Monthly Archives: March 2012

Video Games and Parochialism

John H. Stevens has an article over at SF Signal titled “De-Parochializing SF Criticism: Is It Really Necessary? Or Even Possible?” The article is part of a larger column that he does weekly (?) about science fiction/fantasy and how those … Continue reading

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What Will We Simulate Next?

Epic is licensing the Unreal 3 engine to the government. Read the press release here. On face, this all looks like great stuff. A number of games that are being developed are designed around simulation that prepares specialists for difficult … Continue reading

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A Thing We Do With Video Games

I read Ian Bogost’s How To Do Things With Video Games on a plane last weekend. I think it is a really smart book that acts as a really great introduction to video game studies, and more particularly, I think … Continue reading

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To Be Shepard

This is one of those posts where I don’t make proscriptions about or critique a game. This is all about my experience with Mass Effect 3. There are spoilers about the game. *** Mordin died singing. That’s what has stuck with … Continue reading

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More Thoughts About Video Game Pacifism

Back when that guy was playing Skyrim as a pacifist monk, I wrote about it. In fact, I had lots of things to say, and the conclusion that I came to was this: In any case, I don’t think that video game pacifism … Continue reading

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Is Watchmen the Best Comic?

I love the title up there. It reminds me of some of the greatest arguments that fanboys and third-graders have ever had, those beautiful “My ______ can beat up your _____” kinds of affairs. I prefer “my dad could beat … Continue reading

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James Stanescu in Hypatia

This is really just a short bit to say that James “Scu” Stanescu has a new article out in Hypatia named “Species Trouble: Judith Butler, Mourning, and the Precarious Lives of Animals.” It appears to be behind a pay wall if you … Continue reading

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On Deus Ex: Human Revolution

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION  I am late to the party with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. If you want to read a comprehensive review of the game, I suggest this RPS article. I echo most of their sentiments about the … Continue reading

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On Mass Effect 3

THIS POST CONTAINS GREAT BIG SPOILERS FOR MASS EFFECT 3. IF YOU DON’T WANT THE GAME SPOILED FOR YOU, DON’T READ THE NEXT BIT. MOVE ALONG. So everyone in the world is angry about Mass Effect 3. There are a number … Continue reading

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On Any Empire

This is really just a short post to talk about how beautiful Nate Powell’s Any Empire is. I don’t want to ruin the story for you, so I won’t try to review or summarize any of the plot–it’s an affective text … Continue reading

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