Feature

Killing Mario for coins in Super Mario 3D Land

I have a problem, an addiction really, and I hear admitting it is the first step to recovery. It wasn’t always a problem; back before Yoshi’s Island I was a hale and healthy chap without this crippling hunger. The real

/ 2 Comments

Killing Mario for coins in Super Mario 3D Land

I have a problem, an addiction really, and I hear admitting it is the first step to recovery. It wasn’t always a problem; back before Yoshi’s Island I was a hale and healthy chap without this crippling hunger. The real

/ 2 Comments

Love Interest: Arianna Bell-Essai, the Teacher's Vixen

Every Sunday, Mattie Brice picks a date from a visual novel and breaks down how they represent culture’s expression of sexuality. Today she talks about her time with Arianna Bell-Essai from Christine Love’s Don’t take it personally, babe, it just

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Love Interest: Arianna Bell-Essai, the Teacher's Vixen

Every Sunday, Mattie Brice picks a date from a visual novel and breaks down how they represent culture’s expression of sexuality. Today she talks about her time with Arianna Bell-Essai from Christine Love’s Don’t take it personally, babe, it just

/ 8 Comments

Naughty Dog vs. Audience Expectations

Note: This article contains story spoilers for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was, to put it mildly, pretty well-received. Less known for innovating and more known for wrapping all the elements of its gameplay and narrative into

/ 12 Comments

Naughty Dog vs. Audience Expectations

Note: This article contains story spoilers for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was, to put it mildly, pretty well-received. Less known for innovating and more known for wrapping all the elements of its gameplay and narrative into

/ 12 Comments

Soundscapes: The role of music and how Portal 2 failed

In an episode of the podcast Irrational Interviews Guillermo del Toro and Ken Levine both agreed that 50% of any story is context. A critical component of establishing context is music. Whether the music is calm, excited or if it’s

/ Comments Off on Soundscapes: The role of music and how Portal 2 failed

Soundscapes: The role of music and how Portal 2 failed

In an episode of the podcast Irrational Interviews Guillermo del Toro and Ken Levine both agreed that 50% of any story is context. A critical component of establishing context is music. Whether the music is calm, excited or if it’s

/ Comments Off on Soundscapes: The role of music and how Portal 2 failed

Let me play: 7 issues with racing games

Recently I’ve been taking a crash course in the racing game genre. I’ve gone through over half a dozen titles from the current generation already. I understand that the genre can be a niche, especially with some of the hard

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Let me play: 7 issues with racing games

Recently I’ve been taking a crash course in the racing game genre. I’ve gone through over half a dozen titles from the current generation already. I understand that the genre can be a niche, especially with some of the hard

/ 5 Comments

No more surprises

Pokemon Blue may in fact be one of the most influential games of my childhood. It is a series that has worked hard to create a massive world of its own inhabited by fascinating creatures known as Pokemon. As a

/ Comments Off on No more surprises

No more surprises

Pokemon Blue may in fact be one of the most influential games of my childhood. It is a series that has worked hard to create a massive world of its own inhabited by fascinating creatures known as Pokemon. As a

/ Comments Off on No more surprises

How You Got Videogames Wrong #2: The Vanity Glitch

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 at videogame culture’s heavy, though not altogether unhealthy, reliance

/ 7 Comments

How You Got Videogames Wrong #2: The Vanity Glitch

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 at videogame culture’s heavy, though not altogether unhealthy, reliance

/ 7 Comments

Preview: Defender's Quest

So hard to know what to do with these indie games. Defender’s Quest is a tower defense/RPG hybrid we covered a couple months back, and it’s set to be released soon in the traditional “Indie Beta”, which means it’ll be

/ 3 Comments

Preview: Defender's Quest

So hard to know what to do with these indie games. Defender’s Quest is a tower defense/RPG hybrid we covered a couple months back, and it’s set to be released soon in the traditional “Indie Beta”, which means it’ll be

/ 3 Comments

The Text Says No: Why you can't interpret Limbo any way you want

I like getting thoughtful and intelligent criticism of my work. I like reading what people had to say. It means I had enough of an effect on them to make them think and drive them to respond. And while I

/ 16 Comments

The Text Says No: Why you can't interpret Limbo any way you want

I like getting thoughtful and intelligent criticism of my work. I like reading what people had to say. It means I had enough of an effect on them to make them think and drive them to respond. And while I

/ 16 Comments

Love Interest: Derek Nevine, the Anti-Gamer

Every week, Mattie Brice picks a date from a visual novel and breaks down how they represent culture’s expression of sexuality. Today she talks about her time with Derek Nevine from sakevisual’s Re: Alistair++. Spoilers ahoy! Derek Nevine is the

/ 6 Comments

Love Interest: Derek Nevine, the Anti-Gamer

Every week, Mattie Brice picks a date from a visual novel and breaks down how they represent culture’s expression of sexuality. Today she talks about her time with Derek Nevine from sakevisual’s Re: Alistair++. Spoilers ahoy! Derek Nevine is the

/ 6 Comments