tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39780758474068792282024-03-14T02:24:54.179-07:00LATE TO THE GAMEGames are Art. Art invites Critique, it can't escape it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-44763173297627404522013-05-01T03:28:00.002-07:002013-05-01T04:05:50.397-07:00Commitment, Choice, and Consequences, Deus Ex, Alpha Protocol, and Mass EffectRecently, I posted a really long, but unedited look at choice and consequences on Reddit’s “Truegaming” subreddit. It’s hot right now, one of the highest upvoted articles in the young subreddit, so I thought I’d present it here as a second draft. Also, consider this a SPOILER WARNING, as there are some minor spoilers for these games below. Tumblr doesn't have a simple way to hide themAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-19461700990193608062013-04-30T01:26:00.001-07:002013-04-30T01:27:18.764-07:00The Politics of XCOM - First Episode of our new Video SeriesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-25117355444565881702011-02-14T14:28:00.001-08:002011-02-14T14:47:26.626-08:00Early Impressions: VtM: BloodlinesFirst and foremost, Vampire: The Masquerade is a horror game, and “Bloodlines” excels at this. “Bloodlines” barely rises above its many bugs (even after the latest fan patch) to deliver a compelling new vision of an RPG. Layered throughout run-of-the-mill quest lines (fetch this, kill this guy) are truly unique scenarios. A fetch quest at a haunted Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-48920131032598225822011-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:002011-02-14T08:20:13.221-08:00Starcraft 2 Unleashed!Starcraft 2 comes out today and God have mercy on our souls. The game is arguably the most ubiquitous and longest lasting since, well, chess. Competitive Starcraft has become something close to the national sport of South Korea and has endured for ten years past its release. It’s quite popular over here in the West, as well, and is poised to become even more popular with Starcraft 2’s improved Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-68842050760931680282011-02-04T10:00:00.001-08:002011-02-04T10:00:43.403-08:00Writers Guild Awards: Video GamesVideo Game writing has become legitimate (although it really always was), as evidenced by their inclusion in the Writer's Guild Awards. VIDEOGAME WRITING Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Story by Patrice Desilets, Jeffrey Yohalem, Corey May; Lead Script Writer: Jeffrey Yohalem; Script Writers: Ethan Petty, Nicholas Grimwood, Matt Turner; UbisoftFallout: New Vegas, CreativeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-11041235738788757482011-02-02T08:24:00.000-08:002011-02-02T08:24:05.449-08:00Nintendo shows off Super Mario Brothers Design DocPress D-Pad to Junp and the world was changed forever.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-16677644467791019162011-02-02T07:53:00.001-08:002011-02-02T07:53:26.965-08:00Rock Paper Shotgun DC Universe Online reviewWhen you get to the quests themselves… well, this brings us back to what I said at the start about MMOs. DC Universe disappoints me most because it does so well at being different, only to end up shrugging and shovelling out stuff we all know is crap, simply because it can. Seriously. In a game with so much great content, so much imagination, so many options and so many things to do&hellipAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-47400361187794942422011-02-01T13:53:00.000-08:002011-02-01T13:53:37.885-08:00"Almost Art" - Tale of Tales lets us know what video games are not. Michael Sermyn, one half of Tale of Tales has already sparked a lively discussion on the Escapist. I find the entire piece interesting - not specifically "anti-game" and certainly NOT "pro-game", but a call to look at the potential of the interactive experience.
This link isn't an endorsement, but a discussion I simply found interesting.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-32203006953026808172011-02-01T13:09:00.001-08:002011-02-01T13:09:45.383-08:00Global Agenda on Sale at SteamDIY Gamer has a nice profile on Global Agenda. It's on sale for $7.50. Thanks to the "Friends with Benefits" promotion, I joined the game for $15 myself, after the generous free (up to level 12) trial.I write the following as a genuine fan, and not a journalist or promoter.Hi-rez studios is a small MMO that's has no subscriptions. They offer some standard freemium offers such asAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-4506951242424802182011-01-13T09:55:00.001-08:002011-01-13T09:55:51.051-08:00Extra Credits on Non-Combat GamingWhy must games only be about combat?
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-57906911773218607842011-01-10T09:50:00.000-08:002011-01-10T09:50:58.296-08:00phosfiend» Blog Archive » Knives and Type: Pathways to Better Game Designphosfiend» Blog Archive » Knives and Type: Pathways to Better Game DesignAn interesting manifesto on creative Game Design.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-55773063331293131192011-01-04T12:15:00.001-08:002011-01-04T12:15:53.854-08:00Extra Credits on ME2 and Moral ChoiceI haven't finished covering Mass Effect 2 and its Moral Choice system. For the most part, it falls short of what I would personally want, but Floyd and Co. below illustrate a place where it (mostly) works:
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-17479163768960314152010-12-16T13:42:00.001-08:002010-12-16T13:42:30.096-08:00Missile Command: Game Mechanics as NarrativeExtra Credits did a great piece on Missile Command using pure game mechanics to tell a story.
The comments are interesting, as some don't seem to see pixilized images as "cities". Apparently people these days need the kind of graphics to "properly" interpret it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-52590973304854475352010-09-27T09:53:00.000-07:002010-09-27T09:53:02.804-07:00"...And so we're playing Portal at Wabush College."From Brainy Gamer
"Could I have chosen a game to stand by itself, with no accompanying text assignment? Maybe. I thought about Bioshock. I thought about Planescape: Torment. In the end, I chose Portal because I thought it would make a good start. A good first impression. A lead-off hitter, if you will."
"Deploying a game for an entire cohort to play at the same time requires more Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-11183471963146648992010-08-16T07:27:00.000-07:002010-08-16T07:27:07.691-07:00Bethesda Blog � Blog Archive � Behind the Scenes: The Many Voices of New VegasBethesda Blog � Blog Archive � Behind the Scenes: The Many Voices of New VegasFallout: New Vegas has an impressive voice cast, a lot won over by the immensity of Fallout 3, which has very little in the way of excellent voice acting (Liam Neesen notwithstanding).Matthew Perry's story is one of the most fun.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-20522328675838609692010-08-04T15:16:00.001-07:002010-08-04T15:17:45.538-07:00VIDEO: Star Control and Game HistoryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-88822069224724407212010-08-02T11:40:00.000-07:002010-08-02T11:43:36.601-07:00Free and Worth Every Penny - Issue 53: Nostalgia Wave - Colony of GamersTake a look at the following great, old games out now as freeware. I didn't post the original, that would be Ravenlock at Colony of Gamers:
Free and Worth Every Penny - Issue 53: Nostalgia Wave - Colony of GamersLet me get this out of the way up front: this is not a post about abandonware. This will not be a thread about abandonware, either. I know that there are umpteen sites where you canAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-47058415575261833182010-07-29T09:17:00.000-07:002010-07-29T09:17:32.745-07:00Alice and Kev: Homeless SimsAn experiment in Sims 3 in which the player added the homeless neighbors, Alice and KevAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-75962129276101613362010-07-28T12:30:00.000-07:002010-07-28T12:30:25.868-07:00Quest Ideas, by Tom FrancisAn interesting Alternative to death as a fail-state.Quest Ideas, by Tom FrancisAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-48215783203592233962010-07-28T11:38:00.000-07:002010-07-28T11:38:09.221-07:00Were PC Gamers Too Good For Microsoft's Cross-Platform Gaming Project?So PC Gamers, with a mouse and a keyboard, are better than X-Box players. Or just more hardcore.Were PC Gamers Too Good For Microsoft's Cross-Platform Gaming Project?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-48275691413001257372010-07-27T10:34:00.000-07:002010-07-27T10:36:58.868-07:00Horrible Delight: The 7th GuestDisclaimer: I spoil 7th Guest pretty hard in this article.Trilobyte's The 7th Guest is a game that routinely makes top ten lists for 'Scariest Games of All Time'. I wonder, though, if they've played through the game recently or just place it on these lists out of a sense of respect and history. Certainly, it is a PC gaming's milestone. It's clear that Trilobyte made 7th Guest with the very goal Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-71977928841845561232010-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:002010-07-22T09:48:01.579-07:00Horrible Delight: Legacy, the Realm of TerrorHorror is a genre that shines on the format of video games. Nothing will immerse you in the awful goings-on of a story more than being in control of whether your character lives or dies. It works so well that you can find horror elements in many of the major franchises. Games like Halo, Bioshock, Left 4 Dead and Half-Life are a major force in the video game world and I'd argue that that's due, inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-91010098874207266092010-07-22T09:22:00.000-07:002010-07-22T09:22:14.323-07:00Cerebral Pop: Catching Up to the Industry Part 1Cerebral Pop: Catching Up to the Industry Part 1Cerebral Pop takes the time to look at what he's been missing, which fits right in line with this blog here.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-32321283401219265672010-07-21T15:14:00.000-07:002010-07-21T15:14:41.756-07:00SLRC - Subterranean Loner Rendered Comatose: Permanent Death - The Complete SagaAn interesting look at death in video games by making death final.SLRC - Subterranean Loner Rendered Comatose: Permanent Death - The Complete SagaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978075847406879228.post-72737749312138311282010-07-20T12:27:00.000-07:002010-07-20T12:27:22.447-07:00Arkham Asylum art director talks mistakes - News at GameSpotDetective Mode was apparently a mistake. A mistake to make it so helpful.Arkham Asylum art director talks mistakes - News at GameSpotAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09714266421105137865noreply@blogger.com2