Rinoa and death

Rinoa is mind controlled. Rinoa does something bad. Rinoa floats through space. Rinoa dies. You should watch the scene here (turn off the sound, the LPer running the game is a total asshole who ruins it.) For those who don’t

Afterlife: Beyond Mere Death In Games

People have a hard time dealing with death. We don’t just grieve over lost loved ones: we mourn complete strangers and celebrities we’ve never even met. Death is a subject that is difficult to approach, so it’s unsurprising that game developers have incorporated death in a way that is either crass, facile or both.

Games don’t really have ‘death’ in the sense of finality: it’s just one long stream of life, punctuated by save points to which we can rewind after a mistake. Narratively, the only universe that exists is the one where we played perfectly. What could be more fake, hollow and unrealistic than a perfect life? Games should be able to give us new perspectives on life, rather than conforming to ideal ones.

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

Death and a Platformer: The End

BBC’s The End has a laudable goal: to get people to think about death. As such, it falls under the encompassing banner of educational games, but it presents its concepts in a way that makes them seem unlike any sort

Minecraft and Materialism Part 4

With the construction of the Mandala about to begin it is important that I gain an understanding of the Buddhist teachings and philosophies that serve as an inspiration for the project. How can I fully grasp what it is that

Etrian Odyssey 3 character video explains subclassing

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9COPsEsoc&fs=1&hl=en_US] I admit it, I like D&D. Tabletop role playing, the nerdiest of hobbies, is in my stable of issues. And as a fairly munchkinish player, I have to say I’m a big fan of multiclassing. Being two things has

It's Limbo Time!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4HSyVXKYz8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Xbox Live Arcade has made it a habit of releasing a fantastic puzzle-platformer every summer. Games like Braid and ‘Splosion Man have been their marquee summer attractions for the past few years, giving us some fantastic, brain bending gameplay.

Death and Pathos: Saving the Princess

Massive spoilers included for: -Shadow of the Colossus (everything) -Mother 3 (Chapter 1, 2, and 6. If you’ve not played it, don’t read it. Go play it.) -Bioshock (everything) -Final Fantasy VII (whaddaya think?) -Braid (ending) -Mass Effect 2 (not