Stifling the medium

The tall poppy syndrome is a pejorative commonly used in Australia to describe the social phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are criticized for being exactly that. It’s a ridiculous societal response that encourages people to censor their achievements

The Next Step: Towns is Everything Minecraft Isn't

The first time the spiders attacked, I wasn’t prepared.  A legion of black chittering death-bringers led by the red commander that loomed over the rest had decided that my small agricultural hamlet had had it too easy for too long.

Nioki Adventure: An Interview with Marc Lejeune

  When I hear the words “Paris” and “companionship,” I don’t think of videogames: I think of the woman I met in Charles de Gaulle whom I would follow to Poland and lose my virginity to in a converted occupation-era

I Have Had A Vision: The MMORPG of the future

Let us agree on one thing: fuck yellow exclamation points. You’ve seen them – they lurk above the heads of countless NPCs in countless MMORPGs, signposting quests.  I remember the first time I encountered them, in Lord of the Rings

Feedback Loop: Getting beyond marriage

Cara Ellison is fed up with games that remind her of how single she is. And in a brilliant personal essay over at Unwinnable she uses the interactive novel, Don’t Take It Personally, Babe, It Just Ain’t Your Story, to

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

10 things we want from WayForward's Adventure Time game

Through a series of elaborate tweets from Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and WayForward Technologies an Adventure Time game was announced. Before the announcement Ward had a habit of posting doodles of potential game ideas, but nothing concrete. Right now

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.

Archie Does It Better: The Top 10 Awful Sonic Characters (that rule in the comics)

You don’t need me to tell you that the strange homunculi cast of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series are about as developed and characterized as a pile of forgotten cartoon characters held together by a tapestry with a list of canned kid-friendly phrases written on it. In light of Sega’s recent layoffs it’s unlikely to expect a compelling story from them any time soon, but honestly it seems to be better that way since Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 is looking fantastic.

Thankfully we have Archie to fill the surprisingly high demand for proper Sonic stories. Like most comic book worlds the plotlines can get a bit wonky at times, but a wonderful cast of well-written versions of the characters we know and loath from the games makes them more than worth reading.