Gilbert Cruz

It is a medium that some, perversely, still don't consider to be an art form at all.

I'm, of course, talking about video games.

I love video games.

I grew up playing them.

I play them with my child.

I play them for fun and relaxation.

And sometimes, incredibly, I get to play them for work, which I did this week to prepare for today's show.

And with a game of the year set to be crowned in December, there's no time like the present to talk about This Year in Gaming.

With me today are two people who are eminently qualified to do that.

Zachary Small is a culture reporter for The Times who covers art and video games.

Welcome, Zach.

Thanks.

And Jason Bailey, a culture editor here at The Times, edits all of our video game coverage.

Jason, welcome.

Thank you.

Excited to be here.

So before we dive in, I think it would be great to talk about each of our relationships with gaming, how we got into it, what we love about this medium.

I think I could easily talk for half an hour about my history, but let's start with y'all.

Zach?

It would only take you a half hour to talk about this?