This article is part of a collaboration with the wonderful hosts over at No Small Games. We are so excited to feature these insightful thoughts from Kate, and please take a look at Emily’s article on 5 Women in Indie Game Development Who You Should Be Following in 2026. Find more information on No Small Games and Kate at the end of this article.
My name is Kate, and I am completely obsessed with the concept of video games as a naturally interdisciplinary art form based on their formula alone. With programming, direction, visual art, and music all being components of video games, I’m constantly drawing parallels to live performances, which similarly include collaborative artistic practices to create one unified, magical piece of work. I find myself approaching a new indie game in the same way that I sit down to experience a new play or piece of performance art.
Since video games are my new favorite art form to consume and I work full time as an arts administrator and programmer at a private liberal arts college in rural New England, I wanted to create more space during my day job to incorporate video games into public arts programming. So many folks still have a very narrow idea of what video games are/can be. If I could discover this life-changing hobby in my early 30s and use it to connect with others and experience art, I wanted to see who else out there could get interested in video games and realize the power they have!
Kate facilitating “Art Break”
Before taking this job, I had spent most of my career waiting tables, picking up freelance sound design or mixing gigs, and streaming my video game journey on Twitch. My BA in theater taught me how to be charming, work under high-stress conditions, and be my own producer of my video game content. While all of these experiences and skills prepared me to step into this career as an arts administrator, I still felt insecure about whether I would be perceived as “scholarly” enough to work at a place like this. I didn’t think I would ever be able to talk about my side gig as an indie games media/content creator, and I never imagined I could bring that into my work. However, I have one colleague (and now friend) who has always seen what Emily and I have created with No Small Games as something highly regarded and special that I can and should be incorporating into my job. Now that my colleagues knew about gaming being a core part of my life and my side gig, the wheels started turning in my brain about how I could start to slowly bring this into my work as someone who plans, facilitates, and executes interdisciplinary arts programming for all.
For some in the academic world, specific themes that relate to pedagogical or “prestigious” artworks and artistic mediums can be a gateway into gaming or can create an interest in gaming. I recall many of my colleagues from the campus museum, who had no gaming experience, who were thrilled and interested in the concept of Relooted, as it tackles the topic of reclaiming African artifacts from Western museums. On the opposite side of that coin, I eventually found myself using video games to connect with artworks in the museum, which was something I felt hesitant to share, as someone with no professional visual art experience (my current position and background focuses more on community performing arts.) I know that museums are supposed to be for everyone, but there can be such a rigid expectation when you enter an academic, artistic space. I never felt like I belonged in any museum until I laid eyes on Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery, as I couldn’t help but connect it to one of my favorite indie games of all time, Miniatures.
The visuals evoked a similar feeling in me, which can only be described as dark whimsy. The connection was so strong that I found myself visiting Abercrombie’s exhibit between meetings on campus if I had half an hour to spare, or stopping by before leaving work for the day. I felt a safe and strong sense of familiarity among her slightly surreal and quirky yet profound paintings. Maybe it was just because she also liked astrology, cats, and jazz music and went through a divorce. Whatever it was, I was deeply interested in her work, and it inspired me to replay Miniatures. I even started listening to the game soundtrack on my commute to the office while I daydreamed about her paintings. One of my trusted colleagues and friends in the museum thought that my fascination with Abercrombie’s exhibit and my connection to video games would be a good fit for a free, public program called “Art Break,” where I would facilitate a 30-minute conversation around one piece of art in Abercrombie’s exhibit for anyone who wanted to attend. There were no specific rules, just that I needed to create a structure for the conversation.
I assumed regular attendees of this program would be expecting to begin by looking at the chosen artwork. Because I understand and connect to my surroundings by listening instead of looking, I picked a song from the Miniatures soundtrack that I felt best reflected the feeling that the painting gave me, and I had everyone close their eyes and listen to it before we looked at the art. It was interesting to feel the vibe shift in the room when I asked people to close their eyes at the museum, but I think I felt a collective undertone of curiosity. The 30-minute art break flew by as people shared what made them feel interested and connected to the piece. We talked about routines, relaxing activities, simple pleasures, and being overworked. I shared about how Miniatures was my main connection to Abercrombie’s work and also where the music came from that I incorporated into the program. Many of the attendees were very receptive to this idea, and I had a few people ask me for details about where they could find the game and listen to the music after the program. This experience helped me dig a little deeper into the concept of incorporating games into programs, so I started to develop a more hands-on plan.
Taken from the video game Miniatures
I am a firm believer that indie games can be the perfect medium to express creativity, with games like ODDADA and Sticky Business, you can make your own visual art or music creations in a fairly straightforward and pleasing visual environment, with a UI that isn’t overly complicated. I created an educator professional development program to show these games to a group of local educators and how they might incorporate games into their K-12 classrooms. Although the two titles above are not available on mobile, I tried to also focus on approachable mobile games like Monument Valley and Florence. I know access to consoles can be limited in the classroom, but most people have smart phones, which can be a great gateway into experimenting with indie games. The teachers responded very positively, many of them expressing that they didn’t know video games like this existed, and soon I will have the opportunity to bring this workshop directly into the K-12 classrooms. Some of the major highlights for me were watching a local music teacher make his own song in ODDADA and having a visual art teacher be totally amazed by the artistry of Florence and wanting to play the game for her classroom.
Looking forward, I’m planning a public program in May of 2027 where we’ll play a video game in front of a live audience, inviting audience members to participate in playing the game and then hear from the developers on their creative process. Overall, I feel really lucky that my academic institution is open and excited to partake in more programs that involve video games. In a lot of ways, this feels like just the beginning.
It means so much to me that I was able to experience and engage with a new art form more deeply by connecting Abercrombie’s exhibit to one of my favorite indie games, and I’m so thrilled that some of the teachers in my community are discovering an interest in video games by getting the chance to engage with them. I hope to create more spaces where people can comfortably engage with all that games have to offer in an approachable way. These experiences are good reminders for me that there is no wrong way to find connections and engage with art to discover your next favorite thing!
