Morality
First we address the moral questions explored in interactive fiction, as two critics play the politics of enlightenment.
- Pigmote Isle | Problem Machine
The Problem Machine blog discusses the dissonance of a side quest with a different moral standpoint. - Aviary Attorney (Sketchy Logic) | Emily Short’s Interactive Storytelling
Emily Short highlights the philosophical questions surrounding birds, law and the French revolution.
“There are lots of things that the player doesn’t know or that the player character can’t avoid: this is not a power fantasy, but a story of moral responsibility. I found myself getting a bit anxious about the fact that I might be making errors that would cause genuine and upsetting problems for the characters in the long run.”
Relationality
Moving on, these essays consider different problems around how we relate to other beings, from the loneliness of an empty universe to the terror of parenting.
- The Vast Indifference of ‘No Man’s Sky’ | PopMatters
Nick Dinicola talks about what makes a game feel lonely. - What a Difference a Dog Makes: Some Thoughts on the Dogs of Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas | for starters…
Chris Waldron considers different ways of relating to virtual pets in the Fallout universe. - Single Motherhood and Monstrosity: Some Final Thoughts on The Park and the Implications for Motherhood in Video Games – Not Your Mama’s Gamer
Bianca Batti argues that the pains of motherhood undergird the fears of affection gone awry.
“… recent iterations of horror have the potential to explore motherhood in more complex ways, ways that do not necessarily perpetuate mother-blaming and mother-shaming. Such potential, though, seems to be hard to come by in the narratives of video games, at least for now, and I hope that we might eventually have the opportunity to play games that feature mother characters that are not either simply demonized or victimized”
Masculinity
Examining portrayals of men, these posts consider the social codes behind the aesthetics of the male body.
- Welcome to the age of videogame beards – Kill Screen
Chris Priestman considers the aesthetics and semiotics of facial hair in games. - Queer Characters: BioShock | Vorpal Bunny Ranch
Denis Farr explores queer coding and villainy in an essay originally written in 2011.
“Cobb discusses the mentor situation he shared with Cohen directly, but also hints at something else: “I used to love you, I used to think you were a musical genius. You know why? Because you paid my rent, you ancient hack!” Love here could well hint at something sexual, but not necessarily. Emotions run high in Rapture, and among artists, the stereotype is that emotions are allowed to explode all over the place. However, the specific use of the word, in a world which doesn’t seem to flippantly use it, automatically made me examine the relationship and further words spoken.”
Temporality
Time and history are examined in these articles looking at how games mediate pacing and memory.
- Gamasutra: Dominic Gelineau’s Blog – Our old friend the Action Phase
Dominic Gelineau addresses the pacing and play structures derived from tabletop games. - 6 historical details you might have missed in the Battlefield 1 beta | ZAM – The Largest Collection of Online Gaming Information
Robert Rath dives into the textures of historical portrayal in this WWI shootfest.
“If I told you Battlefield 1 is a vertical game, you might think I’m talking about buildings — I’m not. Where other games build up, Battlefield 1 digs down. Environmental destruction has more to do with the ground itself. Bombs, howitzers, and tank guns blast huge craters in the earth, transforming the battlefield into a pockmarked wilderness.”
Textuality
Videogame adaptations of films are given close critical attention here, taking them seriously as interpretive works that extend a movie’s storytelling into a different medium.
- Vol 6, No 1 (2016)
The new issue of Wide Screen Journal features a number of fantastic essays, including one by Cameron Kunzelman about different approaches to videogame film adaptations – a topic you may remember from a video that we mentioned here a while back. - Mad Max and the Pursuit of Hope (Content warning: violence against women)
Lasse Lund discusses how the Mad Max game creates a sense of desperation.
“Hope is something every human longs for, no matter how bleak their situation. In his adventures, Max comes across a number of different characters who, despite their hellish living conditions, have found fragments of hope that drive them to endure and survive.”
Creativity
In two guides on different aspects of game design, writers bring up the importance of the unseen and unmentioned.
- Gamasutra: ALEXIS KENNEDY’s Blog – just games writing things: “BY ZOMBIES”
Alexis Kennedy describes the pitfalls and power of the passive voice. - How empty rooms bring life to video game worlds · Special Topics In Gameology · The A.V. Club
Anthony John Agnello argues for the importance of negative space in making a gameworld feel full.
“If your player doesn’t understand why they’re in your dank dead-end cave or barren room with nothing but a creepily gesturing mannequin in the corner, you risk losing them in the story or the flow of the action. Under the right circumstances, though, the empty room can be a deeply moving space, an opportunity to fill a game with implicit history and time and soul.”
Mentality
This is your brain in space.
- No Man’s Sky Is A Surprisingly Good ASMR Game
Cecilia D’Anastasio investigates the uptake of the space-out simulator in the ASMR scene. - ‘No Man’s Sky’ Argues for Design | PopMatters
G. Christopher Williams discusses the theology of procedural generation.
“… difficult conclusions arise as a result of considering the universe and human existence as having been the result of random chance. The word teleology is derived from the Greek word for “purpose” (telos), and indeed, it is purpose that one questions in a randomly generated universe. Human beings like ends, goals, and purposes. They make our existence seem important, or to be rather circular about it, they make our existence seem purposeful.”
Institutionality
Relationships between games and capital come out in these pieces looking at portrayals of financial and personal growth.
- Epipen Tycoon is angry and wasteful, much like the company it seeks to skewer – Kill Screen
David Rudin argues that the satirical game is surprisingly cynical. - How Games Represent Learning: Repetition and Reward | PopMatters
Kym Buchanan looks at the intentional and perhaps unintentional ways that game design affect narratives about personal growth.
“In simulating learning, many games rely heavily on precise numbers and meters. We should be cautious about quantifying and thus reducing real-world learning in the same way. Not everything that can be measured is worth learning, and not everything that’s worth learning can be measured.”
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