Every New Years I get swept up in the same retrospective fever as the rest of the internet. However, I never feel like I have enough to add to the conversation because most years I only have enough money to buy one triple A title a year (this year I haven’t even come to that, … Continue reading GOTY: resembling a goat; in the manner or fashion of goats
(Preface: Most of my interest in games is in how they function as narrative pieces. As a result, most of the writing I do focuses on videogames, single-player games, games with a traditional story structure, games that rely primarily on cinematic and literary narrative techniques and the wide cross-section of all the above. Therefore I … Continue reading The Self-Perpetuating Violence of the Mortal Kombat series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, by many accounts, a feminist text. But what does that mean? Many would argue it means that it features a “strong female character.” But what does that mean? Buffy is certainly strong physically: she kicks ass (everyone knows that). But the fact that its heroine kicks ass — is that … Continue reading The Stake Is Not The Power: Patriarchal Power Systems in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Arkham City
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Video games have a lot of sequels. They have for a long time (Patricia Hernandez, “What’s that? Modern-Day Gaming Has Too Many Sequels? Actually…”, Kotaku, 11 September 2013.). There are plenty of reasons why games lean so heavily on sequels. After all, reusing a successful idea makes for an easier pitch to … Continue reading The Secret to Sequels
“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” These lines are from Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s comedies, which features a subplot where a narcissistic Puritan servant is fooled by a fake letter from his mistress that confesses her deep love for him. Oddly, … Continue reading “Be not afraid of greatness.” An Analysis of the Third Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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