SPAWNPOINT

Latest Episodes:

Gamer Dad vs. Game Developer May 21, 2025

Show notes

Spawnpoint host and Crossplay editor Patrick Klepek is joined by Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred game director Brent Gibson to discuss playing and making games as a parent. Gibson, importantly, is the father to an 11-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, but his day job involves working on a video game that has to be fun for a player who might have dozens of hours available every month, or in the case of most parents, only a handful.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Spawnpoint, Episode 08: The Switch 2 Is Here Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Rumors of a new Switch have been floating around for quite literally years now, but later this year, a new Switch arrives. How much will it cost? We don’t know. What games are coming at launch and later? Nintendo hasn’t said. The more important question for Spawnpoint hosts Patrick Klepek and Keza MacDonald, however, is whether they’re buying one Switch 2—or a new Switch for everyone in the house. We unpack this and more, as we start to think about the Switch 2’s impending arrival.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:01:00 — Uh Oh, Kids Are Growing Up

* 00:02:30 — Holiday Catchup

* 00:06:00 — Mario Party Party Continues

* 00:14:55 — Dress to Impress Invasion

* 00:31:33 — Switch 2 Revealed

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Spawnpoint, Episode 07: Mario Parties Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

For years, Keza has avoided bringing Mario Party into the home, worried how her children would react. Would they fight the same way she used to with her brother? For Patrick, could his children get over the fact that both of them can’t be Peach? All this and more on the latest episode of Spawnpoint, the official podcast of Crossplay, including discussion on our kids’ relationship with video games and gift buying.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:01:02 — Keza finished her book!

* 00:02:41 — Journeys in e-learning/winters in Scotland

* 00:10:00 — Welcome to Mario Party

* 00:23:19 — Pokémon Trading Card Game

* 00:30:03 — Ad-infested knock off games for kids

* 00:43:34 — Video games, kids, and the holidays

* 00:54:19 — Mailbag

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Spawnpoint, Episode 06: Holding Hands Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

Welcome back to another episode of Spawnpoint! Keza is back from visiting the Nintendo museum in Japan, while Patrick is playing a familiar game: allergies or cold? What they have in common, though, are children who are obsessed with Astro Bot, but they’ve struggled with playing the game in different ways. Plus, while Keza isn’t high on the new Zelda, her children are having a blast. We also talk about the weight jobs and careers have on being a parent, and how ours have impacted our kids.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:01:00 — Allergies or sick?

* 00:04:30 — Nintendo’s new museum

* 00:07:30 — Getting into Pokémon cards

* 00:15:00 — Astro Bot + Zelda mania in the house

* 00:36:34 — It’s a Mario Party party

* 00:42:07 — The big question: careers and children

* 00:55:33 — Mailbag

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Even Busy Parents Love Dragon's Dogma 2 Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.crossplay.news

It’s time for another Spawnpoint bonus episode exclusively for Crossplay subscribers, in which Patrick and Keza sit down to discuss one of the few very long video games they’ve played and finished this year, Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2. We’re both parents, but why did we prioritize finishing this over, say, any other game? Being a parent means picking and…

Spawnpoint, Episode 05: What Do We Want Governments to Do About Games? Aug 16, 2024

Show notes

Spawnpoint returns, with Patrick Klepek (Crossplay) and Keza MacDonald (The Guardian) mulling over Turkey recently banning Roblox, increasing regulatory scrutiny over video games, and a growing panic among world governments about social media, to ask a seemingly simple question: what do we want them to do about? In the mailbag, we sympathize with a father simply trying to help his kid make reasonable purchases on an Xbox and having to fight through a load of red tape.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:01:05 — Family vacations are complicated

* 00:10:08 — What today’s kids think of the games we played as kids

* 00:30:00 — The Big Question: What do we want governments to do to help us?

* 00:51:30 — Mailbag

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Spawnpoint Bonus: Making Time For Long Video Games Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.crossplay.news

Crossplay subscribers, you’re in for a treat: the first Spawnpoint bonus episode. This podcast is exclusive to paying subscribers at Crossplay! On Spawnpoint, Patrick and Keza rarely have time to talk about the games they’re playing, so now, one per month, our two hosts will get together to talk about what THEY’VE been playing—not they’re kids! What a c…

Spawnpoint, Ep. 04: Direct to the Heart Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

Apologies for the re-send on this, but it looks like there was an audio goof on this that I did not notice while I was on holiday last week. It should be fixed now. Sorry!!! -pk

It’s been a minute, but Spawnpoint is back, featuring Patrick (Crossplay) and Keza (The Guardian). Patrick and Keza actually met up IRL recently, but neglected to record a podcast in-person! Total geniuses. Nonetheless, we walk through our (ecstatic!) reactions to the latest Nintendo Direct, Patrick’s oldest falling for the latest Super Monkey Ball, and Keza’s youngest trying to grasp Yoshi’s Crafted World. Elsewhere, they discuss what it means to design a game “for” kids, and how so many fall short. In the mailbag, a listener wrestles with trying to make user accounts for their kids.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:01:30 — Long Flights

* 00:09:40 — Nintendo Direct Reaction

* 00:17:15 — Super Monkey Ball / Yoshi’s Crafted World

* 00:32:00 — What is Kid-Friendly Design?

* 00:51:25 — Mailbag

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

The Gamer Educator May 17, 2024

Show notes

You’ve read Ash Brandin’s words on Crossplay, now hear from “The Gamer Educator'' in their own voice, as well. Ash joins Patrick to discuss what prompted Ash to start an Instagram account about helping parents navigate games, screen time, and technology, and in-between dodging school bell noises, the two discuss establishing digital literacy for young kids.

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

Timestamps:

* 00:02:00 — How Patrick and Ash Met

* 00:06:20 — The Gamer Educator Origins

* 00:09:33 — Gamification in the Classroom

* 00:23:11 — The Morality of Screen Time

* 00:33:50 — The Old Internet

* 00:39:00 — Screen Anxiety

* 00:54:39 — Ash Is Writing a Book!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe

Death of the Father Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

Spawnpoint is excited to welcome actor Abubakar Salim (Raised By Wolves, House of the Dragon, Assassin’s Creed Origins) for a touching conversation about Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a video game about processing the grief associated with the death of Abubakar’s father. A little more than a decade ago, Patrick Klepek’s own father died of a heart attack, and the two find common ground on the often lonely path to understanding what to make of such sadness.

Timestamps:

* 00:00:43 - What is Tales of Kenzera: Zau?

* 00:03:57 - Fathers and Video Games

* 00:08:75 - Why a Video Game?

* 00:16:45 - Grief as Game Design

* 00:22:30 - What Would Father Think?

Crossplay subscribers get access to episodes early at https://crossplay.news

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crossplay.news/subscribe