6: Lucy James

This week’s guest on Be Grand is a presenter, producer and something of an Oracle when it comes to electronic entertainment (or “video gaming” as your parents call it) - the mighty Lucy James of GameSpot who kindly joins Andy to chat about what made her the person she is today. Lucy hails from the industrial city of Newcastle in England’s northeast and she talks about her formative years there as a wannabe psychologist with a passion for criminology and Star Trek* before a chance encounter with a certain Rockstar Games title set in the Wild West shifted her perspective and a new found love of gaming soon took over. Lucy explains what it is about gaming she fell in love with and how, in an increasingly uncertain world where we need to maintain social distancing rules, gaming is something that can forge ties between people and provide a much-needed source of escapism in dark times. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and of the brilliant achievements of the Black Lives Matter protests in just a few weeks, Lucy also addresses how prejudice and unexamined white privilege manifest in the games industry as well as what challenges await if it’s to change for the better. Then there’s a novel theory on how your favourite character in Top Gun can be used as a barometer for your maturity (Andy does note fare well, you’ll no doubt be astonished to learn) before both contributors put their psychology qualifications to the test and try to determine how they can influence a room full of people. An absolute badass who understands both the fun and importance of games, Lucy is a joy of a guest. She’s deserving of special thanks because she somehow found time to chat to Andy in the same week as she was hard at work launching GameSpot’s charity streams throughout June to raise money for both Black Lives Matter and Covid-19 relief efforts. Details for all the streams can be found on Lucy’s Twitter at the link below. Remember to like, subscribe and leave a nice review!  Stay safe and take care. https://twitter.com/lucyjamesgames https://twitter.com/hiandygaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift   * Look, it’s probably easier if you just assume that every future guest on Be Grand is a Trekkie. It will save us from having to type it all the time.