Search Results for “M. joshua Cauller”

May 7th

On your own in an unfamiliar place, where nothing is real, and powerful structures overshadow everything? Games critics this week venture out alone.

Technical limitations

Narrative-focused games are encouraging increasingly nuanced analyses of inaction, peace, and pacing.

Gamasutra: M. Joshua Cauller’s Blog – Thoughts on first-person-narrative game trailers M. Joshua Cauller’s notes on producing a game trailer are also potentially useful material for video makers wanting to document and comment on other people’s games.
‘Antisocial VR’ and the power of isolation | GamesIndustry.biz Will Freeman interviews solo developer Martin Wheel about meditative experiences and

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January 19th

…blast for its inevitable depiction of sexual assault. Meanwhile, Nick Dinicola realizes how much he has in common with the new protagonist of The Walking Dead.

Back on GameChurch, M. Joshua Cauller talks about forgiveness in Metro: Last Light.

The Unchanging Empire of Wargamers, Wars, Gamewars, and Console Wars Bureau

Empire Down by Sam Kriss examines Age of Empires and the logic of its wars. “What’s really going on has very little to do with combat, and everything to do with resources.”

Robert Beckhusen asks, do 1,600-year-old Viking war games cause violence? The game in question…

…and middle class subjects in his art is quite analogous to that which still greets games which make people of color, the poor, the mentally ill, into their protagonists. […] In games we’re slowly, grudgingly moving from our own divinity figures — that of the grizzled (space) marine — to a variety of other, previously ignored characters.

19th century cultural products were also on the mind of J. Stephen Addcox at Kill Screen, who traces Sunless Sea‘s heritage in 19th century nautical literature, from Treasure Island to Edgar Allan Poe.

Enactment

At GameChurch, M. Joshua Cauller…

February 7th

…continent in terms of language and local customs, success for one African developer is good for all of them.”

At Gamechurch, M. Joshua Cauller discusses how the limited verb set of Oxenfree contributes to the poignant sense of intimacy in its friendships, At Vice, Kaitlin Tremblay looks at Oxenfree alongside Tales from the Borderlands and Life is Strange, to discuss the value of platonic relationships in storytelling.

Oxenfree: The Beauty of Traveling Together
Why I’m Looking Forward to More ‘Just Good Friends’ Relationships in Video Games

Yet more talk of friendship comes out…

April 10th

…Narcisse reviews 1979 Revolution: Black Friday for Kotaku, highlighting how the mere fact of its creation is a politically-charged act.

Putting Naiveté to Rest: ‘1979 Revolution: Black Friday’ | Gamechurch.com M. Joshua Cauller, who once had aspirations toward being a Christian missionary in Iran, offers some sensitive and self-critical reflections.

“I realize how foolish, arrogant, and just plain ignorant I’ve been—to assume that I am poised to alleviate the tension and suffering of the Iranian people. I didn’t and still don’t know enough about the religious and cultural complexities of the Iranian people (and what’s been…

October 2nd

…just that you’re not expecting to get anywhere.’”

Unbounded Love

Game systems that represent emotional connections between people are the focus of these pieces, one on friendship, the other on parenthood.

Mechanizing Friendship in ‘Slayer Shock’ | Gamechurch M. Joshua Cauller reflects on the shallowness of a game mechanic, wondering whether real life is automatically any deeper.
What Does It Mean to Be a Mother: Mothering and Maternal Thinking in Ori and the Blind Forest Not Your Mama’s Gamer Bianca Batti and Jynx Boyne consider femininity and queer families of choice in a game…

August 13th

…only games could tell | A.V. Club The title there really says it all as Matt Gerardi goes down the aesthetic and design decisions that allow the game to fulfill that purpose.

Religion and Psychosis in Helllade: Senua’s Sacrifice | GameChurch M. Joshua Cauller looks at Hellblade’s blending of its representation of mental illness and the character’s religious beliefs:

“This is the thing about Hellblade that’s the most clear: Seuna’s distinction between religious reality and mental illness isn’t something she’s equipped to handle by herself. Maybe that’s why she needs the player? It also reflects the…

August 17th

…Noah Caldwell-Gervais looks at the Mass Effect series, and Stuart Arias has a critical series of System Shock 2 up on Twitch. Critical Let’s Playing is really interesting approach, and I’m excited to see more of it!

All That’s Fit to Print

On Ontological Geek, Oscar Strik reviews Cameron Kunzelman’s On August 11, A Ship Sailed into Port. Meanwhile, at Words That Won’t Sell, Edward Smith writes a very interesting piece about the sense of exhaustion and defeat that pervades the new Wolfenstein.

At Game Church, Joshua Cauller examines the risk of love in war that Valiant…

April 16th

This week’s writing allowed me to reflect on the way that gaming and life affect one another as well as how we look at games through time and space. I hope you enjoy what we’ve curated for you this week!

From the Inside Out…

Just like any other form of media, video games help us parse our navigation through life.

Yoko Taro: Weird feelings for weird people – ZEAL – Medium Ruben Ferdinand examines Yoko Taro’s execution of affect in the Drakenguard and Nier series.
Torment Tides of Numenera: Bastard Simulator Joshua Cauller uses

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