Opinion
Player-Character Dynamics, Identity, and Sexuality in Video Games
The relationship between the creator, the product, and the audience, are all important contexts to consider during media analysis, especially with games. This is because the audience is an active participant in the media. So if you are creating a
Player-Character Dynamics, Identity, and Sexuality in Video Games
The relationship between the creator, the product, and the audience, are all important contexts to consider during media analysis, especially with games. This is because the audience is an active participant in the media. So if you are creating a
The challenge of the virtual value code
One of the benefits of being an artist is to be able to communicate your values to the audience. So let’s talk about the challenge of transmitting values through games. How to make a player act according to the moral code held by its protagonist voluntarily? Or the reaction: how do I, the player, can make my moral code to be enforced by the mechanics available to the protagonist?
The challenge of the virtual value code
One of the benefits of being an artist is to be able to communicate your values to the audience. So let’s talk about the challenge of transmitting values through games. How to make a player act according to the moral code held by its protagonist voluntarily? Or the reaction: how do I, the player, can make my moral code to be enforced by the mechanics available to the protagonist?
Looking past the structure
Here’s a common scenario: you have to save your loved one but the game keeps asking you to enter that sewer level collect some kind of completely unnecessary item. Or maybe you want to escape your average zombie-infested Police HQ, but has to deal with chess keys first. The task structure thrown upon you matters and should not be ignored.
Looking past the structure
Here’s a common scenario: you have to save your loved one but the game keeps asking you to enter that sewer level collect some kind of completely unnecessary item. Or maybe you want to escape your average zombie-infested Police HQ, but has to deal with chess keys first. The task structure thrown upon you matters and should not be ignored.
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
Post Tenebras Lux: The Jump from Majora's Mask to Wind Waker
Compared to the more earthy visuals of Ocarina of Time and the dark nuances of Majora’s Mask (recently discussed by Nightmare Mode’s own Daryl Heard) Wind Waker can seem an ocean away from its predecessors. The length and breadth of
Post Tenebras Lux: The Jump from Majora's Mask to Wind Waker
Compared to the more earthy visuals of Ocarina of Time and the dark nuances of Majora’s Mask (recently discussed by Nightmare Mode’s own Daryl Heard) Wind Waker can seem an ocean away from its predecessors. The length and breadth of
On Entitlement: Are We Whiners, Or Just Passionate?
Image by Daniel Horacio Agostini, licensed under Creative Commons Just when you thought the word ‘fanboy’ had gone away and gamers could have conversations without throwing trite slurs at each other, there’s a new villain in town: ‘entitled’. It crops
On Entitlement: Are We Whiners, Or Just Passionate?
Image by Daniel Horacio Agostini, licensed under Creative Commons Just when you thought the word ‘fanboy’ had gone away and gamers could have conversations without throwing trite slurs at each other, there’s a new villain in town: ‘entitled’. It crops
Reality Check: Murder We Wrote
I am a murderer. Well, maybe I’m more co-conspirator or an accessory, but the details don’t matter as much as the crime: killing games journalism. Whether you’re reading this on Split Screen or Nightmare Mode, no one asked for your
Reality Check: Murder We Wrote
I am a murderer. Well, maybe I’m more co-conspirator or an accessory, but the details don’t matter as much as the crime: killing games journalism. Whether you’re reading this on Split Screen or Nightmare Mode, no one asked for your
Let games be as challenging as they need to be
In a terrifying piece on the future of video games, Steve Fulton describes the rise of the hardcore and how developers are reconstructing the challenge of yesteryear to make games that matter. It’s a piece that scares and confuses me.
Let games be as challenging as they need to be
In a terrifying piece on the future of video games, Steve Fulton describes the rise of the hardcore and how developers are reconstructing the challenge of yesteryear to make games that matter. It’s a piece that scares and confuses me.
Ten Characters I'd Like to See In Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!
My kids will probably hate me when it comes to TV time. Not only will I be ruling our future space console with an iron fist, but the cartoons that take centre stage on the Holo-Viewer 4000 will be under
Ten Characters I'd Like to See In Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!
My kids will probably hate me when it comes to TV time. Not only will I be ruling our future space console with an iron fist, but the cartoons that take centre stage on the Holo-Viewer 4000 will be under
BREAKING: Hulk doesn't just smash…Now he trolls too!
Film Crit Hulk has a column smashing Mass Effect 3’s detractors in which he explains, among other things, why the game’s ending is actually spot on and communicated the entire point of the three game series perfectly. Unfortunately, the not so jolly
BREAKING: Hulk doesn't just smash…Now he trolls too!
Film Crit Hulk has a column smashing Mass Effect 3’s detractors in which he explains, among other things, why the game’s ending is actually spot on and communicated the entire point of the three game series perfectly. Unfortunately, the not so jolly