In a world where men are monsters and monsters are men - who is the real monster? Covering the books, the best-selling video game series, and the popular Netflix show, this panel will dig deep into the psychology of the characters and stories of The Witcher franchise. The panellists will talk about the psychology behind what makes this fandom so captivating and answer the question why, in The Continent filled with magic, we find ourselves and our lives reflected within it.

Dr Amelia is a therapist, specialising in all things gaming and nerd related. Alongside this an avid gamer, panellist at conventions and a fellow writer. In this episode we tackle each of those areas in turn as well as a special tangent, nee episode figure point on the legendary Witcher character Regis!

Friends gather to discuss the 2018 GoW and 2022 GoW:Ragnarok games. How they made us feel, discuss themes, music & characters that cross both games and what we hope to see in the next GoW game. Note that we will deep dive a bit so there will be spoilers for both games if you’ve never played and plan to in the near future.

Amongst all the wonderful communities you can inhabit online there can be some variation in rules and standards. It can sometimes be hard to keep track of all the rules and community functions. Luckily, we have our friendly neighbourhood moderators (mods) on hand to help to keep everyone within the rules. But who helps keep mods in line? What about if you’re a mod in multiple spaces with different rules? Being a mod can be an incredibly tough job, especially when you’d do anything in the name of moderation… But what wouldn’t mods do? If anything… This panel aims to answer those questions, from the perspectives of streamers - how to pick mods, and community managers – who mod the mods and of course mod themselves!

This week, Dee and Matt are joined by the incredible Dr. Amelia Herbst of Game to Grow and G33ks Like Us to talk about the industry, the incredible work Game to Grow is doing, and more!

25 years since the original release of Final Fantasy VII few haven’t heard of the game, and fewer haven’t played either the original or remake. While there is much to be loved about the game and its emotional impact on players it can be easy to overlook just how much the psychology of trauma, and recovery is present. For example, there are obvious moments of grief and loss… (Flashback fighting Jenova Life through tears). There are multiple other challenges the party encounter and overcome within the game and beyond. Personal trauma, loss, memory and identity are all called into question. At the core of all this, is recovery and acceptance. Final Fantasy VII has, arguably one of the best plots about recovering from personal challenges ever experienced in a video game. This panel aims to discuss some of the finer nuances and highlight how the true limit break was recovery and acceptance, a new mental health look at a classic celebrating the impact of 25 years.

Applied RPGs are quickly becoming a popular tool for mental health, teaching and many other things. Come listen to the amazing panel that I was able to participate in at PAX West this year. The panel was called TTRPGS: Out of Fantasy Worlds & Into the Real World. We talked about how RPGs can be used as a tool to help people deal with their mental health, learn social skills and study history.

Words To Your Mother: ACTUAL PRO interview with featured guest Amelia Herbst - from March 30, 2020. We talked about violence in geek & gamer culture, covered early pandemic feelings and strategies for coping, plus answered YOUR mental health related questions LIVE!

Words To Your Mother: ACTUAL PRO interview with featured guest Amelia Herbst - from February 17, 2020. We talked about social justice advocacy, plus answered YOUR mental health related questions LIVE!