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pokemon

June 2nd

…themselves in the role of innovators, venturing out into the seemingly uncharted world of folk games and appropriating gameplay principles: A world where no-one owns mechanics and they can be sold as innovation.”

Placing Spaces

Any quality discussion of space–virtual or otherwise–will encompass the function(s) of those spaces as well as the form. In the specific context of games, that discussion may encompass critical contexts that may not immediately relate to the mechanical or narrative design of a space. Two authors this week offer deeper dives on particular spaces in games.

  • The Pokémon Center as…
Abstract image evoking bird silhouette

August 25th

…spending time in virtual ones.

  • Minecraft, Sandboxes, and Colonialism | Folding Ideas – YouTube Dan Olson delves into the settler colonial implications of Minecraft‘s village mechanics.
  • UNDEFEATED – DEEP HELL Skeleton looks at a small slice of a game that gets the Superman thing right by making the world vulnerable instead of the Super Guy.
  • How Pokemon Sword and Shield Could Tackle Brexit | Fanbyte Cian Maher reflects on the allegorical potential of Pokémon‘s goofy villainous teams.

“Pokemon is renowned for many things, from its creepy and charming animalia and enchanted car keys

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December 8th

…a year, I’ve finally got my bearings and settled down.”

Critical Chaser

Two lighter meditations this week deal with the things y’all love to hate in popular games. Or is it hate to love?

  • In Defense Of Hop, The Unlucky Pokémon Rival | Kotaku Gita Jackson meditates on what it means to be a rival in the Pokémon games and why Hop injects positivity and emotional complexity into the trope.
  • I Miss Cheesy Video Game Voice Acting | Kotaku Heather Alexandra implores games to put the ham back in… vill-ham. Ok, I tried.

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January 19th

…media criticism.

  • Pokémon Sword and Shield Is All About Climate Change | Earther Yessenia Funes looks in at how Pokemon in 2019 pulls themes and imagery from our increasingly precarious environment.

    • “This is the world we live in, where not even video games can ignore the dangers of pollution and climate change. But Pokémon Sword and Shield also shows we can change course.”

    Designing for Everyone

    We’ve got a pair of pieces here that each discuss the challenges of designing games to be as inclusive as possible–whether by making sure everyone in a

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    August 1st

    …do so in relation to games with remakes, re-releases, and updates. How do these games make the transition? How do they continue to speak to us in their original form?

    • The World Ends With You: What We Lose When We Remake Games | Paste Grace Benfell describes what survives the transiton–and what doesn’t–when it comes to TWEWY‘s style, storytelling, and uniquely tense dual-screen battle system.
    • Nostalgia Remade: The Past and Future Connections of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl – Uppercut Adanna Nedd relates the childhood nostalgia encapsulated by Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, past and present.
    • Games Don’t

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    May 2nd

    …Faith – Uppercut Grace Benfell unpacks the spiritual themes at play in Friends at the Table‘s fourth season, Twilight Mirage.

  • Heart Container: 22 Years Later, I Am Still Todd Snap – Uppercut Jessica Howard muses on the intergenerational appeal of Pokemon, and how there’s just as much joy in passing on the legacy as there is in revelling in your own childhood experiences.

    • “In New Pokemon Snap, the series is no longer about Todd. Sure, he has a history, further ambitions, and undeniably still holds a place in it. But at the center of the story…

    February 4th

    …maximum psychic peril.

    • Palworld’s One Good Question | Gamers with Glasses Nate Schmidt finds in Palworld a mirror for our disengagement from animal cruelty.
    • Palworld’s skin-deep Pokémon parody is part of a bigger horror story | Rock Paper Shotgun Edwin Evans-Thirlwell weaves in the nebulosity around Palworld‘s copyright with its edgy send-up of animal exploitation.
    • The Pokémon parody in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth innovates more than Scarlet and Violet did | TechRadar Cat Bussell examines what changes when Yakuza does the ‘mon thing with actual people.
    • Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid In

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    April 11th

    Extra! Extra! Read the late edition of eminently readable links known as TWIVGB.

    This week Michael Abbott reveals the secret of Pokémon’s success – and you’ll never guess – it’s chocolate ice cream. That’s what he’s saying here, right? The latest Pokémon comes with chocolate ice cream. Misanthropic Gamer also wrote about ‘Pokey Men’ but he seemed to miss the chocolate ice cream. Misanthropic Gamer also wrote a manifesto this week, fingering the topic of the male nude figure and its troubled relationship with heterosexual men.

    At Kotaku this week we have a pair of interesting essays,

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    August 1st

    …had a rush of nostalgia for it; coincidence?

    Roger Travis looks this week at whether Bioshock belongs (in the classical tradition) to the Epic or Tragic genre:

    The question I want to consider in this post is whether it’s helpful to think about these ancient genres together in connection with our ongoing attempt to figure out what video games are good for.

    I’ll resist the temptation to respond with a Brownian “Absolutely nothing!”

    Matthew Armstrong of The Misanthropic Gamer writes about ‘The Pokémon Ego Agenda’, saying

    It’s pretty damn easy to point

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    December 8th

    …previous piece about engendered AI for Unwinnable. Cool fact: Siri has a male voice in the UK, which makes it sound like a robotic butler. Hopefully Apple will use their cash reserves to hire Ellen McLain and then we can make some ‘GlaDiOS’ jokes.

    Gotta Read ’Em All

    At the Atlantic, Daniel Gross investigates Pokémon Red, White & Blue, the latest PETA videogaming non-sequitur. As Gross points out, the world of Pokémon is much more ethically complex than PETA’s facile treatment: but of course, their games exist to make headlines, not real arguments.

    Here’s a couple of…