January 2018: ‘Novelty’
byAnother year done and dusted—it’s time to take the old calendar off the wall, and hang up the new one. Newness being one of the things we value in our daily life. We’re often so married to our patterns and routines that…
This Year In Videogame Blogging: 2017
byIt’s time for our year-end mega-roundup of games criticism! The purpose of this feature is to create a representative snapshot of the year, curated from the links we shared. I have been doing this for several years, and every time I have…
A Note to Video Producers and Critics
byWe are in the final week of the reader submissions period for Critical Distance’s end of year feature, the mega-roundup This Year In Video Game Blogging. This is a reminder to everybody to get your suggestions in for the feature – you…
December 17th
byGames history went off the beaten track this week, with pieces of writing and video on alternative and even unsanctioned aspects of the medium’s heritage. Meanwhile, genre-bending analyses and challenging calls for better artistic dialogue abound, as writers unpick the critical issues…
December 10th
byThis week brings us a bunch of pieces of great critical writing on games, that put the medium into conversation with philosophy, history, and spirituality. First, this roundup starts with some reflections on old technologies seen in a new light. A new…
November Roundup: Collapse
byNow is the time when it’s all coming to a head. Here at the nexus of finishing semesters and quarters in scholastics, several seasonal holidays, coming to a collapse seems inevitable. It’s a rough time, but the immediate future promises new rest….
Now Accepting Submissions for TYIVGB 2017 Edition
byEvery year since 2010, I have put time aside to look back over the year and compile from the weekly roundups one final roundup: This Year In Video Game Blogging. This is not just a “best of list” list. It is intended…
December 3rd
byIt’s been a good week for analyses of how gender is portrayed in games, with critics looking closely at stories with female protagonists as well as critiquing toxic masculinity. It’s also been a remarkable week for discussions that don’t often appear, such…
Minisode 16 – Milkmaids and Vikings
byDirect Download This is the last minisode of the year for the Critical Distance Confab! We talk about two indie games worthy of some attention and love. Angelina Bonilla aka Red Angel co-hosts with me this month. The purpose here is…
November 26th
byThis week’s games criticism offers insights with implications that go far beyond game design, touching on how we imagine ourselves, our models of morality, and how we organize our arguments and ideologies. Plus, critics offer some much-needed clarity on some of the…