"Where is all the good writing about games?"
Who is left out of games? Who wins and who loses? And how do the boundaries shift? Inclusivity is a major topic in games criticism, and there is still much work to be done, through proactive interventions and critical reflection.
The history of literature and politics blends with the history of games this week, as a number of critics examine games’ relationships to cultural works from across time. Meanwhile, God of War continues to inspire critical reflections, and developers are finding new…
This week’s writing on games picks up on gendered dynamics, dad games, and religion. Settle in for another roundup of This Week in Videogame Blogging. Ad hoc In writing on games and history, we have on piece on how to keep games…
How does sound affect videogame storytelling and the effect that games have on our emotions? This latest roundup features a fantastic section on soundtracks, as well as writing on sexism, social movements, and criticism itself. Yakuza This week brought a slew of…
Videogames: where frustration and inconvenience can be enjoyable. This week’s roundup features writing on the design and portrayal of economic systems, emotional loops, and physical structures for human bodies. Fathers First, this week brought us three pieces about dad games, children, and…
This week’s roundup features writing on the Far Cry games’ ambivalence, and reflections the uncomfortable ways games make us relate to our own minds. But first, This Week in Videogame Blogging brings you some examinations of how we relate to the economic…
Responses to the Trump administration’s meeting to discuss links between videogames and violence feature prominently This Week in Videogame Blogging – but this roundup starts with some art history. Bad art Two Unwinnable articles this week argue for aesthetic reclamations of bad…
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…
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…