officially ended, and with it, the first half of 2022! We'll be honest, given the current events unfolding on the national stage, Pride month was a little rough on us this year, and we weren't quite in the right headspace to record episodes throughout the month. But we have mustered our strength & gathered once again, coming to the mic as we are, to discuss what we've been playing lately & how our GOTY list is shaping up as we discuss our favorite games from the first half of the year!Tangents include o...2022-07-021h 41Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastCategory Is: Summer Game(s) Announcements!Welcome to Gay For Play! A podcast where we take a look at the world of gaming through a queer lens. This week, the CATEGORY IS: Summer Gaming Announcements! E3 may be six feet under girl, but in its wake we've still gotten a *lot* of cool announcements this month, with various publishers & gaming companies big & small holding virtual press conferences to show off new and upcoming games. We watched through most of them and picked over 40 video games to discuss in this episode! Below is a list of everything we discuss in this episode, i...2022-06-171h 52Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast"You Tellin' Me a Queer Coded this Villain?"HAPPY PRIDE 2022!We are back for an all new season of Gay For Play, and we're kicking it off by talking about Queer & Queer-*Coded* Villains in video games. Queer coding the bad guy is a trope seen in media for ages, dating back to old Hollywood censorship laws & really entering our generation's collective consciousness through the villains of the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s, right around the same time that the medium of video games started to come into their own. Eric and Laurence discuss how this trope came about and why...2022-06-031h 05Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 56: Groove is in the (Kingdom) Heart(s) - G4P Season Finale Final MixIt's our season finale! We'll be off for the next month, but before we take a little slumber in our memory recovery pods, we're back for one more episode to take another look at one of our favorite video game franchises that we simply cannot stop talking about: KINGDOM HEARTS.The beloved Final Fantasy / Disney crossover JRPG series has been back on our minds lately. It celebrated its 20th Anniversary earlier this month, alongside the reveal of the next mainline entry in the series: Kingdom Hearts IV. And just recently, the iconic singer of the KH theme...2022-04-291h 25Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 55: Sonic Thee HedgehogThis week, in honor of the new Sonic movie hitting theatres this weekend, we’re doing a deep dive on the blue blur himself: the hog, the myth, the legend– Sonic the Hedgehog! It's Sonic! The cool blue hedgehog who runs fast and loves chili dogs! You know the guy! In this episode we discuss the loveable blue guy's origin, our first exposure to this gaming icon, and discuss his history as a gaming cultural figure over the years. Plus we get into how the Sonic fandom has made their own queer spaces around the character, from the c...2022-04-081h 15Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast"The Power of the Twink" *BONUS EP. TEASER*This is a preview for our new bonus episode on Jane Campion's THE POWER OF THE DOG, available now on our Patreon page! (the bonus episode, not the movie. That's on Netflix!)In it we dive deep into the movie & discuss its themes of masculinity, longing, and queer cowboy culture. We also touch on the 2022 Oscar winners (but worry not, we don't spend much time on *that* Discourse™)To listen to the full episode, head on over to patreon.com/gayforplaypod and become a patron at any tier! (starting @ only $1/month) We're switching to a b...2022-04-0306 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 54: What Else We're Gay For (Other Than Elden Ring, Still)Full transparency: we're still just playing Elden Ring / experiencing video game burnout from playing too much Elden Ring, so we figured this week would be a great opportunity to catch up on other video game & pop culture moments that have been in the zeitgeist! Aside from an obligatory Elden Ring corner, topics the employee walkouts at Disney over the company's ongoing financial support of anti-LGBTQ politicians, the Hogwarts Legacy State of Play presentation, a few other video games we've been checking out (Tunic, Paradise Killer, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Kirby and the Forgotten Land), The...2022-03-251h 15Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 53: "Try Finger, But Hole" (Elden Ring)Around once a year, a game releases that seems to completely dominate the gaming cultural conversation (by which we mean it's massively popular and men get really testy about it online). This year the game in that spotlight seems to be ELDEN RING - a new open world RPG from FromSoftware (creators of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, & Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice), directed by studio head Hidetaka Miyazaki and featuring a story & lore written by George RR Martin (yes, *that* George RR Martin)In this episode, we discuss our thoughts on this massive, brilliant, ruthless open-work adventure (basically we...2022-03-111h 15Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 52: "HogwartsPilled" - Harry Potter Video Games (w/ Leo Grierson)Yer a wizard, podcast listener! This week we are here to discuss the Harry Potter franchise, its various video game adaptations, and our complicated relationship with the franchise as queer & trans individuals whose childhood fondness for this series has turned sour in our mouths like a bad Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean in light of JK R*wling's dangerous and repeated transphobic comments over the past few years. Our guest (and DEAR friend of the pod) Leo Grierson unpacks their feelings with us through the lens of the old PC Harry Potter video games, how we...2022-02-251h 25Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 51: “Feeling the Final Fantasy” - JRPGs & Drag (w/ Blueberri Mary)On today's episode, we are joined by our dear friend Devon, aka Ms. Blueberri Mary, to discuss one of our favorite video game genres: the humble JRPG! (Japanese Role Playing Game) And more particularly, how the fashion and design sensibilities of games like Final Fantasy X & X-2 have influenced and entire generation of queer designers and drag artists.We get into the character designs and looks that left our young gay brains gagged and inspired, how in practice they aren't too dissimilar from the pop stars and divas that typically evoke idolatry from the gays, and how...2022-02-181h 27Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 50: "I’m a Sinner, Baby" (The Forgotten City)***Timestamps for Spoilers*** (Spoiler discussion for The Forgotten City runs from 50:15 to 1:03:00)Salve friend!Believe it or not, this is our 50TH EPISODE OF THE POD!!! We wanna thank y'all up top for helping us make it to half of a hundo. Here's to at least 50 more!For our 50th episode, Daddy Nintendo gifted us an anniversary gift in the form of a juicy Nintendo Direct to discuss! We share our thoughts on Kirby going Throatzilla on large inanimate objects, Earthbound finally landing on Switch Online, Mario Kart 8 receiving new DLC 8 years...2022-02-121h 28Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 49: "Wyrdeer! We're Queer!"- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (w/ Connor Marsh)To paraphrase one Ms. Gia Gunn "This is a place for (Pokémon) Legends, okay?"This week, we're joined by our friend (and composer of our theme music) Connor Marsh (he/him) to discuss Pokémon Legends: Arceus— the latest entry in the Pokémon franchise that brings a much needed breath of fresh air to the long-running series of loveable monsters. A prequel to Pokémon Diamond & Pearl (Laurence's favorite Pokémon entries of all time), Legends Arceus is set in the Hisui region— a land of the distant past that will one day c...2022-02-041h 26Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 48: But I'm a Cheerleader! (with Becca Rowland)All month long January has been FILMUARY here at Gay For Play.This week, we're ending the month by discussing a queer cult classic, the 1999 satirical romantic comedy: But I'm a CheerleaderAnd the boys are not alone this week! We're joined by dear friend of the pod Becca Rowland, who last joined us on our The Last of Us (Part 1) episode last March! Becca's the one who recommended we watch this movie for our last episode of Filmuary, and we're so glad she did, because the three of us have so much to say...2022-01-281h 21Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 47: "One Pill, Two Pill, Yass Pill, Blue Pill" (The Matrix / The Matrix Resurrections)FILMUARY continues here at Gay for Play this week! In today's episode, we dive deep into a discussion of The Matrix and its newest installation, The Matrix Resurrections! One of us is a lifelong fan of this iconic sci-fi trilogy, and one of us is a total newcomer to the franchise (& hadn't even seen the original until like, last week!). But we both have a LOT to share about Keanu and his slo-mo bullet dodging adventures. It would be a Herculean task to have a thorough conversation about a series that has been discussed to de...2022-01-211h 25Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 46: Musical Theatre Films of 2021- Faves and FlopsWe're back with our first episode of 2022! Except here's the thing... January is famously a slow month for video game releases. We also haven't been playing that many games lately, but we have been watching a lot of movies! (They're kinda like video games except you can't decide when people jump). So we've decided to make January a month of talking about cinema!!! Because it's our podcast and we can talk about whatever we want,. "FILMuary" we're calling it. And we're kicking it off by going back to our roots and tapping into our inner musical theatre kids and...2022-01-141h 36Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 45: Our Fave Games of the Year 2021!!Happy New Year y'all!Our first full year of video game podcasting is drawing to a close and We're closing out 2021 with a just a chill, good ol' discussion of 10 of our favorite games of the year. We're not tryna to decide on some sort of "definitive", "OFFICIAL", "G4P 2021 GOTY!" or anything like that, but rather, just taking the time to each share and honor 5 games that really vibed with us this year! (loosely ranked, because ultimately people love lists and we are trying to keep this show entertaining and suspenseful, obvi)W...2021-12-311h 26Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 44: The 1st Annual Video Game, Pop Culture, and Beyond Awards!Coming to you LIVE from the Red Carpet, it's us! We are here to host and present the first ever VIDEO GAME POP CULTURE AND BEYOND Awards, where we will honor the best and brightest of 2021's video games, pop culture moments, (and beyond!) Move over, Game Awards, because it's our time to shine.Spanning 33 prestigious categories including "Best Indie", "Biggest YASS of the Year", "Gayest Game of the Year", and of course, the highly coveted "Game of the Year" - Laurence and Eric will be presenting the list of nominees and awarding the winners with NFBs (N...2021-12-171h 27Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 43: Side by Side by UnsightedStudio Pixel Punk's Unsighted is a Queer, Zelda/Metroidvania-like indie game with engaging gameplay, an emotionally-rich narrative, and some really inspired game mechanics. It's a real hidden gem that has quickly become a late-contender for one of our favorite games of the year! And speaking of our favorite games of the year, we recorded this episode pre-Game Awards, but we have a special announcement on our own upcoming GOTY plans!After our discussion on Unsighted (and a quick Pokémon BDSP-update from Larry,) we discuss Real Housewives, Selling Sunset, tick, tick...BOOM, theatre, a...2021-12-101h 02Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 42: Anniversary Crossing! (ACNH Retrospective and 2.0 Discussion)It’s the 1-year anniversary of GAY FOR PLAY!!! We’re celebrating by taking it back to the game that started it all for us: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which fittingly, recently received a massive 2.0 update and DLC expansion with Happy Home Paradise. We discuss what’s new about the game, what the game has meant for queer players over the past year and a half, and how to get back into the game if you’re one of the many people who fell off of the game at some point (spoiler alert: it’s not too hard!)We als...2021-11-271h 30Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 41: All Too Yass (90-Minute Version) (G4P's Culture Catch-Up Version)Greetings Swifties and Swifties-in-the-making...This week, ahead of our 1-year(!) anniversary next week, we're back with another edition of "Rest Mode" where we catch up on the video game and pop culture news that we've been digging into!There is truly SO much to discuss this week: The Game Award nominations are OUT! GTA remasters are buggy as hell! Corporations like Meta and Activision-Blizzard are continuing to exhibit ghoulish evil flop behavior! New POKEMON games are here. Jen Shah is under ARREST on national TV. Britney's conservatorship is OVER! And of course... RED (Taylor's Version...2021-11-191h 28Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 40: Nier AutotomatoFor the Glory of Podcast-kind!This week we discuss NieR: Automata, the 2017 Action JRPG from the visionary mind of director Yoko Taro and PlatinumGames that has us a bit divided!The game tells a rich story about a post-apocalyptic future where sexy battle androids are still fighting in the name of their ancient human creators. The game explores themes of identity, humanism, and philosophy through a really non-conventional gameplay experience that some consider a gaming masterpiece. But what exactly is a "masterpiece"? What makes a game, or any piece of art in any m...2021-11-121h 24Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 39: Our Personal Canon! 5 Pieces of Media That Shaped UsHey y'all! This week, between travel plans and the distraction of the Animal Crossing 2.0 update, we didn't have time to record a brand-new episode this week, but fear not! We're re-releasing our favorite Patreon-exclusive bonus episode here onto our main feed! In it, we pick 5 pieces of media (a TV show, Book, Movie, Album, and of course, a Video Game) that hold a special meaning to us and explain why our picks have helped shape us into the queer weirdos we are today. (Shouts out to the...2021-11-051h 04Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 38: Halloqween Spooktaculqueer!BOO! Surprise! we’re back for yet another HALLOWEEN-y episode of Gay For Play!This week, we’re talking all about the video games that scared us; from recent titles like Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye, to classic childhood haunts like underwater levels in N64 games, creepypasta video game urban legends, and indie horror game titles that have chilled us to the bone.We also discuss a bit of news, including the rocky launch of Nintendo 64 games on the Switch Online service, highlights from this week’s Playstation State of Play event...2021-10-291h 22Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 37: "Be Gay Do Crimes - The Game" (Night in the Woods)🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃 To celebrate the spooky season, this week we're discussing Night in the Woods (2017) - a story-driven, sidescroller adventure game where you play as Mae Borowski, a 20 year-old recent college dropout who has returned to her hometown of Possum Springs; a quaint autumnal town in decay along the American Rust Belt -- reconnecting with her family, neighbors, and her queer cohort of childhood friends over the course of a couple weeks in late October (including of course......HAalloweEeEeen!) We have lots of thoughts to unpack about this really beautiful, honest, and very existentially spooky video g...2021-10-221h 09Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 36: Metroid Monkey Ball: Banana DreadHappy October, listeners! The autumn air is crisp, Halloween is approaching, and we are smack dab in the middle of the fall video game season. There are just so so so many video games to play and discuss at this juncture in time, so this week, we're taking a look at two recent video game releases that we've been enjoying!Eric talks about his spooky space adventures with Metroid Dread, while Laurence brings some vaporwave monkey marble madness to the table with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. We briefly discuss the history of...2021-10-151h 07Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 35: Let's TALK about the BugsnaxThe Bugsnax are out of the bag, and we're FINALLY here to talk about them! This week we're discussing last year's smash indie hit Bugsnax, and how this cute Pokemon Snap inspired collect-a-thon about Grumpuses snacking on weird half-bug/half-snack creatures surprisingly has some of the most heartfelt queer representation we've seen in a video game in years!Before that though, we do of course talk for about 15 minutes about our boy Sora from Kingdom Hearts miraculously making his way into Super Smash Bros Ultimate, because how could we not? But once we get that out of o...2021-10-081h 17Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 34: Mamma Mia, NOT this Mario Movie... (Nintendo Direct Recap!)It's-a us! We weren't planning on releasing this episode this week, but after last week's Nintendo Direct presentation, we simply HAD to get on the mic and weigh in with our reactions to the incredibly chaotic cast reveal of the Super Mario movie.Aside from that, there were also some cool announcements in this week's direct! We go over our favorite announcements from the event, but that being said, the Mario cast discussion makes up about the first 20 minutes of this episode, because truly how were our brains supposed to focus on anything else? (This...2021-10-0148 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 33: "Why Won't Nintendo Let Us Play as Zelda?" (w/ Sam Weller)Hey! Listen!Our guest this week is Sam Weller! the host & creator of one of our favorite L.A. comedy shows, Super Dating Simulator. He joins us to discuss making queer-centric comedy out of anime/video game/nerd culture, before we launch into our MAIN topic of the week, where we'll be diving into a hot button issue for Nintendo-stans Why the **** won't Nintendo let us play as Princess Zelda??We've talked about the Legend of Zelda series on this podcast often, but this week we're focusing on the titular Princess Zelda...2021-09-241h 32Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 32: Rest Mode! G4P's Culture Catch-UpWelcome to Rest Mode! Our Multimedia Culture Catch-Up Corner. Listennnnn... We play a lot of video games here at Gay For Play, but we also consume a lot of other media! The thing about video games is that they are long and sometimes it's fun to talk about other things, so this week, the two of us sit down to talk about the TV shows, books, music, and yes, video games, that we've been enjoying lately.We discuss, amongst many topics: the Drag Race All Stars 6 Finale, Netflix's Q-Force, our thoughts on Lady Gaga's Dawn...2021-09-101h 23Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 31: "Qatherine is Qamp" (Catherine: Full Body w/ Sara Brown)This week we're joined once again by our friend Sara Brown: an iconic comedian & cosplayer who you may have previously heard on our Persona 5 Royal episode! She's back to talk about yet another ATLUS game, the super stylish, puzzle horror RPG Catherine: Full Body. And much like Persona 5, this cult classic misses the mark pretty heavily in regards to how it handles LGBT representation. (CONTENT WARNING for transphobia in this game that we discuss at length about halfway through this episode) We chat with Sara about Catherine's portrayal of straight culture, muse on authorial i...2021-08-271h 33Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 30: Ariana Grande, Fortnite, & the Inevitable Brand-Singularity PointWhere we dropping, gays? This week, Laurence and Eric discuss the recent Ariana Grande Rift Tour Fortnite concert: the latest and most ambitious virtual interactive concert by the battle royale shooter-turned-multimedia social gaming hub(?) We don’t quite know how to describe what Fortnite even really is these days. We talk about Fortnite’s history and what it has become: a massive multimedia global cultural phenomenon that hosts in-game concerts, events, and more branding deals than the eye (of the storm) can see. This of course, inevitably leads us to a conversation on one of our favorite topics here...2021-08-201h 02Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 29: "There's a She-Wolf In the Twilight" (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)~Awooo! Hi heroes, this week we're travelling back to Hyrule, joined by our show artist and bestie NICK ADAMS to revisit his (& Eric's) favorite Zelda adventure: 2006's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Gamecube/Wii! We discuss the game's beautiful, melancholic world-building, queer-coded characters, Link's masculinity (not to mention his sexy sumo wrestling scene), take an unhinged tangent on the Zelda-timeline after promising ourselves not to, and we attempt to answer the question every Zelda-fan must ask themselves- Water Temples: flops or no?We also talk more about the ongoing discussion of sexism and h...2021-08-131h 39Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 28: "Ain't No Anxiety Mountain High Enough" (Celeste)Hiii listeners! We're back from our summer vacation and ooh ooh OOH it's just so damn hot that we needed to cool ourselves off with a nice little retreat to the snowy mountains of... CELESTE!This 2018 indie platformer is considered by many (ourselves included) to be a modern masterpiece. It's themes of self-reflection, anxiety, and perseverance made for a story that queer and trans gamers saw their own journeys reflected in. We talk about why that is, and how the game retroactively served as a vehicle for lead developer Maddy Thorson's own exploration of their gender identity.2021-08-061h 04Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 27: Our Fave 2021 Games (So Far)!!Greetings LGBTQs, Allies, et al. Thank you for supporting this show for the past 7 months!It’s the beginning of summer, it’s Cancer szn, and the time has come for us two Cali boiz to take our first little vacation!In this unofficial “season 1 finale” episode, we’re once again in person together taking a look at the year in gayming so far- we talk our favorite games of the year up to now, our favorite non-2021 games we’ve played this year, and our most anticipated games of the months ahead.We also...2021-06-261h 13Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 26: Gay for Play's E3 2021 RuCapWell folks, E3... certainly happened this year! Whether it was a hit or not is greatly up for debate, but nevertheless, the famous gaming showcase returned to 2021 in an all-digital format. Some hugely anticipated games were revealed & showcased for the first time, some press conferences were big flops, but you can't say there weren't games aplenty- from small indie devs and publishers, to titans of the industry like Xbox, Bethesda, and Nintendo. We, being **highly-certified professional video game journalists**, watched pretty much every showcase E3 and Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest had to offer, and we're he...2021-06-181h 36Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 25: "Mama Let's Research!" (PRIDE 2021: Queer Gaming's Past & Present)In honor of Pride Month, this week we’re taking our silly gay lil show back to its roots and celebrating queer-centric video games throughout gaming history! First, Laurence shares the stories of two of the earliest documented LGBTQ-centric video games -- Caper in the Castro and Gayblade-- exploring the stories of how these two landmark games came about as a form of protest and resilience during the height of the AIDS-epidemic.Then, Eric jumps us forward in time to discuss a modern queer gaming icon: game developer Robert Yang. Unafraid to create intimate, explicit, & pr...2021-06-111h 02Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 24: Too Much Wii U! (with Rawlins and Sam)Hey squirrel-friends! It’s Pride 2021! And we’re kicking the month off with an HISTORIC crossover event. This week, we’re joined by Rawlins & Sam, hosts of the brilliant podcast Rawlins and Sam Watch Too Much TV, to talk about Nintendo’s queerest AND most TV-centric console: the Nintendo Wii U!We talk about why we love this dear little flop of a console, how it in many ways served as a prototype/precursor to its much more lucrative successor- the Nintendo Switch, and how despite being a commercial failure, it delivered some iconic gaming moments!ALSO...2021-06-041h 41Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 23: "Summer Vibez Special!" (Resident Evil & Fire Emblem: Three Houses)After half a year of podcasting remotely, Laurence and Eric are FINALLY united in the meat space! We’re celebrating the historic occasion by chillaxin’ in the LA summer sun and giving you a laid-back, grab bag episode! We share our predictions for E3, our takes on the Pride discourse, and talk about how the new Mario Golf game is named after a brand of poppers. Then we dive into our main topic, where in the spirit of playing games together, Eric attempts to convince Laurence to check out the Resident Evil franchise, and Laurence tries...2021-05-271h 10Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 22: "Cause That's What a Mothaf***in' Monster DO" (Monster Prom)This week, Laurence and Eric play and discuss MONSTER PROM, a 2018 multiplayer dating sim where you play as a monster at Monster high seeking a monster date to take to prom!! We take a look at the game's total open approach to queer dating and gender identity options, explore the characters' monstrous chaotic debauchery, and compare the game to our own (much tamer) high school prom memories!We also cover the Epic vs Apple trial, and talk yet again about Lady Dimitrescu– Resident Evil’s 9’6” vampire woman that the internet is MAD horny for (and rightfully...2021-05-131h 01Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 21: "Edith Finch: What Remains of HA?"This week, it’s just the two of us for the first time in a minute! We share our thoughts on New Pokémon Snap & Super Mario Party’s incredibly belated new online mode before diving into our main topic of the week: WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCHDeveloped by Giant Sparrow Studios and published by Annapurna Interactive, this 2017 narrative adventure game explores the story of Edith Finch, a young woman & the last remaining member of her family, revisiting her abandoned childhood home: the sprawling manor of the Finch family, who have all tragically perished due to what...2021-05-061h 09Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 20: "Kingdom Farts" (with Casey Fox)Simple and Clean is the WAY that you're making US feel tonight, dear listener.Why?Because this week, we’re finally diving into one of our favorite game series of all time: KINGDOM HEARTS! An incredibly fun, beloved, and at times, convoluted series of action RPGs with killer gameplay, truly gorrrrgggge music, and an emotionally compelling story that blends the anime-style storytelling of Final Fantasy with - you guessed it - the beloved characters, settings, and IP of the Walt Disney Company! (really!)We know that sounds bonkers and impossible to parse, but luckily we're jo...2021-04-291h 48Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 19: "Achievement Unlocked: Trans Rights!" (If Found w/ Jasmine Mosebar)*TIMESTAMPS Below*This week we’re joined by our friend Jasmine Mosebar (she/her) to discuss Irish indie dev. Dreamfeel’s hit 2020 visual novel: If Found…: a coming of age story about a trans girl named Kasio returning to her small Irish hometown one fateful December in 1993. We talk about how refreshing it is to have queer/trans stories that aren’t centered around romance or coming out, the game's brilliant "erasing" mechanic, and how this game sets a new standard for trans storytelling in not just video games, but ALL mediums. Plus we talk about th...2021-04-221h 46Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 18: "The Last of Us Part II: The Second One" (w/ Connor Marsh)Well, we’re FINALLY doing it. We’re joined once again by friend and show composer Connor Marsh (he/him) to tackle one of the biggest games of 2020: Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II for the Playstation 4. (A quick note on **SPOILERS**: This is one of those games that are impossible to talk about without going deep into the plot, so please note that we will be fully discussing spoilers from 15:45 onward.)From there, join us as we dive DEEP into discussing this timely & divisive masterpiece of a game, a...2021-04-081h 56Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 17: Straight For Play! (w/ Larry & Erick)Laurence and Eric are out this week, but fortunately they’ve entrusted the show to their (totally real) friends Larry and Erick, who are here to talk to you, dear listener, about video games from a what? HETEROSEXUAL perspective. We know you usually come to this show for queer, diverse perspectives on video games, but the thing is: Straight voices these days are so often overlooked (& even silenced!) in the worlds of gaming and podcasting. So Laurence & Eric, as fierce allies of the Heterosexual Community, are here to give Larry & Erick space to talk about some of vi...2021-04-0140 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 16: Games that Got Us THROUGH the Past Year (w/ Connor Marsh)Y'all, it's been a whole year since we first locked down in our homes last March with nothing but Animal Crossing to keep us company. It's been a tough couple of weeks, & we're all feeling some type of way about this Panniversary, so we decided to take things a bit more casual this week. Instead of focusing on one game, we're joined by our good friend: actor & composer Connor Marsh (he/him) to kiki with us on some game news and take a retrospective look at this past year in Gaming Culture & games that meant a lot to...2021-03-251h 30Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 15: "Nature is Healing, WE are The Last of Us" (TLOU Part I w/ Becca Rowland)Craft your med-kits and molotov cocktails, because we’re tackling a big game on our list this week! We’re joined by our dear friend, Chicago-based actress Becca Rowland, to talk about Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (Part 1!)Widely considered by many to be one of the best video game narratives of all time, this post-apocalyptic action-adventure game explores the relationship between Joel & Ellie, two strangers who become surrogate father/daughter figures for each other as they journey across a version of America decimated by..... a deadly pandemic that turns people into fungus zombies. (Look, sorry...2021-03-181h 41Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastGay for PATREON!Our Patreon page is finally here!!! You can support us at www.patreon.com/gayforplaypod at our $1, $3, or $5 tiers Please indulge us for 10 minutes as we explain to you why you should consider giving us your money! (if you can & want to, obvi. truly super chill if you don't! we still luv u 2021-03-1413 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 14: "Masc-Top Charizard" (Pokémon 25th Anniversary!)Happy 25th Anniversary, Pokémon Trainers! Can you believe it's been a whole quarter century of catching-them-all?This week we're taking a deep dive on one of the most beloved video game franchises of all time (well, for one of our hosts at least.)We discuss all of the Pokémon-related news from the last week including the surprisingly delightful Pokémon Post Malone Virtual Concert and the new video game announcements: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (remakes of Laurence's favorite Pokémon games, the Nintendo DS's Pokémon Diamond & Pearl,) & Pokémo...2021-03-041h 19Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 13: "Hey Kitty Girl, It's Your 3D World!" (Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury)Hey all you cool cats and kittens! It’s just us (Super Mario) bros this week, coming at y’all with a super Nintendo-centric episode. We’re sharing our thoughts on last week’s Nintendo Direct announcements, talking about Animal Crossing theatre-making, and then warp-piping right into our game of the week: SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD + BOWSER’S FURY!This latest Mario outing on the Switch is a polished-up port of the underappreciated Wii U game of the same name, packaged in with BOWSER’S FURY, an all new open-world Mario adventure utilizing 3D World’s engine. 2021-02-251h 04Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 12: Doki Doki Dream Daddies (Dating Sims w/ Carlos-Zenen Trujillo)You feeling the love in the air? It's probs because THIS week, we’re joined by playwright, actor, and self-identifying weeb Carlos-Zenen Trujillo (they/them) to dive deep into the world of DATING SIMULATORS! A game genre we've *flirted* with multiple times on the show before that we've now decided to go steady with for a whole episode. We take a look at why these simple, innocuous visual novels resonate so deeply with queer gamers like us, and how the genre has evolved from its heteronormative, trope-y roots into games that are more inclusive, queer-centric and simply a joy to...2021-02-181h 28Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 11: "We Love A Himbo Redemption Arc" (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword w/ Hannah Berg)Hey! Listen! This week, we are joined by actress, gamer, and delightful friend of the pod Hannah Berg (she/her) as we cover our first (but certainly not our last) Legend of Zelda game on G4P!We’re talking 2011’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii!Despite its reputation as the “black sheep” of 3D Zelda games, we discuss our fondness for it as we reflect on how it still succeeds as one of the most charming and character-driven Zelda adventures, with a gorgeous art style and incredible puzzle & enemy design to boot...2021-02-111h 22Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 10: "Jazz IS Persona Vibes" (Persona 5 Royal w/ Sara Brown)Hey oomfs and besties!! This week we're joined by Super Dating Simulator's Sara Brown to talk about PERSONA 5 ROYAL: Atlus's critically-lauded JRPG about living the life of a Tokyo high schooler who moonlights as a monster-fighting "phantom thief" crusading against injustice. (It's very anime.)It's a game all 3 of us love dearly... even though it misses the mark pretty heavily in terms of positive LGBTQ+ representation. So we get *into* it! We chat about why high school teachers dating their students is Bad™, commiserate over the protagonist's lack of gay romance options, and how Futaba Sakura is de...2021-02-041h 30Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 9: “Time is a Heteronormative Construct” (Outer Wilds)Greetings traveler! Rest by the campfire and look up at the stars with us for a bit, won’t you? This week, we launch into orbit and talk about Outer Wilds, an open-world space exploration game where the only objective is to follow your own curiosity as you unravel the secrets of a little alien solar system that has "met with a terrible fate, hasn't it?"We chat about alien gender identities, space colonialism, how the Straights have monopolized time, the inevitable end of all things, & plenty of other *fun*, light topics.So grab some ma...2021-01-281h 07Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 8: "Running Up That Hell (A Deal With Gods)" (Hades)There is no escape y’all; we’re finally here to talk about a game we’ve been obsessed with for months: HADES by Supergiant Games! We tackle this roguelike action RPG by talking about our *supergiant* crushes on these hot Greek gods, portrayals of queerness in Greek mythology & how it’s represented in this game, and explore why this super addicting game took a spot as one of our 2020 Games of the Year. We also gab on new years rezzie progress (or lack thereof, lol. There was a coup, ok???), THAT rat TikTok musical, speedrun couture, and Real Housewif...2021-01-211h 09Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 7: Stardew You Believe In Life After Love? (Stardew Valley w/ Aurelia Grierson)Howdy farmers, we're BACK with our first episode of 2021!!This week, we're joined by our dear friend, Aurelia Grierson (they/them), here to chat with us about the holidays, virtual theatre-making, and Stardew Valley! This beloved Harvest Moon-inspired farming simulator has captured our hearts & cemented itself as one of the most prolific indie games of the past decade....Sure, it's mainly a game about cute virtual farming, but naturally, we spend most of our time discussing our antics with the game's robust bisexual dating sim elements. Join us as we dissect our self-constructed Stardew dating drama, p...2021-01-141h 17Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 6: Time For the GOTYs, Girlies! (Our 2020 Games of the Year)As Nina Bo'nina Brown once said, "Well, it’s over!" Happy New Year y’all. Before we skedaddle on out of 2020 and never look back, Laurence and Eric sit down and talk about their favorite (and gayest) video games they played this year! (turns out there were a lot of good ones this year, despite... you know, *gestures broadly*)Join us as we discuss our honorable mentions, our favorite non-2020 video games that we played this year, and then find out which games reign supreme & made our personal top 5 lists here on Gay for Play's 1st a...2020-12-311h 50
Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 6: "Time For the GOTYs, Girlies!" (Our 2020 Games of the Year)As Nina Bo'nina Brown once said, "Well, it’s over!" Happy New Year y’all. Before we skedaddle on out of 2020 and never look back, Laurence and Eric sit down and talk about their favorite (and gayest) video games they played this year! (turns out there...2020-12-311h 50Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 5: The Cyberpunk of It All (X-mas Special! w/ Grant Luecke)Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays dear listeners! This week, in lieu of a regular episode, we've got a special holiday surprise for you!We sit down with the dashing Grant Leucke (@grantstabletopworkshop) to chat about his 3D-Printing/Tabletop Miniature business, and we announce a giveaway*** of 3 of his gorgeous mini-figures! We wanted to give y'all a little thank-you present for all of the love and support you've given us over the past month since we launched, so big thanks to Grant for agreeing to help us spread some cheer!Then, of course, we would be r...2020-12-2447 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 4: "Miss Cloud is Giving Us FINAL Fantasy!" (Final Fantasy VII Remake)Whew y'all, this week is a BIG one! We're discussing one of our favorite games of the year: Final Fantasy VII Remake -- a massive, ambitious RPG that endeavors to recreate one of the most beloved video games of all time. We talk about the game's beautiful world, music, and characters, how it reckons with it's own dated & problematic past (looking at YOU, HoneyBee Inn), Cloud Strife's drag moment, and of course, the sexy sexy eco-terrorists of AVALANCHE.Aside from one scene from the middle of the game which we talk about at length (the g...2020-12-171h 20Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 3: Gone Homo (Gone Home)This week, Laurence & Eric share their thoughts on Gone Home! One of the most beloved indie games of the last decade, this 2013 “walking simulator” made waves across the gaming world by revolutionizing how stories in games are told, what *kind* of stories games dare to tell, and how it helped legitimize an entire genre of video games in the process. We discuss Gone Home’s lovely queer coming-of-age story disguised as a spooky haunted-house adventure, reflect on young queer romance, and how the game uses its environment and setting (An empty manor in rural Oregon, summer o...2020-12-1047 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 3: "Gone Homo" (Gone Home)This week, Laurence & Eric share their thoughts on Gone Home! One of the most beloved indie games of the last decade, this 2013 “walking simulator” made waves across the gaming world by revolutionizing how stories in games are told, what *kind* of...2020-12-1047 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 2: "A Bi-Pride Flag On Acid" (Sayonara Wild Hearts)This week Eric & Laurence invite you to grab your skateboards & tarot cards and take a journey with us across the cosmos as they discuss the 2019 indie darling, SAYONARA WILD HEARTS! We discuss everything from the game's psychedelic (& very...2020-12-0344 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 2: "A Bi-Pride Flag On Acid" (Sayonara Wild Hearts)This week Eric & Laurence invite you to grab your skateboards & tarot cards and take a journey with us across the cosmos as they discuss the 2019 indie darling, SAYONARA WILD HEARTS! We discuss everything from the game's psychedelic (& very queer) visuals, its heartwarming narrative, how the game works as a "video game pop album", and why The Gays love pop music so much!All that and more on this week's Gay for Play!FIND US!Eric Solis:Instagram @eric_of_the_sunTwitter @eric_of_the_sunLaurence Turner-Cordova:...2020-12-0344 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 1: "Death of the Otter" (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)Our intrepid gaymers, Eric and Laurence, take you on a tour of all that is good and gay in the world of Animal Crossing on what is this, our pilot episode from way back in May! FIND US!Eric Solis:Instagram @eric_of_the_sunTwitter...2020-11-2657 minGay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 1: "Death of the Otter" (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)Our intrepid gaymers, Eric and Laurence, take you on a tour of all that is good and gay in the world of Animal Crossing on what is this, our pilot episode from way back in May! FIND US!Eric Solis:Instagram @eric_of_the_sunTwitter @eric_of_the_sunLaurence Turner-Cordova:Instagram @afroman76Twitter @afroman76 Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)Show art by Nick Adams (@stickartams)MUSIC THIS WEEK:Animal Crossing New Horizons - Prologue (Phase 7) by Ya...2020-11-2657 min
Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 0: "We're Here! We're Doin' It!" (Queer Games of Our Youth)Laurence and Eric give you, the listener, a rousing introduction to ourselves, the podcast, and two special games that they consider foundational to their identity as queer gamers. All that, plus lots more on the inaugural episode of Gay For Play!FIND US!Eric Solis:Instagram @eric_of_the_sunTwitter @eric_of_the_sunLaurence Turner-Cordova:Instagram @afroman76Twitter @afroman76 Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)Show art by Nick Adams (@stickartams)MUSIC THIS WEEK:Hikari (S...2020-11-2642 min
Gay for Play: A Video Game PodcastEp. 0: "We're Here! We're Doin' It!" (Queer Games of Our Youth)Laurence and Eric give you, the listener, a rousing introduction to ourselves, the podcast, and two special games that they consider foundational to their identity as queer gamers. All that, plus lots more on the inaugural episode of Gay For Play!FIND...2020-11-2642 min