August-September 2017: Oceans

Hello again to all games critics, to those still developing their sea legs and those who’ve charted the whole internet. I come to you (belatedly. Sorry) with another edition of Blogs of the Round Table. This month’s topic is pretty deep, if I may say so myself, and its vastness can be intimidating. Naturally I’m talking about “Oceans”:

Water levels, aquatic power, sunken treasure, mystery and monsters dwelling in another world way, way down. This month we want you to write about how games and play intersect with oceans: either the literal oceans that games physically and culturally cross in their development and distribution or the figurative kind that are traversed in play. What are the water temples that pique your sense of wonder? How do distances shape your feelings about an online match with a friend living abroad? Are there any impassable stretches of sea or calls to adventure that speak to you most particularly? This month tell us all about Oceans.

Take until September 30 to report on your voyage and we’ll share your tales with the other sailors. In the meantime, I’ll be in the brig until I learn punctuality.

Please email us your submissions or tweet them to @thecybersteam or @critdistance with the #BoRT hashtag. Happy blogging!

Suggestions for the Round Table:

  • Blogs of the Round Table is not curated. If you write it, we’ll publish it, as long as it’s connected to the topic and has been written specially for BoRT or up to one month prior.
  • Think of the BoRT topic as a starting point. Connecting your piece to the topic can be as creative as you want. We’re interested in both writing and play, so be playful when you approach the round table!
  • This BoRT post is the home of the discussion. Regular reading of other BoRT participants isn’t required, but highly encouraged. Feel free to browse the #BoRT tag on twitter to see if there are any words submitted already that you could use as a springboard for your own posts.
  • As a knight of the round table we encourage you to leave a comment on a blog to which you respond with a link to the response piece and give the original writer a ‘right of reply’. Keep the conversation going!
  • If your work contains potentially disturbing content, please include a suitable warning at the start.
  • You can submit as many articles as you like throughout the month, and it doesn’t matter if they are commercially published, paywalled or available for free. However, we can’t include paywalled material in the round-up without access to the article text or a transcript.