[Originally posted on PopMatters] Life is slow moving and mundane, games aren’t. Therefore, games satisfy a need for speedy, direct progress. It’s difficult to point to when the idea that games exist for the sake of escapism was popularized, but in recent years, such an idea has driven much of games journalism and probably a … Continue reading Anti-Escapism in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
[Originally posted on Joystick Division] For the last week or so, Joystick Division has been having a pseudo-conversation about the value of story in video games. While I think most of us here put a fairly high value on what games have to say, it’s relatively to consider storytelling so heavily. Nobody questioned the value … Continue reading What is a Videogame?
[Originally posted on PopMatters] 2011 wasn’t a bad year for games. There were some disappointments,1 some unsung gems,2 and some outstanding successes.3 One game that struck audiences as being all three is Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham City. “Sure,” the universal criticism begins, “it’s tightly designed, it has fluid controls and the world—while having a somewhat silly … Continue reading Opening Arkham: A Defense of Arkham City
[Originally posted on PopMatters] It would be entirely fair to say to say that Nintendo “made” video games. There was a time not long ago that playing Nintendo was synonymous with playing any type of video game. Suffice to say, they’ve had a storied history centred around just handful of intellectual properties that have been … Continue reading Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
[Originally posted on Joystick Division] With Mass Effect 3 just a few months away and Dragon Age 3 officially announced, not is as good a time as any to talk about Bioware. The company has long been lauded as one of the few developers that have put an emphasis on storytelling. Even their games that … Continue reading The Bioware Method
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