Writing About Games

codacorolla — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:48:36 -0800

As the conversation about the state of games criticism continues, there is a site that acts as a platform for some of the best writing in the field by theorists, critics, and independent developers: Nightmare Mode dot net. Nightmare Mode refers to a group of outsiders, insiders, aliens, starfighters, and the occasional human being who refuse to work within the marketing machine. Fuck that. We write thoughtfully, meticulously, critically, sometimes absurdly about games, their industry, and their surrounding culture.

_{@nitemaremodenet}

Here are some recent posts from the last month or so, with a bit of annotated info: Dot Matrix Story: Final Fantasy Legend, by Andrew Vanden Bossche -- Andrew writes about the place that Final Fantasy Legend (wiki, gameplay) held for him as a child visiting his relatives in California. I Speak for the " ... ", by Allois Wittwer -- Wittwer examines the often maligned silent video game protagonist using the lens of Dragon Quest V (wiki, gameplay). Borderlands 2 - An Extended Engagement, by alex -- Falling out of and then back in to love with Borderlands 2 (wiki, gameplay) Downtime is disappearing in modern games. Is that really a good thing?, by Craig Bamford -- Bamford explores the change in pacing brought about by social and mobile gaming, leading to more activity and less 'down time'. You Know What’s Gross? We Often Play Nice Guys™ In Games With Romance Options, by Kim Moss -- On the idea of kindness as a sexual currency that's found in many games. Male gaze and gaming recently on the Blue. And less recently. What can we consider ‘negative space’ in games?, by Matthew Schanuel -- A exploration of the concept of 'ma' in game design. Eating in a game should mean more than just food, by Rachel Helps -- Helps looks at how food can be used in games as more than just a stat boost (also explored well over at Magical Wasteland). Romero's Wives, by Cara Ellison -- A poem about what it means to be a woman playing games and working in the industry (and more). A play on Kerouac's poem, hadda be playing on your jukebox. Similar topic recently on the Blue. How would a plant love someone?, by Dennis Farr -- Farr examines sex, gender, and world building with Guild Wars 2 (wiki, gameplay) and the fantasy race of the Sylvari. A recent discussion about identity in gaming. Breaking out of a self-centered gamer mentality., by Richard Clark -- Clark writes about the self-centered nature of gaming, and the harsh conflict of game-reality with real-reality, resolving with a story about To the Moon. Are video games dumb? At the Intersection of Police Brutality and Vigilante Tourism in Games, by Ethan Gach -- On fascism, vigilante justice, and wish fulfillment, using Arkham City (wiki, gameplay) as a point of discussion. What games teach us about guns vs real guns, by Bill Coberly -- A reflection on why the primary verb in so many games is to shoot one thing at another thing, and what this means for our conceptions of guns, violence, and embodiment in game-spaces. Referencing the sublime QWOP. Spec Ops: The Line as an attempt to address this in-game. Creation Under Capitalism and the Twine Revolution, by Porpentine (previously and previously, as an aside I can't recommend the second previously enough) -- A beautiful love letter to interactive fiction, a tutorial, a guide, and a bibliography; specifically referencing the IF software Twine. Games for adults, by Jonas Kryatzes -- An extended joke which reflects upon the role of narrative in games. See also. See also. See Also. Gaming the System, by merritt kopas -- merritt looks at serious gaming by examining Dsy4ia, by Anna Anthropy. Dsy4ia is a beautiful game about the designer's experiences with being transgendered in modern society. The depiction of religion in games is awful for non-religious and religious alike, by Jordan Rivas -- Depictions of religion in game-spaces. Labyrinth of Someone Else’s Memory: Mother, by J Chastain (previously, and previously)-- "Existing within Mother’s world means embodying the image of someone else’s childhood, his stumbling steps into adolescence, the expectations that have been inscribed onto his brain. I’m someone for whom attempting to exist as a good heterosexual boy was rather self-destructive, and part of playing Mother made the deep inscriptions burnt into my own brain light up. It’s the promise, repeated here as I saw it repeated a thousand times elsewhere, that understanding heterosexual desire is a gateway into adulthood. It’s the absolute inevitability of and my perfect, effortless entitlement to the care and adoration of women." Referring to Mother (wiki, gameplay). Highly recommended. Lost for words: new relationships and Journey, by Alan Williamson -- How words fail in describing the experience of game play. Referrs to Journey (wiki, gameplay) Call of Duty 6: Modern Warfare 2: ass2ass.gif, by Greg Petrovic -- On the fake morality of No Russian. No Exit: How Games Can Change Us, by Mattie Brice -- Brice gives a wonderful analysis on the bleed between the real and the sim. Raph Koster expresses similar ideas. Maybe a bit about the games/art dichotomy. No Exit: How Games Can Change UsHow our perception of space in games changes depending on our maps, by Line Hollis -- Using Morrowind (previously, previously, and previously) as a focal point, Hollis looks at the way that our perception of geography is shaped within game-space by both physical and digital artifacts. Play is excavation: the search for game poetry, by Dylan Holmes -- "My premise while writing this book was to portray these games as being something other than the insipid and pointless rot-your-brain-run-your-eyes-waste-your-life-whydontcha entertainments that many of the adults of my youth saw them as, but as the works of art they truly are." Holmes examines the game as poetry, referencing the work of noted games scholar Ian Bogost (previously, previously and previously). Sometimes games want you to think they’re critiquing violence, but instead they legitimize it, by Cameron Kunzelman -- Kunzelman writes about the 'epic win' of the ten billionth digital covenant death, as celebrated by Jane McGonical. Relates specifically to the strange internal logic of the new XCOM game. Planting Seeds: A mobile game that supports Kenyan women, by Jill Schar -- On gameful design, as imagined by Jane McGonical, and gamification. The Heart of Torchlight 2’s Darkness, by Dan Cox -- The troubling mechanic of progression through killing. Examined within the game-world of Torchlight 2 (wiki, gameplay). Borderlands 2 might be funny, but it’s not a comedy, by Tom Auxier -- Auxier writes about genre: shooter, comedy, action movie, farce. Draws upon the hillarious game Tokyo Jungle. In defense of old values: talking with Pid’s Kian Bashiri, by Fernando Cordeiro -- An interview with Pid's developer Kian Bashiri. Dark Souls – the Hollowed Killer of Lordran (previously), by alex -- A narrative about the narrative of Dark Souls. Praise the Sun! There are many more at Nightmare Mode.

The Wisdom of the Crows

Sebmojo — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:32:40 -0800

Rockpapershotgun on gaming in 2012. Alec Meer from Rockpapershotgun with 9 ways in which 2012 has been a pivotal year for PC games. 1) The year of comebacks 2) The year of the MOBA 3) The year the PC returned to ascendancy 4) The year free to play made sense 5) The year the role of violence in games was questioned by games 6)The year always-on perhaps won more battles than it lost 7) The year fan pressure was taken seriously 8) The year that gender roles and perception took baby steps towards equality 9) The year of new independence – and its silent masters For other recent RPS highlights see their thoughts on Dishonored (Deus Ex meets Thief) and Xcom: Enemy Unknown ("suck it" meets "that's Xcom, baby!")"

When the aliens attacked, the hyphen was the first casualty.

thecjm — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:04:30 -0800

X-Com: UFO Defense, one of the most beloved strategy games of the 90s, was being remade as a first person shooter. That project has been pushed back to 2013. Instead, a 3D turn-based "reimagining" is in the works from Sid Meier's Firaxis Games - XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Rock, Paper, Shotgun has been covering the heck out of this game. Go here to see all of their articles, interviews, and commentary on its development.

Overwatch

Artw — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:29:54 -0800

Disappointed by the new, real time FPS direction of X-COM? Tired of waiting for Xenonauts? If you want your Laser Squad style squad based tactical action right now why not try Xenosquad?

MetaFilter posts tagged with XCOM

Writing About Games

The Wisdom of the Crows

When the aliens attacked, the hyphen was the first casualty.

Overwatch