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diablo

June 3rd

…to also get right into the guts of things. Eric Schwarz declares Diablo III an abusive relationship while Josh Bycer presents us with a breakdown of the attributes of bad game design. Combining the two themes in a tale of “Vicodin Visions,” Grantland’s Tom Bissell performs a ludonarrative dissection of Max Payne 3:

Ludonarrative dissonance, a term first coined by the game designer Clint Hocking, arises whenever a video game’s fiction says one thing and its gameplay says an opposite thing. Some designers and critics regard ludonarrative dissonance as a core problem in modern game design. Max Payne

September 2nd

…Johannes Koski takes us through the streets of Shibuya while extrapolating on concepts from Isaac Lenhart, and what it all has to do with The World Ends With You.

As a matter of fact, this was a good week for JRPG commentary all around, as Pixels or Death’s Adam Harshberger reveals that he liked Xenoblade Chronicles enough to confide a few dark secrets in us. And GameInformer’s Kimberley Wallace explores several design lessons we can still learn the grand old genre.

Josh Bycer writes of the plot holes of Diablo 3. Meanwhile, Unwinnable’s Sam Machkovech swaps out plot…

September 9th

…also tends to sap the brand identity behind gameplay.

Max Lieberman talks about theology as system and game system as theology on the subject of The Binding of Isaac. On a more secular (and musical) note, Joshua Dennison writes about why he likens Proteus to free jazz.

More personally: Scott Juster, touching upon Michael Abbott’s “Why We JRPG“, reflects on his own return to the genre:

When faced with the slick AI director in Left 4 Dead, the accessible upgrade system in Diablo 3, or the emergent chaos in Far Cry 2, it’s easy to…

May 26th

…put a different set of clothes on.” As Keogh puts it: “It’s a social game without cutesy graphics or a ‘share to Facebook’ button, so it’s okay to be seen playing it.”

Outside our usual spheres of games blogging, Peter C Earle of the Ludwig von Mises Institute has an interesting analysis of the recent gold exploit in Diablo 3, as it parallels real-world examples of hyperinflation.

And the second issue of the Memory Insufficient e-zine has gone live, with articles from Troy Goodfellow, John Harney, Maggie Greene and editor Zoya Street. Well worth the read.

October 19th

…against a rock (and also pressing the A button in front of every rock)”. Kirby was maybe the first game of Nintendo fame to not have that gotcha, but regardless of whether it was, Kid Icarus was NOT that game.

Meanwhile, in the newest installment of History Respawned, Bob Whitaker sits down with history professor Michelle Brock, an expert on early demonology, to discuss the cultural and religious underpinnings of Blizzard’s Diablo franchise.

One Does Not Simply…

The new Middle-earth game, Shadow of Mordor, continues to inspire a lot of discussion.

On her personal blog,…

July Roundup: ‘Pure Fun’

…be.

On his new blog at Better Games, Better Gamers, Dan Lipson reviews the meaning of and conditions for “flow” before questioning whether flow is actually essential to fun. Lipson then proceeds to use Diablo as a test case for the question.

This month, the last word goes to Nick Hanford, who inspired our theme for the month. Hanford suggests that, “we have to treat pure fun as a kind of double-edged sword.” While fun helps us turn off our minds and find enjoyment, that that uncritical turning off is also the precise danger of fun. Give…

Abstract image evoking bird silhouette

Episode 38 – The Spawn of History

…of the academy. We talk about the insular nature of academia, the challenges of getting guests to come on to the show, as well as looking to the future of history-based games.

SHOW NOTES

History Respawned YouTube Channel

History Respawned: Assassin’s Creed IV

History Respawned: Diablo III

History Respawned: Valiant Hearts

History Respawned: Bioshock Infinite and the Boxer Uprising

History Respawned: Uncharted 4

Backwards Compatible: Gamers as a Public History Audience

The History Respawned Podcast

Hisotry Respawned Patreon

Opening Theme: ‘Close’ by The Alpha Conspiracy

Closing Theme: ‘Wishing…

July Roundup: Denouement

…a journey or ending that come at great, even narratively unfulfilling, costs. Rob Haines takes a look at games which could—or arguably should—have ended without a happy ending.

Read it now

Seth Tomko

Denouement in Video Games

Seth Tomko explores how games struggle to marry narrative and mechanics, particularly where climax and denouement are concerned, and offers examples from Diablo III, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. The challenges present are not insurmountable though, and sometimes take interesting forms. Technical understanding of how things are is still worth exploring.

Read it now

Damien…

Episode 48 – The Critic and the Dragon

…he engages in, the roulette-wheel-like luck of algorithms, and the surreality of success.

SHOW NOTES

Joseph Anderson YouTube Channel

Dark Souls Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Diablo 3 and Reaper of Souls

Fallout 4 Analysis

Fallout 4 – One Year Later

Dark Souls 3 Critique

Uncharted and The Last of Us – Great and Terrible Games

Joseph Anderson Vs No Man’s Sky

The Witness – A Great Game That You Shouldn’t Play

Joseph Anderson Amazon Author Page

Joseph Anderson Patreon

Opening Theme:

September 17th

…many men climbing higher in society by pushing other people down.”

Plugs

  • Perspectives Differ on How ‘Hellblade’ Handles Mental Illness – Waypoint Our latest Waypoint digest focuses on the discourse surrounding Hellblade.
  • Reverse Design: Diablo 2 – Intro There’s a new “Reverse Design” book out. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it seems worth checking out!
  • Vol 3, No 2 | ETC Press The new issue of academic journal Transactions of DiGRA is out, and it looks pretty promising, with articles on “creative communities” and “playful fandom” as well as…