Word
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Jay Rooney is Game & Word’s publisher and lead author, is a lifelong, passionate gamer. For Jay, launching Game & Word: the newsletter is where virtual worlds and the "real" world collide!
Jay fell in love with games at the age of four, when he received his first Nintendo entertainment system. Jay states the game world influences the real world and the real world influences the game world. He compares games to movies: visual media, highly immersive, lots of moving parts, big teams of people with specific roles - each one essential to the success. Video games are not quite seen as an art. That's why Jay started his newsletter.
Game & Word’s content dives as deep as possible into the hobby he loves, highlighting individual games’ connections to humanity and the world. History, culture, psychology, literature, and even philosophy can all shape the games we play and fondly remember.
The title, Game & Word is a pun on Game & Watch (a line of gaming handheld games from the 80's). The newsletter explores the game world.
He aims to demonstrate that—far from being a childish time-waster—a good game can be as creative, powerful, and worthy of recognition as a good book, song, or movie. In learning more, we enrich ourselves while also elevating the medium. He approaches a variety of topics from destiny to free will and time travel.
He wants people to stop blaming the game for kids staying on the games all day and/or all night. His view is that there is a need being satisfied by the game that are not being fulfilled in other areas of the person's life.
Jay is convinced that video games as a storytelling vehicle are unprecedented in their power because they are the only mass medium where the audience is the direct participant in the story. They are not absorbing the material like other media, they are in it. It is more immersive. When you are in the game, you are the protagonist. Video games can instill empathy and communicate people's stories and perspectives. He thinks the world needs more empathy now.
There are games that encourage mindfulness and others that tell stories about loss and relationships and existentialism - deeper, fundamental topics. There are games that make people feel cozier.
Through his publication and podcast, he is revealing the surprising links between video games and art, history, literature, psychology, economics, and philosophy. This has given him a unique perspective on how games and the wider world influence each other, which he brings to every post and episode.
A month ago, his first successful angelic invocation was a real eye opener in many ways. He hasn't looked at the world the same way since. He now knows there is more to the world. There are things we are not aware of and sound fantastical, but his experience is that these things are real. He got a glimpse of it. It opened the doors to his perception, and he can't go back - nor does he want to shut the door. He is more relaxed, less anxious. He worries less. There's a certain zen-ness to his inner voice and thoughts. He is more at peace.
His audience and peers, gamers and non-gamers alike, praise Game & Word for presenting deep and complex subjects in an accessible, friendly, and thought-provoking manner. He aims to show people things they've never heard of, or thought about, before.
Stay tuned for Jay's upcoming series on Mysticism and Magic.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop him a line at gameandword@gmail.com
The companion podcast for Game & Word, the curious gaming publica
93 episodes