As News Editor for Kotaku UK, a feature player on multiple podcasts and recent author of two books that are yet to be released, Laura Kate Dale is an incredibly busy woman. I was lucky enough to sit down with her and have a conversation about everything she does.
What does being a News Editor mean?
My Monday to Friday job is: finding new stories, trying to find bits of news that haven’t broken yet and writing those up, doing lots of interviews and contacting developers- just writing about video games.
How did you get into video game journalism in the first place?
As someone that is on the autism spectrum, I struggled a lot with socialising and growing up video games were a solo activity that gave me the ability to experience things outside of the room where I spent most of my time in. I messed up my exams and left school without any really formal qualifications as such, the the only thing I’d ever really enjoyed was telling people what I thought about video games so I started doing so for free and just putting my thoughts out on the internet and the right people saw my work at the right time that I started getting paid for it and for the last four years it’s been my full time job.
How have you found navigating the Videogame industry?
Gaming has quite a toxic culture around it. I’m in an uncomfortable position in the industry in that I woman who is non straight, who has disabilities, I’m also transgender. I’m in this position where I’m not taken seriously by a lot of men who see a female name on the headline - there’s an assumption that I lack knowledge. Also because I’m a trans woman I occasionally get issues with not having the support structures available that other women in industry have.
What do you find so appealing about podcasts?
From a creator standpoint it’s much easier to have a conversation about an idea and produce off the cuff thought. It’s just conversation, connection and communication. It humanises a person’s ideas. A podcast I recommend is ‘The Empty Bowl’ which is basically a quiet, meditative podcast on cereal.
What was your experience writing your books?
I have two books in the works at the moment, one is a memoir about growing up on the intersection between autism and LGBT status and the other is a less serious book about video game character posteriors! I wanted to create something substantial that would stick around. I wrote my memoir in about four months. After I finished, I put my eyes on this far sillier idea about writing about video game character backsides. The origin of this book was a joking tweet telling me to write about butts. I’d had such a heavy time writing my memoir it was just nice to write something that felt fun.
Which games would you recommend?
I’ve been really enjoying ‘Deltarune’, it was three hours of just amazing- I didn’t know it was happening and now I want more of it. There is an absolutely moving indie game called ‘To the Moon’ it talks about the moon being very similar to a lighthouse in the distance that can be seen that nobody is interacting with which was one of the most beautiful descriptions of social anxiety I’d seen in a piece of media.
What do you think the main positive of your work is?
I’m producing things that people enjoy. Our world is so dark right now and sometimes having something to enjoy is enough.
It was incredibly kind of Miss Dale to talk to me, you can find her writing on Kotaku.co.uk, you can find her on the twitter @LauraKBuzz and her books ‘Things I Learned From Mario's Butt’ and ‘Uncomfortable Labels’ are both available for pre-order now.
