Spotlight on Arts – Gaming as Culture – From Grassroots to Global Conversations with Jason Boomer
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In this episode of Spotlight on Arts on Soar Sound, John Coster and Rob Watson are joined by Jason Boomer to explore gaming as more than just entertainment – as a form of creative expression, community engagement, and cultural commentary. With a long history of running grassroots gaming events in Leicester, Jason shares his journey from early local meet-ups to developing inclusive educational programmes and pursuing academic research into gaming culture.
Jason’s story is rooted in local experience. From early support through community funding to the creation of events like CreatorCon, he’s been working to make gaming accessible and hands-on. His focus isn’t on commercial fan conventions, but on building spaces where young people can experiment, collaborate, and discover new interests through creative technologies – from game development to virtual reality and digital art.
The conversation ranges widely, reflecting on how gaming is often misunderstood by older generations, despite its enormous influence on young people’s learning, identity, and social development. Jason explains why gaming should be recognised as a legitimate art form, drawing on design, storytelling, sound, and interaction. The discussion also touches on the cross-pollination between games and other creative fields – from theology informing morality in game narratives, to Unreal Engine technology being used in TV shows like The Mandalorian.
As the discussion turns to Jason’s academic work, we learn more about the social dynamics of gaming communities, particularly through platforms like Twitch and YouTube. His PhD explores how these communities foster learning and belonging, but also how they can be vulnerable to manipulation, as seen in the toxic fallout of Gamergate and its influence on broader political discourse. What starts as a conversation about games becomes a reflection on how digital spaces shape culture, behaviour, and belief.
This episode asks listeners to reconsider how we frame gaming – not just as a leisure activity, but as a medium for storytelling, education, and civic engagement. As Jason reminds us, the challenge now is to nurture a local ecosystem that supports creative technologies in Leicester, helping young people turn their passions into skills and their skills into meaningful futures.
Tune in to hear why gaming matters, how it connects with wider cultural trends, and what it means to build an inclusive, future-facing digital culture from the ground up.
