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multiplayer

The Art of Level Design Analysis

…does apply for beat-em-up encounters. Beat-em-up design analysis from a more appropriate perspective is, however, offered by Ben Ruiz’ wonderful blog.

A clarification before I go: I do not enjoy multiplayer games, though I know they can involve a lot of clever design. I touch my cap to them, but obviously I can’t feign authority about them! If there are articles about multiplayer games you enjoy, then I fully encourage you to post it in the comments. Also bear in mind that I haven’t quite seen everything and I am enormously biased, so please post as well if you…

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January Roundup: ‘Player’s Choice’

…when unlike real life, video games validate our goodness thereby making it even harder to be evil.

Taking a different tack, Phil of Tim and and Phil Talk About Games, took the opportunity to discuss ‘Player’s Choice’ in terms of multiplayer games – specifically Counterstrike. Phil describes his self-imposed play style is being comprised of ego (challenging himself to use challenging weapons) and empathy (considering whether everyone in-game is having a fun/good experience). Phil states,

These two tendencies–one which is essentially showing off and another that boils down to some kind of strange fairplay–might seem to be

…

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May Roundup: ‘Plans’

…brains.

Likewise, Joseph Dean argues that the lack of a meta game—that is a list of communally developed strategies organized by effectiveness—is what makes Frozen Synapse such a great multiplayer experience. Because the planning phase recurs, the Frozen Synapse player always reacts and adjusts their plan in a way that meta plans fall apart when faced with unexpected challenges.

The editing staff at Fem Hype get together to discuss the moments in games that made each of them cry, many if them describe events that disrupted their plans or expectations. Whether in Gone Home or Brothers: A…

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March 27th

…of our lives. Important work builds on itself, and busywork just passes time.”

The Division

This tough new MMOFPS has people discussing the cruelty of online multiplayer environments at their most brutal (content warning: descriptions of abuse and violence).

  • The Division might be the glossiest Skinner box ever created William Hughes argues at the A.V. Club that The Division is as manipulative and cynical as every other MMO.
  • The Small Moments That Make ‘The Division’ Worthwhile Mike Perna at GameChurch takes in the dramatic environmental storytelling, finding enjoyment in its darkness.
  • Being harassed…

August 28th

…best friend, shame. These pieces look at how the opinion of others shapes behaviour in games.

  • The Specter of Multiplayer Hangs Over ‘Door Kickers’ | PopMatters Nick Dinicola finds that experiencing a team scenario without human collaborators allows him to reconsider where agency and blame are placed in multiplayer games.
  • Pokémon Go and Adults Gaming in Public | remeshed.com Sophie Weeks gives some on-point observations about mobile gaming and social shaming.

“[…] because Pokémon Go takes you out of your house to stalk the neighborhood in search of a wild Rhyhorn, it also

…

Kill Screen archive

…nyu mfa showcase

  • surprisingly british origins beautiful handmade lumino city
  • how among sleep hopes take survival horror back its roots
  • how rise animal simulators making scientific method fun
  • frontlines coming backlash against vr
  • impossible has occurred trolls are force good
  • introducing kill screens virtual reality issue
  • exclusive debut literally epic new beowulf boardgame
  • watch dogs multiplayer critiques our always connected world
  • beginners guide kierkegaard dark souls 2
  • vase mirror
  • supremely confident songs transistor
  • valve about make dota fun again
  • transistor supergiants accidental spiritual successor
  • two5six day…

    • April 11th

    …extra layer of potential enemy intelligence to observe. Sound in games is area of gaming I’m always keen to see more treatment of.

    Andrew at the Little Bo Beep blog notes in ‘The Loneliness of Multiplayer’ [mirror] that, “sometimes multiplayer can exacerbate a game’s feeling of loneliness”.

    Pre-empting Ellie Gibson’s much linked and talked about ‘Farmville Diaries’, Brian Longtin of the Under Culture blog wrote about ‘Being and Nothingness and Farmville’ [mirror].

    Clint Hocking was interviewed by GamesTM in their March 2010 issue of the print magazine, (a magazine that I was incidentally also interviewed in) and…

    March 24th

    Happy Sunday, readers!

    First of all, if you haven’t already seen it, we’ve got a new Critical Compilation this week–this time on the Mass Effect Trilogy, courtesy of Emma Kostopolus. She’s gathered a bunch of great writing on how the series intersects with queer romance and representation, so check it out!

    With that out of the way, this week’s topics run the gamut from online radicalization, to masculine vulnerability, to colonialism, but they’re also nearly all about communication, too. This could be how we communicate to one another in multiplayer games; how we communicate ideas and themes,

    …

    September 15th

    …gaming | Into The Spine Tanya Khan describes the unifying, culture, generation, and language-crossing power of couch multiplayer.

    “In a time where we weren’t necessarily exposed to online gaming and interacting cross-continentally through gaming chat rooms, multiplayer games were the perfect way to break down any obstacles we had in communicating.”

    Critical Chaser

    Fine, I’ll give Final Fantasy VIII another try. Eventually.

    • A tale of revenge and murder in Rust • Eurogamer.net Emma Kent survives and thrives in the conspicuously unfriendly world of Rust.
    • The Comic Absurdity of ‘Final Fantasy VIII’…
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    March 2020

    …to) at a time of heightened reliance on social media. Relatable. (Autocaptions)

  • What Online Multiplayer Is Like For Someone Who Doesn’t Play Games – Razbuten (17:08)

    Continuing his series of informal experiments, Razbuten watches his wife play a few popular online competitive multiplayer games to highlight some of the different things that such games might do better to be more approachable for inexperienced players. (Manual captions) [Note: contains embedded advertising]

  • Kirby | Unravelled – Polygon

    Brian David Gilbert attempts to understand the true nature and meaning of Kirby, the character, resulting in a dramatic existential crisis.

    …