Everyone’s A Critic (With Harper Jay)

9 snips

Aug 15, 2025

Harper Jay, a former Kotaku colleague and game development expert, dives into the evolving role of criticism in media. They discuss the erosion of traditional critiques in favor of fandom narratives, questioning what we lose in the process. Harper also shares insights on union activism in gaming, highlighting a statement from Arkane’s workers about corporate responsibility amidst global crises. The conversation wraps up with a playful debate over the design of Eevee as a lens for childhood potential. It's a mix of criticism, community, and cute Pokémon talks!

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ADVICE

Frame Developer Voices Clearly

If you work on content for studios, act like an editor: help creators explain how their work was made.
Package developer explanations so audiences can understand design and craft decisions.

ANECDOTE

From Critic To Studio Editor

Harper Jay described working at Double Fine producing content and acting like an editor for developer stories.
She helped programmers explain features so the studio's website could publish accessible developer writeups.

INSIGHT

Criticism's Modest Yet Vital Role

Criticism is an emotional, imaginative conversation with a work that helps people think about the world.
It rarely causes sweeping political change by itself but contributes to cultural understanding and personal reflection.

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On this week’s episode, Nathan and Gita are joined by their former Kotaku colleague Harper Jay for a discussion of criticism’s role in a world that seems determined to reject it – or at least cast it out of mainstream publications like Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press, as well as many video game publications. What does it mean for institutions to cede this ground to fandoms and social media? What do we lose when we cease to respect the expertise that goes into well-considered critical work – or even eliminate the idea of “critic” as a legitimate role or job altogether? Then we talk about the news of the week: Unionized workers at Arkane, a Microsoft-owned studio, released a statement decrying the company’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians – a subject that hits close to home for Harper, who until very recently worked at Double Fine, another Microsoft studio. Finally, Gita explains why Eevee is the best Pokémon design (it’s a prism through which to view the infinite possibilities of childhood, obviously).

Credits

- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & special guest Harper Jay

- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude

- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show

Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.

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