Welcome back, readers.

I’m in the middle of my first summer doing this Senior Curator thing, and truth be told, I was a little worried that critical games writing would slow down a bit in these months. I’m used to an academic schedule and I’ve been at this grad student thing so long I don’t really know what to expect elsewhere. While it’s true that there was a definite lull right after E3, when I presume that lots of writers were (understandably so) recovering from the relentless coverage cycle that follows that event, in recent weeks it seems like there’s actually more great writing being done around the web.

I guess what I’m getting at is that it’s a pleasure and a privilege to read it all and select highlights to share with y’all each week.

This Week in Videogame Blogging is a roundup highlighting the most important critical writing on games from the past seven days.

Industry Updates

We’re opening this week with a pair of wider-angle summaries of the games industry at large, and triple-A development in particular. Both of these pieces do an excellent job conveying what is at stake in the biggest and most prominent titles, as well as the companies behind them.

“Players crave power, agency, and empowerment, especially if they lack it in the real world. Personalized gaming solutions can overcome some of the bias inherent in video game design.”

Escape Keys

The world is an increasingly stressful place to live. How do games deal with that, and how do they represent that? Two authors this week examine.

“Sometimes, things just fall apart, and one of the ways that people can deal with that is to put buffers between us and the bullshit. Fight a boss and actually achieve victory, command an army and actually have some sense of control. Video games can offer us a very particular solace when everything is crumbling: they make us feel like we have power again.”

Circles of Protection

Two authors this week each examine the relative safety of identity exploration within the magic circle of play, whether that be exploration of a vulnerable part of the self, or a more extensive task of (re)identification.

“As I’ve played Belegerwen, and used her voice to shatter the world’s worst case of writer’s block, she’s developed into the kind of woman I daydreamed of becoming back before I knew that HRT and transition were even options. She’s strong, and even though she’s frequently afraid, she doesn’t back down. She shares a lot of my weaknesses, but they don’t hold her back. Her fear of letting down her friends drives her to be fiercely protective of them—recklessly so, sometimes. I wanted to be that kind of woman.”

Players on the Line

Two articles this week each explore online toxicity in play communities: how to make sense of it, and how some are challenging it.

“Prior to asking how complicit the industry is in normalizing physical violence, we should ask how much of a role it plays in ripping apart social bonds and the individual’s capacity to relate to their humanity.”

Care and Compromise

This week we’ve got a pair of articles looking at queer games and gaming along separate axes of navigating microaggression and the uncommon experience of a game that gets everything right.

Blood Pact is more than just a sexy fantasy: it’s a sexy fantasy where you are wanted. You are loved. You are enough.”

Sober Second Thoughts

The five articles gathered here are longer, more meditative examinations of their object games, most of which themselves are quite a bit older but have all been available for at least a month. These perspectives, some quite contrary to the popular discourse, are the kind that can only really be achieved with a bit of time and distance, and I love them for that.

“In Banjo-Kazooie, returning to the top of Grunty’s tower automatically triggers a replay of the final cutscene. In Banjo-Tooie, you don’t get finality twice. You can only walk around the empty, hallowed arena and think about what you’ve done.”

Critical Chaser

We’re closing out the week with three more lighthearted articles this week, because I need them and I suspect I’m not the only one.

“You’re currently wrapped up in a blanket in your den reading this on your phone. You haven’t moved in two hours. You were supposed to go buy groceries but your mobile games are full up on energy again and you decided to check on them really quick. You left a cup of tea in the kitchen.”


Plugs


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