"Where is all the good writing about games?"
Games critics are always exploring new ways to talk about digital media, be it genre, narrative structure, architecture or the material thinginess of computers themselves. The latest This Week in Videogame Blogging features artists, journalists, and historians trying out new perspectives on…
This week, critical writers in games were moved by the final moments of Demon’s Souls, disturbed by the empty lives of non-player characters, and concerned by xenophobic portrayals of history. We round up the most original writing of the week in the…
What kind of people do we want to be? What kinds of people do we become when we play games? And how are our gameplay experiences shaped by who we already are? This week, critics, journalists, and video essayists discussed morality, identity,…
Does it matter what console you play a game on? This week a number of writers look at the significance of platforms and ports, and how games deal with their cultural context. This roundup starts with reports on the conditions in which…
How can interactive systems subvert the way we normally think things are supposed to be done? This week’s roundup features a number of articles on designing games for different ways of being, as well as examinations of how visual design can make…
In this week’s roundup of the latest critical writing on games, critics delve into fantasy worlds and explore unrealities, bringing back insights into how fiction and truth intersect. Brains First, two critics use ideas from psychology to look at how games affect…
This week, critics discussed topics such as trans representation and the politics of the undead in horror and strategy games. This week’s roundup starts, however, with writers bearing witness to excellent visual artists. Image The passing of a celebrated artist prompts some…
This week, a number of games critics looked at the agencies and capacities of female characters, and examined stories that center women. We’ve also got some discussions of cops and hackers, and puppets! Resurrection Reforms to a character’s abilities and the launch…
Critics enumerate videogames’ hyper-quantified powers, whisper their unspeakable horrors, and dig through the catacombs of their less-known histories. This roundup brings you the week’s most insightful and original writing on games from around the web. Overcoming demons First, a quick look at…
Happy New Year! Or maybe not so happy. 2018 has begun, and it has already brought some powerful games criticism that puts playful interactive media in dialogue with decline, decay, and the death of civilisations. Lighting up the darkness are examinations of…