Moving Pixels Podcast: The “Girlfriend on a Couch” Edition

Due to some technical difficulties on my end, Jorge Albor quite graciously (and quite last minute) filled in as host for this episode. This is probably for the best, as he probably did a better job at moderating this conversation than I ever could have. (For those unfamiliar with Jorge, you really should check out he and Scott Juster’s weekly gaming podcast at ExperiencePoints.net — it’s well worth your time.).

So, this week features a host of new voices alongside Jorge, some of whom identify as gamers and some of whom do not, as the Moving Pixels podcast attempts to explore the concept of the so-called “girlfriend on a couch game.” As a phrase coined by journalists to describe a particular kind of game, the “girlfriend on a couch game” seems like one in need of some discussion. We decided, though, not to discuss “girlfriend on a couch games” but instead to see if we could find out what kind of spectators these supposed games are geared for by talking to some “girlfriends on couches” themselves.

Not all of the folks here are technically “girlfriends,” though, some are wives on couches, little sisters on couches, partners on couches, friends on couches, and we were even joined by a husband on a couch. What resulted was a lively and interesting discussion of participation and spectatorship (and how they might intersect) in video games.

Many thanks to all of our guests, who include: Dawna Perry, Jamie Dunston, Adrian Dunston, Nicole Martin, Jean McLachlin, and Sarra Williams. And, as always, thanks to Nick Dinicola for producing the podcast. It was a fun and enlightening afternoon of gaming discussion, as you will soon discover below.

This podcast is also available via iTunes.

Our podcast contributors:

Jorge Albor is a contributor to the Moving Pixels blog at PopMatters.com. You can also find his writing and podcasts at ExperiencePoints.net.

Nick Dinicola is also a regular contributor to the Moving Pixels blog.

G. Christopher Williams is the Multimedia Editor at PopMatters.com. You can find his weekly updates featured at the Neuromance blog.

You can follow the Moving Pixels blog on Twitter.