Feature

After Pressing Start: Halo CE

Halo: Combat Evolved, the FPS made by Bungie, starts you off with a cinematic in outer space showing people you don’t know, talking about things you don’t understand. That’s okay, though. You’ll figure it out soon enough. The important thing

/ One Comment

After Pressing Start: Halo CE

Halo: Combat Evolved, the FPS made by Bungie, starts you off with a cinematic in outer space showing people you don’t know, talking about things you don’t understand. That’s okay, though. You’ll figure it out soon enough. The important thing

/ One Comment

Death and Storytelling

One of the distinguishing – though not universal – features of playing games is that you die.  The natural phrase people use – even small kids who’ve not learned it via experience – is to say “I died,” not “Mario

/ 8 Comments

Death and Storytelling

One of the distinguishing – though not universal – features of playing games is that you die.  The natural phrase people use – even small kids who’ve not learned it via experience – is to say “I died,” not “Mario

/ 8 Comments

Getting lost in Proteus: An interview with Ed Key

One of the remarkable things a game can offer is the ability to get lost in a world–to go on journeys, to explore. Few games can truly capture the idyllic, child-like magic of a good saunter–most of the time, traveling

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Getting lost in Proteus: An interview with Ed Key

One of the remarkable things a game can offer is the ability to get lost in a world–to go on journeys, to explore. Few games can truly capture the idyllic, child-like magic of a good saunter–most of the time, traveling

/ 2 Comments

Soundscapes – Why Mass Effect 3 might be the best sounding game of all time

Mass Effect 3 might just be the best sounding game of all time. This is quite an achievement for Bioware when you consider how the series started out. The audio in Mass Effect 1 was barely passable and in some

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Soundscapes – Why Mass Effect 3 might be the best sounding game of all time

Mass Effect 3 might just be the best sounding game of all time. This is quite an achievement for Bioware when you consider how the series started out. The audio in Mass Effect 1 was barely passable and in some

/ 19 Comments

Confronting violence in Nier

I’ve killed a lot of people in video games. There weren’t many games that chastised me for killing until Nier, though. Shadow of the Colossus certainly tried, but it’s difficult to feel guilty when you can unlock power ups via

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Confronting violence in Nier

I’ve killed a lot of people in video games. There weren’t many games that chastised me for killing until Nier, though. Shadow of the Colossus certainly tried, but it’s difficult to feel guilty when you can unlock power ups via

/ 3 Comments

Darwinian Difficulty in Metal Gear Solid 3

It’s your responsibility as a gamer to be as sadistic as possible. If you want to know what a character is made of, he must suffer intolerable cruelties. Don’t worry, he can take it; he’s designed to take it. But

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Darwinian Difficulty in Metal Gear Solid 3

It’s your responsibility as a gamer to be as sadistic as possible. If you want to know what a character is made of, he must suffer intolerable cruelties. Don’t worry, he can take it; he’s designed to take it. But

/ One Comment

Into the Lion's Den: An Outsider's Look into the Fighting Game Community

I am imagining Final Round XV to be like something out of Hollywood dystopia, replete with roving bands of unkempt men glaring at me in open and violent animosity, perhaps even menacingly swinging industrial-grade chains, pointing at me, and then

/ 18 Comments

Into the Lion's Den: An Outsider's Look into the Fighting Game Community

I am imagining Final Round XV to be like something out of Hollywood dystopia, replete with roving bands of unkempt men glaring at me in open and violent animosity, perhaps even menacingly swinging industrial-grade chains, pointing at me, and then

/ 18 Comments

Big Brother is watching: how developers use game analytics

Information is a high-value commodity in the digital age. Retailers like Target and companies like Google are regularly on the lookout for information they can mine and analyze to produce effective, highly personalized products. The gaming industry is no different:

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Big Brother is watching: how developers use game analytics

Information is a high-value commodity in the digital age. Retailers like Target and companies like Google are regularly on the lookout for information they can mine and analyze to produce effective, highly personalized products. The gaming industry is no different:

/ 2 Comments

How You Got Videogames Wrong #4: "Your Games Just Suck"

Pissing you off in installments, the monthly series “How You Got Videogames Wrong” delves beyond appearances into the slimy interior of The God’s Truth (about videogames).  This month we’ll be looking how ideas change, and how we should be careful

/ 17 Comments

How You Got Videogames Wrong #4: "Your Games Just Suck"

Pissing you off in installments, the monthly series “How You Got Videogames Wrong” delves beyond appearances into the slimy interior of The God’s Truth (about videogames).  This month we’ll be looking how ideas change, and how we should be careful

/ 17 Comments

We're smarter than you think

Over the years exploration has been rewarded with collectibles. Mario taking a separate path got him to a magical switch. Items you scoured levels to collect rewarded you with items that provided minor gameplay benefits. Exploration made you stronger or

/ One Comment

We're smarter than you think

Over the years exploration has been rewarded with collectibles. Mario taking a separate path got him to a magical switch. Items you scoured levels to collect rewarded you with items that provided minor gameplay benefits. Exploration made you stronger or

/ One Comment