Originally published in print November 2020 When writing to Nintendo for permission to use their music in the film Scott Pilgrim Versus the World (2010), director Edgar Wright described the music as “the nursery rhymes of a generation”. For many … Continue reading Video Game Music: An Artform
Originally published in print September 2020 The last six months have brought many changes to the world of entertainment, with creative fields almost grinding to a complete halt. However, while the theatres, film sets and music venues all went dark, … Continue reading The Healthier Future of Game Development
Illustration by Andrés Murillo. Originally published in print September 2020. The digital gaming industry is inseparably tied to consumer electronics. Progress in one field is often driven by demand in the other, leading to impressive new inventions on both … Continue reading VR is Dead, Long Live VR
●●●○○ Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an Assassin’s Creed game. If you know what I mean by that, you probably don’t need to read the rest of this review. If not, I’ll explain. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the 11th main game … Continue reading Assassin’s Creed Valhalla // Review
A Review copy was provided by the publisher. Watch Dogs: Legion is the third entry in the Watch Dogs series, coming nearly four years after its predecessor. The first game was set in an alternate Chicago where mass surveillance dominates … Continue reading Watch Dogs: Legion // Review Big Brother is Watching You
In early June, Sony released the first look at the Playstation 5 in a presentation ambitiously titled “The Future of Gaming Show” and, to be honest, it lived up to the name. At the time, no one was expecting finished … Continue reading The Glaring Flaw with the Playstation 5
Originally published in the Summer Issue 2020. Recently I was playing a game called A Fold Apart. It is a romance game, but what was striking to me about the game was its use of gender. Choosing one’s gender … Continue reading When does gender in a video game actually matter?
Originally published in the Summer Issue 2020. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of E3. Canceled this year by the COVID-19 pandemic, the renowned annual conference for all things games has left this world and … Continue reading A Eulogy for E3
●●●○○ Violence is an action that comes up more frequently than almost any, bar walking, in video games, from Space Invaders to Doom. This is by no means a moralizing point I wish to make. It makes sense, since stories … Continue reading Carrion // REVIEW
Way back in 2013, at the PS4 reveal event in New York City, the software that would eventually become Dreams was unveiled for the first time. Developed by Media Molecule, the studio behind Little Big Planet and Tearaway, it was … Continue reading Spotlight: Dreams (PS4) Originally published in print March 2020.
The interactive and frequently player-driven nature of video games allows for unique and interesting approaches to character building in narrative terms. Characterization is at the center of most modern storytelling, and is the engine that drives the majority of modern … Continue reading Video Game Characterization Originally published in print March 2020.
With the release of a new Animal Crossing game, I’ve been preoccupied with slice of life games. Instead of action and adventure, slice of life games aim to capture the mundanity of everyday life. It could be that of a … Continue reading The Simple Joy of Slice of Life Games Originally published in print March 2020.