Dr. Rachel Kowert

🚨 NEW RESEARCH ALERT 🚨 Today we released our first DLC Industry Insight report focusing on Codes of Conduct. Codes of conduct have long been treated as legal boilerplate at worst, paperwork at best, but what they actually are is critical infrastructure. dlcleadership.org/research/cod...

I've always been a fan of Phineas and Ferb but I caught the episode yesterday (for the first time) that had this scene and it's the best thing that's ever been made for television yes I will die on this hill youtu.be/yoviw0D3Vk0?...

Dressmaker for GOTY

Is there anything better than a new book to read?? Hot off the press from the Media Debates series from Routledge! share.google/ix8qnoe7b1RM...

More and more I find myself dreaming of more magical times. Take me back.

Technically, a dictionary is a book of spells.

I was able to sit down for hours with the minds behind Civ, including Sid Meier, to make this video — and I only kind of teared up several times youtu.be/SdfxTXCw15s

While EA shuts down BioWare, developers of The Sims, Skate, and Battlefield say they've also lost their jobs https://bit.ly/4z5IIpJ

🦥 HIRING 🦥 We're looking for a Senior Networked Gameplay Programmer! Help support Among Us and future titles. 💻 Remote, full-time 💻 5+ years of experience; excellent knowledge of server-side programming and C# Closes Nov 13! Apply and join our friendly team 👇 innersloth.bamboohr.com/careers/35

In this first episode of Your Turn with Allison Aubrey, we explore the science of the flow state with violinist Diane Allen, who lost her flow and then tried to find it again, and also from Dr. Richard Huskey, who studies the flow state and how each of us can find it. n.pr/4sdBrl6

A Scaramucci is ten days (july 21-31). Zacharia was appointed on Oct 9 and lasted till October 16. So a Zacharia is seven days, or 7/10ths of a Scaramucci.

it is time

Visited my #1 this week

🚍 THANK YOU BUS DRIVER IS NOW AVAILABLE! 🚍 If you’ve ever loved anything we’ve ever done, now is a critical time to support us. It’s $4.99 USD for bite-sized bus driving shenanigans. Want to help us reach more players? Your shift starts now! Buy TYBD: https://doublefine.com/tybd

My husband got into a car accident yesterday, and I’m eternally thankful he didn’t get hurt. A truck backed up into the driver’s side. It was a huge scare, as it was so bad crash that our car got totaled. Screw the car, I didn’t lose my loved one. That said, consulting gigs are now needed.

I have wish listed SO MANY new games from #PAXAus! Some highlights!

Australia is great and all until you have to wake up at 3am to start your two day journey home. Mood. 🍌

🇦🇺🫶🎮 @amandafarough.ca

question for *senior* community managers... if you stayed in community: - what makes you stay? can be fun things but thinking concrete stuff like opportunities, new challenges, $, etc if you left community/pivoted: - why? lack of upwards mobility? lack of agency? lack of studio support? layoffs?

Today I got to take the stage with @geogrify.bsky.social for Careers + Frontiers and bring some tenacious female energy to the room. We talked about game dev, mental health, and what potatoes we would grow in the apocalypse. Grateful everyday that the gaming community is my community.

Having such a lovely time at Melbourne games week! @liamesler.bsky.social @amandafarough.ca

Nine games that changed who we are? There are so many more than 9... but as you can tell from the image, Final Fantasy has changed who I am foundationally as a human being (It's ridiculous that Zelda isn't on my list or Witcher 3 isn't here... but I started picking CHRONOLOGICALLY... Geralt 4 Life)

At GCAP this week, there's been quite a bit of chatter around how game design decisions impact community culture. Let's not forget that reporting categories are an important part of that conversation. #gamedev substack.com/@psychgeist/...

Post a vampire #EricNorthman

Post a vampire #EricNorthman

Happy Newsletter Day! Research, news, and other comings and goings you may have missed in the world of video games/game studies over the last month substack.com/@psychgeist/...

Are you or have you ever been a narrative designer (as your official job title)? I would like to interview you for a video! Pls reply to this if you’re interested ❤️.

This triforce analogy continues to hold strong in the work that I do. What triforce analogy, you ask? This one: substack.com/@psychgeist/...

I'm off again and will be speaking about the DLC Leadership Program at GCAP (Games Connect Asia Pacific) the first week of October! You can learn more about the event here: gcap.com.au

What a wonderful couple of days learning, laughing, and galavanting across Helsinki for the first TIGG summit! Extra special shout out to our generous hosts Supercell, it was the perfect venue to give the first public presentation of the pilot data for the DLC Leadership Program.

*ahem ahem* louder for those in the back. #trustandsafety #tigg

DIGRA featured my experiment on their page! There’s something so fulfilling about seeing your work be supported by an organization that you respect as much as I respect DIGRA. Special s/o to @drkowert.bsky.social for the suggestion And a special s/o to all of whom have shared my study!

The DLC Leadership Program is the first evidence-based certification for the people who hold digital communities together and the people whose decisions shape it. Developed for gaming communities. Applicable far beyond them. FREE TO TAKE. Join the waitlist. www.dpcleadership.org

Obituary: Actor Tim Curry, celebrated for his work in games, has passed at age 80

obviously yes

Call for Proposals! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Star Trek: The Next Generation – Play Story Press share.google/9rhq5CMeLLVH... There's still time to submit a proposal!

Happiest of name days...to me! Apparently I've hit the age where brain teasers are the recommended gift 🤣

It is time.

HAPPY NEWSLETTER DAY! This month we are talking about: 🇩🇪 Getting lost at gamescom 🎮 Games and play are the key to happiness 📚 Lots of new research (and a psychgeist of pop culture announcement!) rachelkowert.substack.com/p/tldr-augus...

To all the parents worried about the impact of #videogames... We have been led astray by a biased information ecosystem. Games are wonderful places to grow, learn, and connect and are not destroying a generation of young people (truly). youtu.be/8tDesUJG-gI?...

But do I need it

The Psychgeist of Pop Culture is a series from Play Story Press that combines the three things I love most: science, fandom, and equitable access to information (all PDFs are free). You can learn more at www.rkowert.com/books

A day in the life youtube.com/shorts/1LpgR...

Players read the room, not the rules. youtube.com/shorts/2cjLy...

Blessed we shared the timeline with such incredible humans. Devastated we no longer share the air with them. Dolly was an angel among mortals. Tim has had my full heart since I was first introduced to him in 1998. The world is a little dimmer. But their light will live on 🥰

Sup, #gamescom