Heavily Pixelated

Host Scott C. Jones talks to Nick Harrison – an actor, stuntman, and fight coordinator in Hollywood – who says that the Star Wars movies got him through his difficult childhood. The original trilogy of films helped Harrison find his way through a gauntlet of nightmarish experiences – – experiences that otherwise may have destroyed […] The post #31 Nick appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Marissa Roberto is a TV host, sports maniac, and certifiable eSports goddess. Some people say that she’s the Canadian equivalent of Cher. Hailing from the flyblown prairies of Saskatoon, Marissa established herself as Victor Lucas’s number one co-hosting choice on television’s EP Daily. Now, back in good old Toronto, Marissa currently barnstorms Tik Tok (@mrob29) […] The post #30 HTFG: Marissa appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Kristen Salvatore was an esteemed games journalist for a handful of years – – she was, in fact, EIC of PC Gamer, as some of you know. But before the journalism boat sank, Kristen transitioned to the business side of the world. Indeed, everything Kristen does seems wise, confident, and terribly considered. But the reality for […] The post #29 HTFG: Kristen appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Ken is a salty, experienced game developer. He’s worked on a host of AAA games in his career. Raised and educated in Canada, Ken impulsively relocates to the UK in his 20’s, and manages to land a series of plum gaming gigs. Early in his career, Ken meets a strong but complicated woman. They fall […] The post #28 Ken & Kieran appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

When I lived in Vancouver, my guest today and I once made plans to meet for coffee on Robson Street. Our shoot ran long that day at EP. Running behind, I raced across downtown, trying to get to my meeting. I was 10 minutes late. I was prepared to apologize profusely, to make it up […] The post #27 HTFG: Ali appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Sarah Dietrich is Scott’s guest on HTFG. Sarah D. and her husband, Dave, were guests on S1: E5 of Heavily Pixelated, where they shared a painfully honest and super sad story. In fact, before you listen to today’s episode, you might want to listen to Sarah’s first appearance for context. You should bring some Kleenex […] The post #26 HTFG: Sarah appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Alex is an IT professional in Toronto, Ontario. He spends his days helping coworkers and consumers solve complex technical problems (and bailing out daft noobs like Scott). Indeed, part of living in modern society requires us to talk to people, like Alex, on a fairly routine basis. In 2016, Alex suffered a devastating loss. Kind/gentle […] The post #25 Alex appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Meet Eve Crevoshay. Eve is the Executive Director of a terrific organization called TakeThis.org. TakeThis.org aims to decrease the stigma and increase the support for mental health in the video game realms. Their motto: “It’s OK to not be OK.” I am a big fan of the work that Eve and her organization are doing […] The post #24 HTFG: Eve appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Meet Harold Goldberg. HG is one of the coolest cats on the planet. Harold’s an esteemed critic, talented scribe, a renaissance man, and a life-long New Yorker. He resides on the Lower Eastside of Manhattan with his partner, Helen, and a cat named Lazlow. You can find Harold’s byline in the Washington Post, the New […] The post #23 HTFG: Harold appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

The great Steve Tilley joins me for a revealing exploration of his own personal self-care habits in the “How To Feel Great” series. Steve, as many of you know, is a superb writer and editor who is a trusted, veteran voice of reason for the Toronto Sun. Steve also served as 50 percent of “Team […] The post #22 HTFG: Steve appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

The incomparable Ashley (Episode 3) returns to the Heavily Pixelated studios for a heavy duty conversation with host Scott C. Jones about her personal methods of self-care. Ashley is, as always, incredibly forthright about the ways that she’s still vulnerable — and she opens up about the practices that reliably keep her on the healthiest […] The post #21 HTFG: Ashley appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

We’re dropping a bold, brand new segment into the show, folks. It’s called “How To Feel Great,” a.k.a. HTFG. In HTFG segments, Scott talks to gamers about their best practices for finding balance in their lives. For the inaugural episode, Scott speaks to the happiest man on the planet – the legendary Victor Lucas – […] The post #20 HTFG: Victor appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Ah, the open roads of the old midwest. No bluer sky in the world than the sky in Ohio, I tell you. This week, a young big rig driver and gamer named Aaron tells Scott his story while he’s putting the pedal to the metal on Route 90, just outside of Toledo. That’s right: Scott […] The post #19 Aaron appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Elise is a woman from Montreal, Quebec. She grew up with a series of surreal health issues including celiac, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more recently, Crohn’s disease. Despite her illnesses, and despite being home schooled (because of her chronic illnesses), Elise did not give up/give in. Elise found her voice. She discovered an inner strength […] The post #18 Elise appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Marianne is a voice actor, producer, and writer based in Los Angeles, California. When Marianne was in her early 20’s, she and a friend traveled to Europe to see a bit of the world. But something awful happened on the trip—something that Marianne has been trying to find a way to live with ever since. […] The post #17 Marianne appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Kira is a poet who lives in the Midwest. But she comes from a hard background. Kira’s father was a drug dealer. Her mom was an addict. Kira is the youngest of six. Not surprisingly, she grew up feeling unwanted, feeling like she shouldn’t exist. But a Kingdom Hearts game taught her an important lesson […] The post #16 Kira appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Steve is a gamer from Toronto who was born with an eye condition called nystagmus. As a result, his vision is severely compromised. Steve is legally blind. Despite his condition, Steve still plays games. And, surprisingly, he does this publicly on his Youtube channel, Blind Gamer. On this episode of Heavily Pixelated, Steve revisits a […] The post #15 Steve appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Jason is a nerd from the U.K. who, thanks to his mother, grew up with a gigantic computer in his bedroom. Then Jason met a girl named Paola. The two fell in love and got married. Then Paola contracted a rare, life-threatening illness that would change both of their lives forever. Though they were housebound […] The post #14 Jason appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

It’s a tale as old as time, people: A sweet kid from the heartland (Matt) moves to Los Angeles and – POOOOF! – magically transforms into a glam rocker. One day the glam rocker goes to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned. But what Matt doesn’t know is that his life will never be […] The post #13 Matt appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

A brother telephones his older sister in 2018 and asks her to help him install Red Dead Redemption 2 on his PS4. But the sister — Christine — is distracted that night and tells her brother that she’ll phone him the next day, promise. But what Christine doesn’t know is that this phone call is […] The post #12 Christine appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Simon and Abi are a father & daughter from the UK, now living in New York City. During a particularly trying moment in Abi’s teen years, Star Wars Battlefront 2 (along with ample amounts of familial love) emerges as an unexpected source of camaraderie and comfort. CAUTION: If you’re particularly sensitive to the subjects of […] The post #11 Simon & Abi appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

In the final episode of Season 1 host Scott C. Jones asks his macho, insecure father about the incident that happened 40+ years ago and what he did (and, unfortunately, didn’t do) on Scott’s behalf. Also: Scott revisits the woods—his Ground Zero—for a final reconciliation. (Part 3/3) Part 1 and Part 2 can be found […] The post #10 Scott (pt. 3) appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Scott returns to rural Upstate New York and sits down with his mother, to ask her a series of questions he’s needed to ask for four decades. (Part 2/3) Part 1 and Part 3 can be found here and here. The post #9 Scott (pt. 2) appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Scott heads back to his childhood home in Upstate New York and unravels a personal story he’s needed to tell for decades. (Part 1/3) Part 2 and Part 3 can be found here and here. The post #8 Scott (pt. 1) appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

When his parents separate, Shane uses a vintage NES game to reunite his newly fractured family. The post #7 Shane appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

After a painful divorce Adam becomes a virtual rock star in a fake rock band, introducing a new significant other to his family. The post #6 Adam appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Sarah and Dave suffer a tragic loss and use a video game set in the South Park universe to grieve. The post #5 Sarah & Dave appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Scott pays tribute to super-collector/PC Museum curator Syd Bolton. Syd talks about a certain vintage PC game that resolves a 30-year heartache. The post #4 Syd appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Scott has a conversation with a woman who explains how BioWare’s Mass Effect series gave her the courage to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. The post #3 Ashley appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Kyle tells Scott about overcoming “gamer shame”, his cancer diagnosis and how the games Fallout 3 and Rocket League helped him deal with the life-changing events that unfolded. The post #2 Kyle appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

For the Season One opener of Heavily Pixelated Scott speaks with a man about his journey through divorce and how games like Destiny, Bloodborne and the Souls series helped him keep his head above water. The post #1 Graham appeared first on Scott C. Jones.

Season one of Heavily Pixelated airs tomorrow, Sunday July 8th. Catch episodes at this link here or at your favorite podcast portal. Here’s the Season One trailer for your listening pleasure. The post Heavily Pixelated – Season One Trailer appeared first on Scott C. Jones.