[Originally posted on The Border House] Writing about the game that gave this site its name feels a bit like smugly opening a discussion about science fiction with “Did you know that Blade Runner is kind of a big deal?” But with creator Ragnar Tørnquist’s new studio succeeding in their kickstarter campaign to continue the … Continue reading The Longest Journey and Dreamfall
Most recently I’ve written on PopMatters about a very, very, very, very troubling game called Expeditions Conquistador (PopMatters. Feb 18 2013) (it’s wonderfully designed, but more about why it’s so troubling is somewhere in the pipeline, I have a feeling I’ll be writing about that game for a while) and a more general article about … Continue reading Women are not Objectives
[Originally posted on PopMatters] In light of the fast approach of the release of Anita Sarkesian’s “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games,” series, concern about sexism in video games is a sleepless dog ready to get back to barking soon. In recent years, there has been an increasing outcry against the sexual harassment that inundates the … Continue reading Searching for the Other Castle: Women As Objectives
[Originally posted on PopMatters] After naming and allocating the attributes of the protagonist in Expeditions Conquistador the player is greeted with the following paragraph that sets up the game: The year is 1518—a year before Hernán Cortés would be elected captain of the third expedition to the South American mainland, where he would overthrow the Aztec … Continue reading Review: Expeditions Conquistadors
Challenge is a very interesting and divisive feature of game design and criticism. As I’ve argued before in the last handful of months, I think that difficulty is a great way to make a player invested in the game’s events (“Challenge is Conflict: How Difficulty Makes Game Narratives Work.” Medium Difficulty. Nov 6 2012; “How Agnes Taught … Continue reading Further Thoughts on Challenge
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