Defenders of Easy Games with Dr Matthew White
Posted: 7 Sep 2022Episode 8
In this episode of Safe Space, Rosie and Sky talk to Dr Matthew White, CEO of Whitethorn Games about the culture around easy and casual games.
We chat about Matthew’s path into the industry, and his experience as assistant teaching professor at Penn State University. Matthew has been in the industry for several years and now is the CEO for Whitethorn.
Matthew discusses the ethos behind Whitethorn and the titles that they work on, as ‘defenders of easy games‘. This leads to our discussion on gatekeeping difficulty settings within video game communities.
We look at APICO, one of Whitethorn’s latest releases, as a cozy beekeeping simulator about breeding, collecting, & conserving bees, and how games can make a real-world impact. Matthew tells us about his mental health journey, and how he wants to see the industry change for the better. Matthew also discusses how he is creating a workplace culture that actively challenges the ideology behind crunch, tying in closely to the charity’s Level Up Mental Health Program.
“While our games might challenge you, they’ll respect your time, they’ll make sure you can play, and most importantly, they’ll never punish you.
Links
Whitethorn – check out what Whitethorn are working on over on their website
APICO – take a peek at APICO, one of the games discussed within the podcast; the beekeeping simulator
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