Author Archives: Tom Auxier
Are strategy games and horror compatible?
There’s a moment in the first tutorial of XCOM: Enemy Unknown that felt like a revelation. Skip past the languid tutorial pacing, the stilted voice actor telling you what to do, and instead focus on the structure of the mission.
Are strategy games and horror compatible?
There’s a moment in the first tutorial of XCOM: Enemy Unknown that felt like a revelation. Skip past the languid tutorial pacing, the stilted voice actor telling you what to do, and instead focus on the structure of the mission.
Borderlands 2 might be funny, but it's not a comedy
The more I play Borderlands 2, the more I like it. But the more I think it’s not really a comedy. Borderlands 2 tries to be a comedy, but all it is a funny action movie. There are many facets
Borderlands 2 might be funny, but it's not a comedy
The more I play Borderlands 2, the more I like it. But the more I think it’s not really a comedy. Borderlands 2 tries to be a comedy, but all it is a funny action movie. There are many facets
Universal consistency in Thirty Flights of Loving
I’m one of the Wednesday Warriors, the kind of people who go to their comics shops every Wednesday to pick up newly released serial titles. When others question why I read four X-Men books a month, not understanding the allure
Universal consistency in Thirty Flights of Loving
I’m one of the Wednesday Warriors, the kind of people who go to their comics shops every Wednesday to pick up newly released serial titles. When others question why I read four X-Men books a month, not understanding the allure
Skyward Sword as the end of the monomyth
Approaching the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo made a great fuss about the chronology of its sundry Zelda titles, a thing that precisely no one outside of Zelda fan forums cared about. The chronology of The
Skyward Sword as the end of the monomyth
Approaching the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo made a great fuss about the chronology of its sundry Zelda titles, a thing that precisely no one outside of Zelda fan forums cared about. The chronology of The
Symphony is the face of addiction
I am a nested loop of habits and addictions. I have a serious caffiene problem in permanent relapse. Like most self-identifying writers, I have a suggestively named oral fixation: I’ve been chewing on a straw for the past hour and
Symphony is the face of addiction
I am a nested loop of habits and addictions. I have a serious caffiene problem in permanent relapse. Like most self-identifying writers, I have a suggestively named oral fixation: I’ve been chewing on a straw for the past hour and
Deadly Neighbors 2 is multiplayer without the multiplayer
At heart, I don’t like multiplayer. Well, not quite. I love board games, which, for the most part, require other people. And I love playing games at the same time as other people, like with Kerbal Space Program. Demon’s Souls
Deadly Neighbors 2 is multiplayer without the multiplayer
At heart, I don’t like multiplayer. Well, not quite. I love board games, which, for the most part, require other people. And I love playing games at the same time as other people, like with Kerbal Space Program. Demon’s Souls
Building up, not tearing down in Kerbal Space Program
Over the past month, my favorite game hasn’t been a video one, but rather Vlaada Chvatil’s transcendent board game Galaxy Trucker, a title about building spaceships in real time and then flying them through increasingly deadly gauntlets of meteors, pirates,
Building up, not tearing down in Kerbal Space Program
Over the past month, my favorite game hasn’t been a video one, but rather Vlaada Chvatil’s transcendent board game Galaxy Trucker, a title about building spaceships in real time and then flying them through increasingly deadly gauntlets of meteors, pirates,
Basketbelle is being a kid on the playground
I was never very good at basketball. I played on the junior varsity team in middle school, and I scored exactly three points in three years. It’s fair to say I am a terrible basketball player: can’t shoot, can’t pass,
Basketbelle is being a kid on the playground
I was never very good at basketball. I played on the junior varsity team in middle school, and I scored exactly three points in three years. It’s fair to say I am a terrible basketball player: can’t shoot, can’t pass,
Fixing Final Fantasy: A conversation, part two
Think Final Fantasy is a little bit broken? So do Nightmare Mode editors Tom Auxier and Adam Harshberger. The difference between you and they is that they had the time and inclination to have a minutiae-obsessed conversation about how to
Fixing Final Fantasy: A conversation, part two
Think Final Fantasy is a little bit broken? So do Nightmare Mode editors Tom Auxier and Adam Harshberger. The difference between you and they is that they had the time and inclination to have a minutiae-obsessed conversation about how to
Fixing Final Fantasy: A conversation, part one
Think Final Fantasy is a little bit broken? So do Nightmare Mode editors Tom Auxier and Adam Harshberger. The difference between you and they is that they had the time and inclination to have a minutiae-obsessed conversation about how to make
Fixing Final Fantasy: A conversation, part one
Think Final Fantasy is a little bit broken? So do Nightmare Mode editors Tom Auxier and Adam Harshberger. The difference between you and they is that they had the time and inclination to have a minutiae-obsessed conversation about how to make