[This piece was written as a part of Critical Distance‘s January 2013 Blogs of the Round Table feature] At a friend’s encouragement I’ve decided to finally tackle Final Fantasy Tactics. Occasionally I’ll find myself really latching onto a quirk in a game that makes it seem unique. Many of these little quirks I jump all … Continue reading How Agnes Taught Me to Appreciate Difficulty
[Originally posted on Medium Difficulty] [This piece was written as a part of Critical Distance‘s January 2013 Blogs of the Round Table feature] Back when Twilight Princess was first released, my girlfriend—who has liberated Hyrule almost as many times as it’s needed it—had only one complaint: it was too easy. The puzzles were well enough designed … Continue reading Challenge is Conflict: How Difficulty Makes Game Narratives Work
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Last month, Bioware officially announced that they will be releasing Dragon Age 3: Inquisition. The mix of life-like feudal politics with high fantasy tropes seems to have created the series that keeps on giving, which Bioware no doubt intends to keep up with. Dragon Age is one of the better narrative experiences in … Continue reading Reflections on Dragon Age
[Originally posted on PopMatters] More than most game genres, the RTS has developed its own lexicon over the years. To “one-A” in an RTS is to clump all the player’s units into a single control group, to press the “A” key and click on the map roughly at the enemy base location. This tells all the … Continue reading The Value of a Soldier in Tryst
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Tekken was probably one of the last fighting games to successfully make the jump from arcade to console, not to mention one of the most successful. Only the Street Fighter series [and, perhaps, the Mortal Kombat series – ed.] can match its infamy and longevity. Tekken also one of the most … Continue reading Review: Tekken Tag Tournament
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