Quick Save @firstpersonscholar-blog - Tumblr Blog

There’s still so much Skyrim is short of, still too many situations which are resolved by violence alone, but within the confines Bethesda set for themselves they’ve really done ever so well here - Alec Meer, Rock, Paper, Shotgun

On Skyrim – Dragonborn

"I trusted people who had no right to my trust; they tricked me. I had been elegantly and utterly fooled, because I was told very few (if any) actual lies. Instead, my manipulators took advantage of a core human weakness – the desire to not be alone in the world. All they ever told me was what I wanted to hear. It is done, the world is ended."

Matt Sakey's "Dark Soul Diaries," at Tap Repeatedly. The quotation is taken from the epilogue of the series; the series in its entirety can be found here. Rather than focus on this diary in particular--though it is very good--I'd like to raise some questions about player's diaries in general. They're very popular, from Tom Francis' Galactic Civilizations Diary to the infamous Let's Play of Dwarf Fortress, Boat Murdered. But why are they popular? What is it about writing a narrative about playing a game that makes it compelling? To paraphrase (or grossly misquote) Markku Eskelinen, if I throw a ball at you, do you get an urge to tell a story about it? Or, more in the line of Mia Consalvo, is it an issue of player capital, where players show off in excruciating detail their connection to a given game, and other players respond accordingly? Or is there something else going on? What about games is suited for a let's play account--and which games are more suited than others, and why? --Michael

#playerexperience #gamingcapital

"But a more interesting, and wide-ranging, question is whether designing videogame environments is not something of a missed opportunity for today's architecture studios. After all, how might architects relay complex ideas about space, landscape, and the design of new terrains if they were to stop using academic essays and even project renderings and turn instead to videogames?"

--Geoff Manaugh, BLDGBLG. This is a rather old discussion; in fact, Manaugh is speaking in regard to the 2008 LucasArts game Fractured, which did not fare well in the hands of the critics. I imagine that the furthering Manaugh calls for between games and architecture has already happened, in some form or another. But given the prevalence of edutainment and serious games, I think it's important to remember that there's perhaps a better fit for how videogames can contribute to an area of education and public awareness. --Michael

Classic games, like films and books, should remain as their era found them, not dripped through another time's filter. It's easy to second-guess our initial efforts. Sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away. - Jon Irwin, Killscreen

In light of Nintendo's recently announced Wind Waker remake, Irwin suggests that like a printed and bound book, publishers should leave their classics where they belong: on the shelf. Makes me think of Goldeneye and all its remakes. Some want to keep chasing that high, while others are hard at work on a new formula. Stop chasing the dragon already!

-Steve

#Wind Waker #Goldeneye #Remakes

I suspect that all of us can agree that the technologies of the information age produce data faster than they produce understanding. Instead of replacing journalism, the Internet is creating a new market need: for synthesis and interpretation of the ever-increasing stream of facts - Philip Meyer

The recent Computation + Journalism Symposium saw numerous references to Philip Meyer's "Precision Journalism and Narrative Journalism: Toward a Unified Field Theory." The marriage of precision (accurate reporting) & narrative (a useful organization of facts) journalism proposed by Meyer seems like a rather useful approach not only to games journalism but to games studies as well. After all, you can swap out 'data' for games and note that 'synthesis & interpretation' can refer to good old fashioned scholarship.

-Steve

#compj #Games Journalism

“Combining a non-linear story and open-world RPG for the first time, CD Projekt RED’s REDengine 3 brings a new level of realism to the gaming experience.” - CD Projekt RED on their latest engine Non-linearity = realism?

#CD Projekt

Days after the release of their faux documentary trailer, 2K has something better suited for a less 'informed' demographic

EA posts $45 million net loss in Q3, reduces revenue forecast

Joystiq headline

"The game was solid, but the focus on combat authenticity did not resonate with consumers," EA COO Peter Moore said. "Critics were polarized and gave the game scores which were, frankly, lower than it deserved. This one is behind us now. We are taking Medal of Honor out of the rotation and have a plan to bring year-over-year continuity to our shooter offerings."

EA COO Peter Moore

My main feeling was jubilance. I can’t use a smaller word. As I played, I felt a persistent sense of absolute elation. Even when Autumn and Winter come around, along with every metaphorical reading associated with such times, it always felt so optimistic to me.

John Walker on Proteus, Rock, Paper, Shotgun

#Proteus

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Quick Save