Don’t Write Off Nintendo’s Latest Stab at VR
Arthur Schwarz was onto something. It was the turn of the century, and people were tiring of the same old entertainment. But technology was advancing. What if a device could trick our brain into seeing...
View ArticleThe Changing Face of Video Game Crowdfunding
Much has changed since 2012, when Double Fine cracked open video game crowdfunding with more than $3.3 million raised. The video game Kickstarter movement began as part of the indie revolution against...
View ArticleHow ‘Hypnospace Outlaw’s’ Fake Internet Reveals the Flaws in Our Own
Most of us don’t have to revisit gloriously-hideous artifacts like the official Space Jam site (vintage ‘96) to know that the internet has come a long way since its formative years as a haven for...
View ArticleWhy Video Game Industry Pushes Cloud-Based Gaming
Playing video games used to be simple. You bought, borrowed, or rented a cartridge, gave it a good blow to “get the dust out”, and popped it in your system. The advent of connected consoles, growth of...
View Article‘Katana Zero’ Soaks in Era of Unfettered Capitalism, Naked Warmongering
Video games first came into their own during the guilt-free excess of the late ‘80s, when the kinetic pleasures of the simple gameplay forms offered by the likes of “Mario” and “Zelda” sank their hooks...
View ArticleWhat We Can Learn From a Game Studio Co-Founder’s Public Tirade
It should have been a celebration. It’s been more than four years since the last “Borderlands” game and more than six since the last developed by series creator Gearbox. Instead, the “Borderlands 3”...
View Article‘Tetris 99’ Is a Maelstrom of Industry Trends
“Tetris” might be the perfect video game. Even now, thirty-five years after the first time, it still feels good to drop a long block into a narrow shaft and erase four lines at once. That this action...
View ArticleIon Maiden Savors the Strange Taste of Nostalgia
A few days ago, Jon St. John, the voice actor behind the ‘90s video game icon Duke Nukem, tweeted out a call to arms, asking fans of the character to rally together to try to get a new entry in the...
View ArticleHow ‘Forager’ Managed to Hook a Survival Skeptic
Back in the haze of history that is 2009, an online friend of mine enthusiastically recommended a free game to me that he described as “Legos, but better.” While I enjoyed forging basic structures out...
View ArticleHow ‘Borderlands’ Failed Gamers Like Me
Spoiler alert: This column contains mild spoilers for the “Borderlands” film and game series. On paper, the wildly popular “Borderlands” game series is the perfect fodder for the big screen: Ragtag...
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