I feel like Edge of Tomorrow has been out long enough that it’s safe to talk about the ending. And honestly, I feel like I could have discussed the ending much closer to when it came out because, well, it kinda just was. There wasn’t a big shocker at the ending, no moment that left… Continue reading The Ballsy Ending
Tag: Video Games
Antisocial Gaming
My brother recently got Titanfall which means that I got to go a few rounds at it. That game is fun. It’s also unique in that there’s no traditional single player mode; the only way to play is competitive online multiplayer. It makes sense. There are plenty of games out there where the single player… Continue reading Antisocial Gaming
Feels Like It
Ever played Star Wars? No, not Force Unlesahed or Rogue Squadron, we’re talking the Star Wars game, the original 1983 arcade game from Atari. It’s not the most complex game out there. In lieu of sprites the game uses crude vector graphics to give you an outline of TIE Fighters (that shoot fireballs), laser turrets,… Continue reading Feels Like It
Merited Futility
I like playing video games, I really do. I write about them a lot too. Gaming is great: it’s a great form of catharsis, sometimes carries unique stories, and it’s just plain fun. Which then makes it odd when I say I have trouble justifying gaming. See, it sometimes feels like a waste of time.… Continue reading Merited Futility
Of Ludonarrative Dissonance
I say again and again on this blog that video games are a truly unique medium especially when it comes to storytelling. Thing is, storytelling in games is inherently weird. What you do in the game doesn’t always quite line up with the narrative it’s telling. Clint Hocking dubbed it ludonarrative dissonance, TV Tropes calls… Continue reading Of Ludonarrative Dissonance
For Want of a Glass of Water
Kurt Vonnegut once said, “every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” This piece of advice functions as a very simple and straightforward way to ensure a character has some semblance of depth. What's important about a goal? A goal gives a character purpose and gives an audience a… Continue reading For Want of a Glass of Water
Why The Last of Us Should and Shouldn’t Be a Movie
Big news broke on Thursday: The Last of Us is becoming a live action movie. Now, you have to understand, I love The Last of Us. I wrote a final paper on it (see notes here), I wrote about its characters and convictions, and I wrote on how it’s a grownup video game. I’ve said… Continue reading Why The Last of Us Should and Shouldn’t Be a Movie
Gamey Education
For some reason, my high school World History teacher saw it fit to skip over the entire Ottoman and Byzantine Empires. This thus left me with the general feel that those empires were a completely disposable era of history. That’s high school in South Carolina for you. This all changed when I begun playing Assassin’s… Continue reading Gamey Education
Defying Conventions
I’m still not done spitballing this essay (which is problematic, seeing as it’s due on Monday) but I’ve narrowed in my focus to make it more relevant to the class. Rather than comparing Mass Effect 3 and The Last of Us, I’m going to look at the latter game and how it does away with… Continue reading Defying Conventions
Projection and Empathy
Every now and then I repurpose this blog to spitball various ideas for papers I have to write. I’m doing it again. For my class on Melodrama (yes, it’s a thing) I want to write about video games, because I can. Particularly Mass Effect 3 and The Last of Us and the different ways each… Continue reading Projection and Empathy
Essays, Not Rants! 