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Welcome to the Soma SoulWorks Podcast! This podcast serves to help people, particularly those who may label themselves as "creatives," to seek wholeness and calling so they are ready to embrace the mission God has for them. Consider this podcast a rogue harmony of professional development and self-care, hosted by John Bergquist and Chris Skaggs.

What’s covered in this episode: 

• In part two of the series, Brandon, Mark, Neil, James, and Chris reflect on “An Achievement Guide For Redemptive Game Developers” and its list of seven sins and the virtues that counteract them. This episode focuses on “connection over isolation”.
  • “Instead of individualism and isolation facilitated and encouraged by screens and controllers, we practice the presence of others IRL. With a special effort to share a space with those who are not part of our work, we pursue diversity across class, gender, and ethnicity in our friendships, partnerships, and mentoring relationships.”
• Video games are highly incentivized environments; they present a no-risk, quick-reward system. They’re easy escapism with effective reward loops. It’s like in theater—embodying a character has the same low-risk, high reward system.
• A video game’s escapism is that much more tempting in a world where we’re faced with so much trauma and tragedy.
• The Soma team discusses the history of the female player demographic and female representation in games—how the industry ignored its female players and largely objectified their characters. While this has never necessarily been remedied, Brandon observes, women are now exploited as an audience as well as the rest of gamers; the industry realized it could be profiting from them.
• We’re in a unique stage in history where diversity and equality are pushed and encouraged, as scriptures has expressed it should be. Galatians 3:28 (ESV) reads, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Resources mentioned:

• Sign up for the Tempus Divum newsletter 
• “The Only Guide to Gamergate You Will Ever Need to Read” by The Washington Post
• “The WHO is recommending video games as an effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19, one year after adding 'gaming disorder' to its list of addictive behaviors” by Business Insider

Email us ideas, questions or suggestions at tempusdivum@somagames.com