Writing on the Wall: The Secret Messages of the Half-Life Universe

In 1981, a French graffiti artist named Blek the Rat coated Paris in stencil renditions of rats scampering about the city streets. They had no explanation, context, or detail beyond an outline. They were everywhere. Before the infamous Banksy followed

Soundscapes – Music can ruin everything

Music is powerful. It can tell you what type of game you’re about to play, what time its set in and the intensity you can expect from the gameplay before you see any visuals on screen. Great music can be

Building Worlds: Samus of Metroid

[Building Worlds is a series where Dan Cox examines one facet in a videogame and shows you how, from that one angle, an entire society is reflected.] Samus Aran, bounty hunter extraordinaire, is a warrior. She travels in a gunship,

After Pressing Start: Dragon Quest IV Chapters of the Chosen

When the world is falling into despair, the Hero is always ready to catch it. The Villain will inevitably have a head start but the Hero’s accelerated growth will always save the day in the nick of time. Heroes rise

Role playing games without borders

A funny thing happened in Japan: the year’s biggest and brightest Japanese RPG turned into a Western RPG. The moment this crystallized for me came towards the beginning of Monolith’s Xenoblade Chroncles. The main character and his love interest Fiora

The Campfire presents: The Longest Climb

  The Campfire is a new column where we regale you with tales of our video game adventures. In ‘The Longest Climb,’ the Khajiit adventurer M’Rohk attempts to climb to the top of Skyrim’s tallest mountain, and finds himself wishing

Golf and godhood

There is a God and He is in a golf game. You won’t find Him at first, though. Much like the various religions that portray Him, His existence transcends human understanding. He is behind every drive, chip, and putt in

Saturday Morning RPG is Traditionalist Retro Gaming Done Right

Meet Martin “Marty” Michael Hall, a ordinary high school kid with a remarkable ability to turn the mundane into magic. Marty’s story begins much in the same way many of our own teenage fantasies start — in our dreams. As Marty falls asleep, his dream is shaped by a TV show featuring the villain Commander Hood. Marty’s mind intercepts the stimulation from the show, casting him the protagonist in battle with Commander Hood: kidnapper of Samantha – the girl literally of Marty’s dreams – and proponent of shotgun-styled weddings. After getting his ass kicked, a witty wizard sporting an ultra hip demeanor bestows Marty with an “ancient artifact” that can take down Commander Hood – a ’80s styled Trapper Keeper.

Saturday Morning RPG’s emphasis on the old-school Trapper Keeper as Marty’s – and therefore the player’s – source of power mimics the mobile industry’s values in spite of the AAA console market. The Trapper Keeper represents tradition, a return to form, as power. The use of pixel animation makes SMRPG traditionalist. If you want, think neo-noir, only as Tom Auxier pointed out, the lines of influence are clearer for us videogame folk to see than for audiences to see in a movie like Brick, for example. And as Christopher Nolan, a traditionalist in his own right has proven through use of film over digital, utilizing an outdated form can be an effective tool toward innovation and creativity if done well and without a total neglect of modern benefits.

The Grind: An MMORPG Tragedy

This is a story about a girl. No, not in the way you’re thinking. Not really, anyway. I’m not talking about the girl next door or the redhead behind the counter at the coffee shop.  The girl this story is

Journey's Parallels to the Mormon Temple Ceremony

You have probably played Journey, or at least read about it. Its atmosphere is hard to pin down, and  a few people have compared running across sand dunes and floating among ruins as a religious experience. I agree with them,