Video Game Round-Up: October 20, 2017

"Super Mario Odyssey" by Iain Reed (SoulStryder210)

Humble Bundle has been acquired by media giant IGN. [Gamasutra] “Media giant IGN announced today that it has acquired Humble Bundle, the company best known for selling packs of indie games at pay-what-you-want prices. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. This is potentially a big deal for game developers, since Humble has expanded beyond its bundling business to publish games, pay devs to make games for its subscription-based monthly game club, maintain a subscription-based online game trove, and operate an online game storefront. However, a press release confirming the deal also noted that Humble will continue to operate independently in the wake of the acquisition, with no significant business or staffing changes.”

Gaming Round-Up: Microtransaction Criticism

"Fallout" by Fabled Creative

Behind the addictive psychology and seductive art of loot boxes by Alex Wiltshire: “Loot boxes are everywhere. They're in shooters, RPGs, card games, action games and MOBAs. They also take the form of packs, chests and crates. They're filled with voice lines, weapon skins, new pants or materials to get you more loot boxes. They're in free games and paid ones, singleplayer and multiplayer. They can be free to open and paid for with real money. You may feel an almost violent antipathy to the very idea of them, but you've probably also opened a fair few. The appeal isn't hard to grasp. Opening a loot box is a rush: a moment of anticipation followed by release. That colourful animated flurry is often accompanied by disappointment, but is sometimes with the joy of getting exactly the item that you wanted. And then you feel the gambler's pull to open another, pushing you back into the game to grind or digging into your wallet to earn or buy your next one.”

Gaming Round-Up: May 22, 2017

"Prey Fanart" by UK-based Rose Davies

Infographic: Video Games Are Good For Your Brain

Review: Injustice 2 is a rewarding fighting game for fans and first-timers alike

7 fascinating facts you didn’t know about Overwatch

8-bit Music Theory breaks down why Mario music sounds "fun", examines nonfunctional harmony in Chrono Trigger, investigates the history of Zelda overworld themes, and plenty more.

Gaming Round-Up: May 15, 2017

5 Moms in video games who deserve our thanks - "These invisible mothers do have relationships with their children but we rarely have the opportunity to experience it. These mothers cannot grow alongside their kids the way a father/child duo can. That’s not to say that moms are doomed to stay as passive figures forever. There are games where mothers do exist, and their presence does not go by unnoticed. Here are some of our favorite maternal figures in video games."

Dead, Evil Or Distant: The Reality Of Motherhood In Gaming - "It would be fair to say that the invisibility of mothers is more a symptom of a larger issue in modern storytelling than it is a pitfall of video game writing alone. But while it's becoming more common to see a female heroine in a film or TV show, VideoGames remain a few steps behind."

Gaming Round-Up: February 6, 2017

Zelda Tarot Card by Thomas Randby

A Burnt Torch: Darkest Dungeon, Mental Health and Lovecraftian Horror [Paste Magazine] “Darkest Dungeon [wiki] is a tactical, party-based roguelike with a Lovecraftian flair. You play as the last heir of a fallen noble house. It’s your job to recruit and command a set of heroes, sending them into the decrepit bowels of a ruined estate—and the corrupt environs surrounding it. 

"Eventually Atari came to us and said, 'What do you guys really want out of this?'" On the thirty-fifth anniversary of the popular arcade game, Benj Edwards chronicles the rise of Ms. Pac-Man and how a few MIT students created the next big thing off the back of the previous big thing in 1980s arcade history.

A History of Deus Ex's Racism Controversies “With futuristic, sci-fi sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided [YouTube], developer Eidos Montreal has once again found itself walking atop the fiery coals of controversy.

How Designers Engineer Luck Into Video Games

Martian Immigration Nightmare [via mefi projects] An online game specifically made to call out Elon Musk on his collaborationism with the Trump regime. Will you manage to board the Mars rocket, or will you be crushed by an unsympathetic bureaucracy?

At The New Yorker, Raffi Khatchadourian writes about the future of interactive films, with a focus on the company joined by Her Story developer Sam Barlow. 

Original design documents and sketches for the first Legend of Zelda game

Richard Stanton has started a new column at Kotaku which looks at British game developers big and small. The first entry focuses upon shmup designer Jeff Minter.

Gaming Round-Up: May 9, 2016

"Transistor" by Inhoo

A. Johanna DeNiro of Sub-Q looks at the work of storied IF creator, Rybread Celsius.

Allegra Frank explains how Fragments of Him offered her catharsis after the shock of losing someone by confronting pain head-on.

Brent Ables contemplates the connection between Dark Souls and art history.

C.T. Casberg asserts that Dark Souls is best enjoyed with others, and that the staggered release undermined its social qualities.

Gaming Round-Up: April 4, 2016

"BioShock: Rapture" by James Bernabe

Review: At Eurogamer, Sarah Ditum writes about her experience playing Stardew Valley, describing it in less than glowing terms. "It’s like having one last short to get your head straight before you leave the bar, or necking an espresso to bring you down as you head up for bed. It makes no sense, and it makes you feel horrible. S"

Review: Kill Screen's Will Partin shares his thoughts on The Foreigner, a new documentary about professional StarCraft II

Ashe Samuels on the Ontological Geek praises the therapeutic benefits of MMO escapism in How The Best Game Design Helps Me At My Very Worst.

Emily Short offers a chronology of interactive fiction games, such as Twine.

At Gamasutra, Ben Weber writes about the challenges (and potential implications) of adapting Google’s DeepMind-powered AI Go player to play StarCraft instead.  Could this be the end of as we know it?  Not likely.  However, Eric Swain credibly argues that the success of AlphaGo challenges our human reading of the game’s language as reliant on theory of mind.

Here's A little footage from the war between The Moneybadger Coalition and The Imperium. The war is now officially termed World War Bee and if you wish to learn more about it, CCP provides updates here.  Here's an explanation of The Northern War (aka World War Bee).

Nick Dinicola of PopMatters critiques the morality of Undertale's pacifist conclusion.

At Playboy, Reid McCarter praises the worldbuilding in Dying Light for using zombie horror tropes to create a more sympathetic portrayal of religious cults.


VentureBeat offers coverage of the "Muslim representation in video games" panel at the recent Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

At Vice, Ed Smith discusses how his enjoyment of "the Quintessential Video Game Nasty," Manhunt has changed from adolescence to adulthood.

Gaming Round-Up: March 14, 2016

"The Social Network" by Brian Coldrick

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$15

Andy Lee Chaisiri of art-eater.com reminds us of some of the influential women in Japanese game development

At the Guardian, an anonymous programmer wrote about their experience working in the games industry, achieving that dream, and ultimately deciding to leave for a less exploitative industry.

Giant Bomb’s guest columns continue with Gita Jackson writing about Dwarf Fortress and how it does fantasy better than most games by not simply replicating “Tolkien-esque fantasy”. Better than that, it opens with two arguments I’m fond of; one, that saying Dwarf Fortress is hard is the least interesting thing about it and two, that people often bury the lede when trying to get you to read, watch, or play something considered ‘worthy.'

Honest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Gaming Round-Up: February 15, 2016

"Twilight Princess - Fire battle" by SophieRiis

Twilight Princess Link cosplay

Achievement Hunter looks at Great Levels in Gaming.

Aevee Bee scrutinises the use of space in JRPGs, writing that "

Nobody Cares About It But It’s The Only Thing That Matters"

The BBC profiles The man who made the worst video game in history, the creator of the Atari ET game.

Brutal Doom inspires strong feelings in players, one way or another. Brendan Keogh argues that it is true to the spirit of the original Doom, revealing something more of its essence through what it adds.

Gaming Round-Up: February 8, 2016

"The One-Up" by Dennis Salvatier

Interview: Simon Parkin interviews The Witness creator Jonathan Blow

News: Titanfall 2 Will Have Single Player Campaign Says Lead Writer

7 Relationships That Prove Video Games Can Do Romance

Aaron Fox-Lerner reflects on How videogames are changing the action movie.

Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" Speech synchs very well in GTA 5

Gaming Round-Up: February 1, 2016

"Skulltula" by Asashi-Kami

The biggest news in gaming this week is the release of Jonathan Blow’s much-anticipated island of mystifying puzzles, The Witness.  While most of the game's reviews have been effusively positive, some frustration is peeking through the cracks.

News: Anshar Studios Reveals First Trailer For VR Experience; Detached

News: Bungie gets new CEO, promises more Destiny

News: Fan Sairith Aramor, started a Change.org petition in hopes of convincing Nintendo of America to enlist Danny DeVito to provide the voice for the new crime-solving Pikachu. The petition has already been signed by 22,000 people.

Gaming Round-Up: January 25, 2016

3D Lego Mario vs Bowser by Simon Bau

Interview: A Completely Spoilers-Filled Interview with the Makers of Life Is Strange

Interview: Go Behind-The-Scenes With Gillian Anderson on Star Citizen

News: After Naughty Dog unveiled Uncharted 4’s all-new dialogue option during last month's PSX, a lot of fans wondered whether or not it meant we’d be seeing different endings based on game choices, as we've seen in Life is Strange, Mass Effect, and Until Dawn.  Last week, Neil Druckmann confirmed fans' hopes in an interview with the folks at Eurogamer.

Gaming Round-Up: January 18, 2016

"Fallout 4 Downtown" by Ray Lederer

Interview: A Professional Halo Player Describes How eSports Keep Getting Bigger

News: Activision announces Call of Duty World League

News: John Romero releases the first new Doom level in 21 years, and suddenly, eighties kids all feel very old.  Doom still boasts a lively community of level creators and players. One fan site, Doom World, even ranks the best fan-made levels annually, and has done so for every year of the 22-year-old game's lifespan.

In Antagonism and Antagonists in the Metal Gear Universe,  G. Christopher Williams takes a closer look at the interaction between mechanics and storytelling in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

At The Atlantic, Will Partin takes a look at What happens when the vast universes in massively multiplayer online games go offline?

Video Round-Up: David Bowie Music

"Magic Dance" from Labyrinth (1987)

1970   |   1980   |   1990   |   2000   |   2010

As  you've doubtlessly heard, the legendary David Bowie died this weekend following a very private battle with cancer, and the world is in mourning.

Bowie was many things to many people following a decades-spanning career, is which Bowie earned a reputation as an ever-changing chameleon of a pop star.  His shifting career took him through looks, collaborations, and genres, many of which he himself pioneered.  His music included rock, jazz, cabaret, and what he characterized as "plastic soul," but it was always heartfelt and soulful.  And while some parts of his oeuvre are better remembered than others, the essential nature of Bowie was that his art was utterly fearless

In honor of the passing of the great man, here's a compilation of the many, many music videos of David Bowie, arranged by decade.  Enjoy

Gaming Round-Up: January 11, 2016

"Master Sword" by Philippines-based Dan Elijah G. Fajardo

Prints available for purchase from Threadless.

News: Chicago college first in U.S. to offer video game scholarships to "e-athletes"

Alex Wiltshire  investigates Infected Planet’s mutation mechanic and the AI it uses to counter single-strategy play.

Bianca Batti examines how literary examination can be used to explore videogames: "such a lens might allow us to more fully realize how video games converse with other new media forms and how it is they converse with other means of storytelling. And such an understanding of games can allow us to understand how it is that games expand the way we interact with and engage with narrative structures and with the stories we tell."

Gaming Round-Up: January 4, 2016

"Undertale : Muffet" by Kurama-chan

Best Games of 2015: Popoptiq | RockPaperShotgun | Unwinnable | Wired

News: Lightning, a character from Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series, who was originally created to feature as a strong female protagonist in the game, is now the new face of Louis Vuitton.

Adam Smith revels in The Joy Of Expansions And Enhanced Editions

Ashley Barry makes a case for Until Dawn being Multiplayer game of the year.

Check out the gaming room that will have retro fans swooning.

Gaming Round-Up: December 28, 2015

"Samus" by Emilie Boisvert

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$22.88

News: How Video Games Might Actually Help Our Brains

News: Man Sues Bethesda On Grounds That Fallout 4 Ruined His Life. If this works out, I may have a lot of money coming my way in the very near future.  In a not-entirely unrelated note, Jorge Albor talks about Love-Hating Fallout 4 at PopMatters.

Top Ten Video Games of 2015: City Paper | CNet | College Magazine | Crave | Examiner | ExtremeTech | Forbes | GameRadar | Gunaxin | Kotaku  | Metacritic | Mirror | RedBull | San Jose Mercury | The Top Tens | Times | The Washington Post

Adam Bouyamourn runs down a list of The best video games that kept fans busy.

The best video games of 2015, as picked by the Ars editors

Gaming Round-Up: December 21, 2015

"Majora's Mask 3D" by Lunaros

Prints available for purchase from RedBubble and Society6. US$20

Best Games of 2015: BGR | CNet | Cult of Mac | EW | GameSpot | The Guardian | Mashable | Nerd Reactor | TechCentral | The Verge | Vulture

News: According to a Pew study, nearly half of all American adults play video games, but only 10 percent consider themselves gamers. Adrienne Shaw explores the implications of the study, asking Not all players are gamers, but why?  My guess?  The "Gamer" label still comes with some very negative connotations in our society.

News: Twitter hired a “Director of Gaming Partnerships” this week.  Maddy Myers of The MarySue speculates on what that may mean.

Review: The Stanley Parable follow-up Dr. Langeskov is an Anti-Game about Gaming

Gaming Round-Up: December 14, 2015

"Super Mario RPG: SNES Tribute" by Brazil-based Cassio Yoshiyaki

News: Is This New Nintendo Patent For The NX Controller?

News: Rise of the Tomb Raider did not crack the top 10 the month of November.

News: There are complaints about issues in Star Wars Battlefront‘s matchmaking, including mismatched teams and decreasing server numbers making it difficult to find matches. (I’ve definitely encountered the former, which can make multiplayer a lot less fun.) No news yet on if EA plans to release a patch for these problems.

Gaming Round-Up: December 7, 2015

"Assassin's Creed Syndicate concept" by Zhou Shuo

News: Doublefine is trying to crowdfund Psychonauts 2.  The news has been met with mixed reactions, and this 2005 post-mortem of the first game by executive producer Caroline Esmurdoc offers a little insight as to why this game inspires strong opinions.

News: Telltale is making a Batman game. Relatedly, the Arkham Knight is the newest unlockable character in Injustice.

Doctor Omar Hafeez-Bore offers a refreshingly positive perspective on gaming in an article at Eurogamer entitled "Why I play video games."

How do the games we know and love look to a person in their late fifties, coming to the medium with no experience? Theatre professor Michael Evenden tells us.