Review: Hate Plus

[Originally posted on PopMatters] Hate Plus is the seventh game from Christine Love’s Love Conquers All and the fourth of the “visual novels” that she is best known for. The term visual novel seems appropriate at first glance since most of the game is communicated through written words, but the term is actually a bit … Continue reading Review: Hate Plus

Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 3: Consequences of Misrepresentation

As interesting or as varied as many characters are in Exit Fate, the raw numbers tell a pretty compelling story. The fact that there are so few non-white non-men suggests that white men belong in the Elysium army more than anyone else. Again, the player is managing an institution that quickly and obviously becomes far … Continue reading Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 3: Consequences of Misrepresentation

Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 2: Representation and Language

The thing to take into account is that the fictional world of a videogame (or a whatever) is not the only language of a piece. There is also the language around the piece, what the audience brings to and understands from a game. Exit Fate is not isolated from the rest of the world: in fact … Continue reading Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 2: Representation and Language

Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 1: on (Mis)Representation

I love Exit Fate. A lot. It’s weird, clever, sentimental, dramatic, subversive, funny and charming; its characters are endearing, believable and dynamic and its world comes alive with details. I can’t recommend enough that you go to the creator’s website, download the free game (available for Mac, here courtesy of a programmer named Barış Şencan), support … Continue reading Representation and the Power of Media as Discussed through Exit Fate: Part 1: on (Mis)Representation