Mind Controllers

Brandon Craw and Joe Moreno
  • 5.0 (2)
  • VIDEO GAMES
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Welcome to a podcast about shining the light behind the psychological aspects of some of our favorite video games! Hosts Brandon Craw (MA Clinical Psychology) and Joe Moreno (MA and Associate Therapist) dive deep into video games, exploring the background behind some characters, point out which parts of their traumatic life can be attributed to their potential mental illness or explain their behavior, and discuss the human factors behind video game design. Then, we like to chat about what we're playing now. Come join us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Scatterbrained - The World's on Fire

    10H AGO

    Scatterbrained - The World's on Fire

    Jordan returns to chat with Brandon, Courture, and Tim as we digest all the insanity going on in the gaming industry now. Then we do a quick Mewgenics chat before a rapid fire Steam Next Fest discussion. Article of the Week - 01:02 Xbox - 12:27 Discord and Moderation - 21:24 Steam - 27:43 Pokemon - 35:32 Yearly Releases - 39:46 Bluepoint RIP - 46:40 All These Closures - 51:12 Games Industry Compared to Others - 55:49 Mewgenics - 1:00:52 Steam Next Fest - 1:07:35 Wrapping Up and Thank You - 1:16:22 Games we talked about this week: Mewgenics, Menace, Dobbel Dungeon, Titanium Court, Airframe Ultra, Deep Dish Dungeon, Far Far West, Denshattack Check out NerveLabs, an awesome indie game studio! And join their discord here! Listen to Tim’s great album here! Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link! Article of the Week: Level Design Processes and Challenges: A Cross Section of Game Development If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 19m
  2. Scatterbrained - This Charming Demon

    FEB 20

    Scatterbrained - This Charming Demon

    Joe returns for another episode as Brandon finds an article about Indie Games and mental health. We chat about Mewgenics, Joes love for Kingdom Hearts 1 and the fun of diving into Helldivers 2 for the first time, and then close it with Demon Tides, a brand new 3d platformer that has a lot of charm. Come hang out with us! Article of the Week - 03:29 Mewgenics - 10:49 Kingdom Hearts - 27:16 Helldivers 2 - 32:05 Yakuza 3 Kiwami and Kingdom Hearts 2 - 35:28 Yugioh Master Duel - 37:27 Demon Tides - 40:35 Wrapping Up and Thank You - 56:07 Games we talked about this week: Mewgenics, Kingdom Hearts, Demon Tides Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link! Article of the Week: Mindspacing and Play -- Indie Games in the Context of Mental Health Depiction by Moritz Wischert-Zielke If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  3. Scatterbrained - Sad Human Hour

    FEB 13

    Scatterbrained - Sad Human Hour

    WARNING: This episode deals heavily with loss, and mentions of death, grief, and suicide ideation. Please take care of yourselves as you are listening through. Slight Spoilers for: Ghost of Yotei We get fully in our feels this week as Tim joins us to chat about grief in video games! We go for a full mask off discussion of how video games have affected our lives, in both good and bad. I’d love for you to join us as we share some of the defining moments of our lives that surround video games. Also, this is a heavy episode. Please take care while listening, and don’t be worried to take a break if needed. Games we talked about this week: Ghost of Yotei Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link! Article of the Week: Unraveling Grief: Design Space Analysis of Death-themed Games If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 1m
  4. Scatterbrained - Short That Baby!

    FEB 6

    Scatterbrained - Short That Baby!

    We have a new guest this week, so please welcome Jordan Fanaris! Jordan tells us all about how he became a level designer, his previous work making the popular Black Mesa mod, his time at Heart Machine (makers of Hyper Light Breaker), and the state of the industry now! We then close it with a bit of Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, a new game by Strange Scaffold and Xalavier Nelson Jr. Games we talked about this week: Metaphor Refantazio, Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator Check out Jordan’s indie studio, NerveLabs, on Steam Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link! If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 14m
  5. Scatterbrained - I'm Afraid of the Dark

    JAN 30

    Scatterbrained - I'm Afraid of the Dark

    It’s the Brandons again! Here with the article of the week about co-op gameplay, hot takes on Highguard, a fusion of SCP and Half-Life, and an interesting new Metroidvania. It’s been wild out there, so come have a seat with us. Games we talked about this week: Popucom, Highguard, Abiotic Factor, Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, Nocturnal 2 Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link! Article of the Week: Exploring Compatible Interaction Preferences with a Puzzle Video Game If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 9m
  6. Scatterbrained - Muppets Again

    JAN 23

    Scatterbrained - Muppets Again

    Tim joins us for his first pod of the year as we chat about an interesting game study on the use of touch and smell in VR, Tim’s obsession with Battletech, and more! It was a great pod, so I hope you hang out with us as we go down this weird rabbit hole! Games we talked about this week: Battletech, Ghost of Yotei Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Goodnight Universe here at this link! Article of the Week: Research on the interaction design of VR plant installation under the perspective of embodiment If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 10m
  7. Scatterbrained - Break Week

    JAN 16

    Scatterbrained - Break Week

    Sorry, it's been a busy week. There are a lot of exciting things coming up with us, so please stay tuned! I appreciate you all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    3 min
  8. Scatterbrained - Ghost of Bonktei

    JAN 9

    Scatterbrained - Ghost of Bonktei

    Slight Spoilers for:  It’s the attack of the Brandons, coming at you for the first Scatterbrained of 2026! We briefly discuss the article of the week, recap Fantasy Critic from last year, and then dive into what we picked up and played over the Winter Break! Join us as we leap into the New Year! Games we talked about this week:Ghost of Yotei, Megabonk, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Abiotic Factor, Nine Kings, Ship of Fools, Palworld, Split Fiction Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Goodnight Universe here at this link! Article of the Week: Environmental Storytelling and Active Spectatorship in Walking Simulators and Exploration Theatre If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/  Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch.  Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker! Tracks are:  "We Decide" by Tatami Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min
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Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to a podcast about shining the light behind the psychological aspects of some of our favorite video games! Hosts Brandon Craw (MA Clinical Psychology) and Joe Moreno (MA and Associate Therapist) dive deep into video games, exploring the background behind some characters, point out which parts of their traumatic life can be attributed to their potential mental illness or explain their behavior, and discuss the human factors behind video game design. Then, we like to chat about what we're playing now. Come join us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Brandon Craw and Joe Moreno
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Brandon Craw and Joe Moreno
  • Show Website
    Mind Controllers