Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Insightful reality show about gaming culture, community.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Waypoint Presents
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
WAYPOINT PRESENTS is a reality show about the digital video gaming universe. Hosted by Waypoint's editor-in-chief, Austin Walker, it's a TV version of a popular gaming blog that looks behind the scenes of game development, as well as at the thinking behind the games' narratives and aesthetics. It also explores the thoughts and behaviors of people when they are playing certain games or participating in specific gaming experiences. Interviews with individual creators, players, and others connected with the community offer additional details. From describing how a game serves as a metaphor for its creator's personal struggles to detailing how people's reactions to a game can be directly impacted by the inability of technology to catch up to its concept, the series takes a close look at these technological and culturally driven phenomena.
Is It Any Good?
This series takes an insightful look at the various facets of the video gaming culture, which has evolved from a group of programmers and hobbyists to a thriving community. It highlights how technology has contributed to the social norms of the gaming culture over the years, and how the community embraces technology as part of their commonality. Folks also share their honest thoughts about being part of this community, and the goals they hope to reach (aka "waypoints") by actively participating in it in some way.
Some of the Waypoint Presents episodes feature older, short documentaries originally produced for Vice, but others contain original content. Regardless, teen fans of the Waypoint franchise, as well as gaming enthusiasts, will be drawn to the details the show offers about the different games, creators, and players. But older non-gamers may potentially find the conversations about the gaming culture and community very interesting.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way gaming culture has evolved over the past 50 years. What technological changes allowed for this evolution? What other things contributed to what the gaming world is today?
What are some of the stereotypes that exist about gamers? Does Waypoint Presents support those generalizations, or does it offer an alternative to them?
TV Details
- Premiere date : August 16, 2017
- Cast : Austin Walker
- Network : Disney XD
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate