This week on Post Games:
Act 1: A History of Women in Games Media
Act 2: Mothership Lands on Earth
Patreon Bonus: Imagining a Better Future for Video Games
Act 3: The News of the Week
Patreon Bonus Mini-Episode: A Century of Women’s Media in 15-Minutes
[Editor's note: This episode was simultaneously published on the public feed to give wide access to the news of Mothership. However, the Patreon section and the Patreon mini-episode are exclusive to patrons. Thank you so much for making this show possible. The publishing schedules will return to normal next week.]
Say hello to your next favorite website.
Mothership is a site built at the intersection of gender and games. Today, I’ll be chatting with founders Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah. They’ll provide a primer on the history of women in games media, dating back to the early 1980s. And they’ll share their months-long effort to make Mothership a reality.
To set the stage, here's part of Mothership.blog's mission statement:
Whenever we boot up an RPG character creator (or pick up a TTRPG character sheet), we can’t help but interrogate the choices that are available — and the ones that aren’t. We’ve noticed how many female video game characters, even our favorites, have hourglass figures and pale complexions. We can’t help but consider and interrogate the gender norms on display among male characters in games as well, whether we’re revving a Lancer as Marcus Fenix or swinging a sword as Link… or putting on a Gerudo disguise.
At Mothership, you’ll read writing from a diverse roster of contributors. You’ll find reviews, criticism, and opinion stories about games’ depiction of gender, as well as stories about how these games are marketed. You’ll get investigative reporting on the people who make games in an era when “DEI” is on the wane. You’ll read historical deep dives on the games and creators that paved the way, especially those that didn’t get due credit way back then.
This is a sprawling conversation about games, gender, media, and that deep urge we all share to connect and be seen
Act 1: A History of Women in Games Media
The entire Computer Entertainer archive (Video Game History Foundation)
Just like “planning a dinner”? The feminization of computer programming (National Museum of American History)
No Girls Allowed: Unraveling the story behind the stereotype of video games being for boys (Polygon)
The Border House (archive.org)
Sexyvideogameland (Blogspot)
The Gay Gaymer (Blogspot)
How an Online Mob Created a Playbook for a Culture War (NYTimes)
Act 2: Mothership Lands on Earth
Mothership (mothership.blog)
The Tragic Loss of Teen Vogue (Columbia Journalism Review)
Sweet Baby Inc. Doesn’t Do What Some Gamers Think It Does (Kotaku)
Some Good News for a Change: Better Libel Insurance Now Available for Smaller Newsrooms (Second Rough Draft)
Lawyers for Reporters (Vance Center for International Justice)
Spirit Swap (Steam)
Patreon Bonus: Imagining a Better Future for Video Games
The Origins of Visual Novels (Bowl of Lentils)
a wholesome plane has hit the second cozy tower (GioCities)
Consume Me (Steam)
Hololive Night at Dodgers Stadium (Dodgers)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Hoyoverse Games (Hoyverse)
The Bitchuation Room (YouTube)
The Empusium by (Goodreads)
The Seance of Blake Manor (Steam)
Act 3: News of the week
Fortnite's South Park crossover looks low-key amazing (Polygon)
Netflix confirms The Witcher series will end this year (Eurogamer)
Fallout season three filming starts sooner than expected (Eurogamer)
GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi talks to Patrick Söderlund of Embark and Owen Mahoney in ARC Raiders (Dean Takahashi)
The Witcher 3 expansion rumours refuse to go away: originating analyst is "100% certain CD Projekt Red will release significant new content this year (Eurogamer)
Over 1000 Classic PC Games Are Dirt Cheap On GOG Right Now (Kotaku)
Bonus Mini-Episode: A Century of Women’s Media in 15-Minutes
On the Post Games Patreon, you'll find a 15-minute mini-episode in which today's guests, the founders of Mothership, walk us through the history of women in media from the Victorian Era to the feminist magazines of the 1960s and '70s.
Song of the Week: “OVR Dublin,” Angeline Era
A beautiful song from Melos Han-Tani and the Angeline Era OST Volume 1.
This Week in Video Game Links
My Winter Car is out now - a frosty early access sequel to the hateful motoring sim that has you "spiraling even deeper" (RPS)
A decade on from Gamergate, how has the games industry changed for women? (GameIndustry.biz)
DF Retro: The Original 1998 Unreal - Past, Present And A Path-Traced Future! (Digital Foundry)
The iPad Finally Becomes a Gaming Console with CloudGear (MacStories)
I wish I had played Anthem before it was about to die (Polygon)
Free Game of the Week: DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined demo
"Unravel the mysteries of the past in DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined! Gather your companions and travel beyond the shores of your small kingdom to discover why it is the only remaining island in the world."
What Else I’m Enjoying
Look Back | Official Trailer (YouTube)
The Scariest Part of Weapons Is What It Refused to Explain (Slate)
The “Sob Sisters” Who Dared to Cover the Trial of the Century (JSTOR)