Feedback Loop: Long Live the Shooter, the Shooter is Dead

The dispatches from E3 seem to indicate that the shooter remains the same. How long can its dominance last? What comes next?

Is it High Noon for shooters? In his latest post on Brainy Gamer, Michael Abbott seems to think so. He compares the current generation of shooter games to Westerns in 1959, the last year before they started to disappear.

Steamroll: The Demo Run

Welcome to the 2nd entry in the Steamroll, your weekly look into the $10-or-less indie releases on Steam. Although the paid offerings this week are pretty slim (only one $10 game released), there was also a slew of demos released.

Skullgirls and the challenge of indie fighters

As mainstream games grow more expensive, indie games are gaining more of a presence. Indie games have always steered towards singleplayer experiences though with multiplayer rarely in mind. Even when playing with others in mind it’s usually not about being

How You Got Videogames Wrong: It's All Consequential

    I have a friend who failed Journey. …Improbable, right? Thatgamecompany’s 2012 critical darling may be known for a lot of things, but failability ain’t one of ’em. Yet still this friend-o’mine–let’s call him Kevin, cuz that’s his name–did

Why I ignored E3

  “Watching any E3 coverage?” The question was inevitable. In this case, it was an IM from a co-worker, but anyone who knew my interest in video games would have asked the same rhetorical question. Of course I was. What

The least interesting video game characters make the best action figures.

Based on my reaction to today’s news of a fully poseable, well-made action figure of Link and a quick look at my personal collection of plastic miniature gaming heroes I have come realize. The more deep or developed a character is, the less likely they will make a great action figure. Master Chief, Sonic, Kratos, Dante, Cloud, Squall, Sora, Altair and many more are all hanging out on my shelf and look great together in glorious crossover fashion, but I can’t say I’ve really ever cared about these characters when I play their games. They’re just a lot of fun to look at and play as.

Rubin vs. The Saints

Polygon’s Brian Crecente interviewed Jason Rubin about his new job, running the show at THQ.  Couched as the primary directive of the Rubin era of THQ, he took aim at Saints Row: The Third as the sort of thing that

A Strange Tale in the Cracked-dirt Desert, Part II

This is part two of an ongoing look at A Tale in the Desert and its community. Part one can be found here. In the heyday of savannah life, a few good people – actually good, caring and empathic –

Inspiration and Evisceration in They Bleed Pixels

The duo behind Spooky Squid has managed to produce an impressive oeuvre in just over three years since their founding.  Miguel Sternberg and Andrij Pilkiw have already created four freeware games and are now busy putting the finishing touches on

E3 2012 is Upon us, but What Choices lie Ahead?

The mood is unmistakable. The current generation isn’t quite over, and the next one hasn’t gotten started yet. Unlike recent years, everyone has both eyes looking into the future even as both feet remain firmly planted in the present. It