AUBURN, Ala. — Games journalist and YouTube creator Quintin Smith spoke Tuesday at Pebble Hill about the responsibilities, risks and joys of cultivating creative communities, closing out Auburn University’s fall “Play in Conversation” series. See recording here —  https://www.youtube.com/watch ?... Smith, known for his work with Rock, Paper, Shotgun , The Guardian , IGN  and WIRED , as well as for co-founding the board-game review site Shut Up & Sit Down, reflected on a caree

The latest Talking Games discussion Thursday afternoon featured Meguey Baker, tabletop role-playing game designer. The conversation was led by Dr. Emily Friedman at Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, and it opened the doors for a conversation that drifted easily between storytelling, community and the strange intimacy of shared imagination.  Baker, best known for co-creating "Apocalypse World" with her husband Vincent Baker, spoke just days before th

AUBURN, AL. — The Gogue Performing Arts Center was buzzing well before the lights dimmed Thursday evening. By the time doors closed at 6:50 p.m., the lobby had already been filled with fans collecting free copies of Gabrielle Zevin’s novel "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" and stress toys shaped like video game controllers. The event, “Community in Gaming: An Evening with Matthew Mercer,” drew a strikingly diverse crowd of children, college students, and older fans, unit

ATLANTA — In a haze of fog, strobing lights and Spanish moss, Ethel Cain transformed The Eastern on Aug. 28 into a haunted Southern Gothic dreamscape for her "Willoughby Tucker Forever" tour.  The stage name of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, Cain drew a devoted crowd that reflected her Americana-goth aesthetic in ironic camo, denim overalls, cowboy boots and flowy white dresses. Fans were loud and dressed like characters that looked exactly like her songs sound.   Toronto-based shoe