July 4th
byAfter a troubling set of weeks, it seems a lot of games critics are thinking about how escapism is more than it appears on the surface. A major theme of this week’s blogging is how games can provide a sense of release…
temporality
Between vintage games collections, retro aesthetics, and the increasing interest in games from the museum sector, the position of games in their own time is a topic close to many people’s hearts. Games themselves are a medium that plays with time, inheriting questions of pacing and anticipation from cinema.
June 26th
byI am spending a few days staying in a cheap Bed and Breakfast in an run-down Victorian seaside resort in the North of England. It is a spooky place where nothing seems to make sense. At one point I saw a white…
June 12th
byThis week, I’m at Doc/Fest Sheffield, watching documentary films, trying out some exciting new VR projects, and listening to people talk about truthful storytelling in screen media. So far I’ve seen software allowing a holocaust survivor to keep answering people’s questions long…
May 30th
byThis roundup comes a little bit late, as I was kept busy this week by a conference about care and technology. As it turns out, the topic of care is not a bad lens for looking at this week’s blogging! Stardew Valley…
May 22nd
byThis week sees some fantastic thoughts on role-playing. Which roles are represented in narratives, what it would have been like to play a particular role in its historical context, and how we deal with the pressure to perform in a particular role….
May 15th
byWelcome back! I’m filled with determination after spending three days running a small exhibit of games, talking with artists who are more familiar with work in other mediums about some of the things that make this form critically interesting. I did most of the…
May 8th
byThis week as I read games blogging from around the web, I’m thinking about how games criticism reflects the many uses of software as tools and contexts for cultural practices. A game can be like a pair of shoes that you slip on…
April 24th
byIt seems that class politics’ time has come in games criticism, with labor issues at the forefront of analyses of both the industry and its products this week. Creators Working conditions and practices have been a major topic of discussion, with a…
April 10th
byOne thing that most games share in common is the sense that they are a world apart from the lives that we ordinarily live. This week’s round-up of some of the most provocative writing on games is organised around ideas about separation…
April 3rd
byIt’s the first blog roundup of April! Here in England, the bulbs and trees are starting to blossom and the birds with rude-sounding names have started to flutter about. The world is becoming colourful and bright once more. Due to a number…