For those new to the series, plural protagonism is based on this article I wrote for PopMatters. Plural protagonism occurs in a game when there is no individual main protagonist leading a group: the group itself becomes the hero. Each individual maintains their identity while contributing to the narrative in equal measure. Moreover, they are … Continue reading Plural Protagonism Part 4: Chrono Trigger
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Eador: Masters of the Broken World is Snowbird Games’s HD remake of their 2009 fantasy strategy title, Eador: Genesis. The Masters remake benefits from a new coat of paint, but they’re otherwise the same game. Eador is a fantasy universe composed of several “shards” of land floating through space. The player takes on … Continue reading Review: Eador: Masters of the Broken World
This week I wrote about the uncomfortable dissonance created by the violence in recent releases like Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite (“Killing Spree: The Inconsistency of Video Game Violence.” PopMatters. May 7 2013). Both of these games try to treat murder as a profound horror while at the same time making shooty fun and sweet … Continue reading Just Killing in Binary Domain
[Originally posted on PopMatters] A man in a tuxedo is dropped into former Soviet Russia to destroy a chemical weapons plant. After infiltrating the plant through the ventilation system, he finds a grate leading into a stall in a public bathroom. Beneath him is a guard sitting on the toilet in a forest green trench coat. … Continue reading Killing Spree: The Inconsistency of Video Game Violence
[Originally posted on The Border House] For the past month I’ve taken up the self-imposed challenge of playing nothing but JRPGs. There are few reasons for this but all of them can be traced back to “I like them.” In playing and replaying games in the genre I’ve noticed some patterns emerge. Initially, summarizing these patterns … Continue reading The Perspective of Privilege
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