October 7th
byWe are, without a doubt, in the midst of the busiest time of year for big-name game releases, but for the first time in a few weeks, the most important elements of the discourse–for me at least–haven’t been tied to any specific…
September 30th
byI want to begin with a confession: I’m tired. It’s been an emotionally draining news week pretty much regardless of what interests and channels you follow. I say this bearing in mind the privilege I enjoy in passing for straight, white, and…
September 23rd
byThis is my fourth week as Senior Curator for Critical Distance, and I am at once in a never-ending state of learning and growing, and having the time of my life. I’m beginning to recognize patterns and trends in games discourse–not only…
September 16th
byHow can I express my excitement over the past seven days? This has been an incredible week for writing in games. This week’s banner release is Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and leading the charge in critiquing that game’s failure to tackle…
September 9th
byThis week brings a selection of powerful and timely articles about inclusivity within games as well their overlapping communities of play, design, and criticality. With a shift by some major journalistic outlets away from scored reviews, as well as continued troubling reports…
September 1st
byThis week I have enjoyed a wealth of fine criticism concerning the relationship between games and the recent past as authors explore “retro” trends in titles new and old. Great writing is also being done on the nature and role of criticism itself,…
Here Comes a New Challenger!
byHello! I’m Chris Lawrence, and I am excited to announce that as of this week, I am joining the team as incoming Senior Curator for Critical Distance. You may know me from my ongoing work as Commentaries Editor for First Person Scholar,…
September 2018: What Shouldn’t Work
byVideogames are a relatively young medium, taken in comparison to most of their nearest peers. Even still, they’ve been around long enough to have a formula, and most games are variations on their formulas than do things to innovate and drastic changes…
August 26th
byIt’s been a good week for topics that definitely deserve more attention – I was excited to read pieces that pick up on how the movement of the player-character’s body intrinsically affects the narrative meaning of a game, and also gratified to…
August 19
byThis week, games and their critics ponders at length about inclusivity, technology, change, and play. In particular, games and their communities are examined on inclusion and the considerations of silence. Games are also thought of as lenses for varying perspectives. And finally,…