Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast

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 of its sequel Overwatch 2. Now that this sequel/glorified patch is out, we're diving into our histories with this franchise, it's non-diegetic approach to storytelling and character/world building, and its complicated legacy in regards to its queer representation and the company responsible for making the game (as we've discussed many a time on the pod before, Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in a slew of sexual harrassment, discrimination, and retaliation lawsuits over the past couple years.)
Later in the show, we discuss our excitement for Carly Rae Jepsen's latest album, Laurence discusses Coral Island, a new Stardew-esque farming simulator, and Eric shares his yearly Halloween recommendations!
The Los Angeles Gayming Society (LAGS for short) is a 501c3 non-profit with the goal of making the gaming industry more accessible to and tolerant of LGBTQ+ people, building a local community of like-minded LGBTQ+ people that share thier passions and interests, and giving back to the local community. For more info on their work, check out their website, follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitch, and check out their monthly events at Akbar in Silver Lake for their monthly Gaymer Night events!
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Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

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CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Overwatch Main Theme" by Neal Acree
"Victory Theme" by Neal Acree

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 half of the show, we discuss a *new* post-apocalyptic video game that's taking the world by storm; STRAY, where you play as a lost cat making their way through an underground city of AI robots many many centuries after the disappearance of all humans from the cities walls. We share our early impressions on this haunting, but deeply soothing (and cute) video game.
This has been a collab a long time in the making and we're beyond glad we finally had a chance to have Travis on. Make sure you give a listen to @RainbowRoadPod if you're craving more wonderful queer gaming podcasts in your life!
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Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

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CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Everything Is Going to Be Ok" by Mick Gordon
"Rikonium" by Yann Van Der Cruyssen

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 play!
We mostly discuss the genre as a whole, but we also take a close look at two dating sims in particular that subvert & redefine the genre: Dan Salvato's twisted Doki Doki Literature Club, and The Game Grumps' queer smash hit, Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator.
PLUS, in our culture corners, we talk about everything from teen films based on classic literature, K-pop, the Britney Spears doc, Rebecca Black's comeback-era, and so much more!
We hope you fall deeply in love with the 2D anime character of your dreams, or at least enjoy us talking about ours!

Find our guest Carlos on Twitter @caroluscubanus and Instagram @carlosdeservesadrink
Catch them in Seattle Shakespeare's Romeo y Julieta by Ana María Campoy, touring virtually this spring!
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FOLLOW GAY FOR PLAY!

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod

Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
EMAIL US at [email protected]

FIND US!
Eric Solis:
Instagram @eric_of_the_sun
Twitter @eric_of_the_sun
Laurence Turner-Cordova:
Instagram @afroman76
Twitter @afroman76

Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Nick Adams (@stickartams)
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Doki Doki Literature Club!" by Dan Salvato
"Dream Daddy" Performed by Baths, Written by Will Wiesenfield
'Poems Are Forever" by Shoji
***SUPPORT BLACK & QUEER GAME DEVELOPERS***
Check out ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area an upcoming romantic visual novel featuring a cast of BIPOC protagonists. Donate to their Ko-Fi to support them directly!

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 our thoughts on the Final Fantasy VII: REBIRTH announcement (which we've yet to discuss on the pod), how the Nintendo Switch is sadly in its flop era lowkey, Pokemon GO memories, & games that are in the running for G4P's prestigious 2022 "Katy Perry Award for Making No Noise" (aka games that have kinda Flopped this year)
We also get into upcoming 2022 games that we're looking forward to (many of which from the recent Nintendo Direct Mini), and of course as always, discuss what else we're Gay For this week!
GAMES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK

• Dark Souls II & III
• Lego Harry Potter
• Persona 5 Royal
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
• Prey
• Elden Ring
• Poinpy
• Rupaul's Drag Race Superstar
• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth / Crisis Core
• Pokemon Legends Arceus / Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
• Nobody Saves the World
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Norco
• The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
• WORDLE
• Diablo Immortal
• Overwatch 2
• Triangle Strategy
• Mario Strikers: Battle League
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Tunic
• Live A Live
• Pac-Man World: Re-Pac
• Potion Permit
• Neon White
• Harvestella
• Splatoon 3
• Fortnite

========
Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Poinpy Main Theme" - by Calum Bowen (bo en)

Well 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 here to report to you on our highlights, most anticipated games, and all the corporate shenanigans these video game companies got up to this summer. So grab a cold drink, kick back, and hang with us as we get into it!
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EMAIL US at [email protected]
Join our lil pod community & support the show by joining our PATREON

FOLLOW GAY FOR PLAY!

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Nick Adams (@stickartams)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, & Martha Turner <3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Good Egg Galaxy" by Koji Kondo
"Believe It or Not, It's E3" from G4's E3 2005 TV spot
"Breath of the Wild 2 Trailer Theme" cover by TandA (composer currently unknown)