[Originally posted on PopMatters] At a certain point, video game developers and critics seem to have agreed that all video game storytelling must include the player. There’s a familiar chorus to this discussion: “games must unite the player and the protagonist,” “the player’s decisions must dictate the flow of the narrative,” and “the world must … Continue reading In the Third Person: Against Player Authority
Go read the description for Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams on developer Black Forest’s website. I don’t care much for it. I firmly hold that the author is, and should be, dead, even in games (Filipowich, Mark. “The Undead Author: Artistic Ownership of Games.” Apr 25 2012). So I don’t mind picking nits about a game … Continue reading The Strength of Giana vs. The Language of Marketing
[Originally posted on PopMatters] I don’t usually get to play a game the year that it’s released. Most of the time, it takes at least a year for a game to go down enough in price to be worth buying. Moreover, salvaging the unknown, overlooked, or the just plain mediocre game from a bargain bin … Continue reading A Tale of Two Shooters: Black and Spec-Ops: The Line
[Originally posted on The Border House] It’s rare that I’ll buy more than five games in the year of their release. When I do play a game while it’s brand new, it’s usually for a review. So when I was offered a chance to play Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, I accepted, not thinking much of it … Continue reading The Empowered Teenager in Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Theoretically, there’s nothing holding back games from being an excellent vehicle for satire. Because they require the player to simulate a behavior—rather than just view that behaviour performed by someone else—games should be in a great position to illustrate how ridiculous or destructive certain behaviours are. I say in theory because there … Continue reading The Inelegance of the Videogame Satire
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