Author Archives: kunzelman

The Beauty of Team Fortress 2

Posted on 08/28/2014 by kunzelman
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Raphael Sfeir’s “Other Side”

Posted on 08/26/2014 by kunzelman

Other Side starts with two beings floating away from the player character, and after they’ve ascended, the player walks until she finds a set of stones. The stones light up, deliver tones, but very little else. The player wanders until she … Continue reading →

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Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, and deliberate action

Posted on 08/26/2014 by kunzelman

A few days ago Cara Ellison wrote a wonderful piece about Tomb Raider and the difference between the earlier and later games in the series. My experience with Tomb Raider as a kid was limited to buying it in a bargain bin and having … Continue reading →

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On Alastor and Ifrit

Posted on 07/29/2014 by kunzelman

1. A while back Oscar Strik wrote an article titled “An Ode To Objects” where he explained that the most wonderful items in games are ones that are clearly part of the game world itself. Essentially, if you can “plug … Continue reading →

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On Timesplitters

Posted on 07/14/2014 by kunzelman

This article was voted on and supported by my Patreon page. Timesplitters 2 was the most significant game of my teenage gameplaying years. It is comprised of several micronarratives taking place throughout human history, and the core of the game involves the … Continue reading →

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You Buy It I Write It: Karateka (2012)

Posted on 06/25/2014 by kunzelman

This was written as part of my longform project where I play anything someone purchases for me. You can read more about that here. Videogames have strange relationships with time. There’s the time-to-complete, which is a measurement of how long … Continue reading →

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On Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – The Animus

Posted on 06/16/2014 by kunzelman

This essay is in a longform series of posts about the Assassin’s Creed series. It is supported by my Patreon page. 1. The Assassin’s Creed series up to Revelations all follow a pattern of nested interfaces: you are a player controlling Desmond Miles who is strapped … Continue reading →

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On Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – City

Posted on 06/03/2014 by kunzelman

This essay is in a longform series of posts about the Assassin’s Creed series. It is supported by my Patreon page. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is a departure from the previous games in the series in that it takes place almost completely … Continue reading →

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On Assassin’s Creed 2 – Interface

Posted on 05/13/2014 by kunzelman

This is the third of three essays in a series on Assassin’s Creed 2, which is itself part of a much larger series on the Assassin’s Creed franchise itself. Assassin’s Creed uses the mechanic of blending in order to allow Altair, the assassin of the Holy … Continue reading →

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On Assassin’s Creed 2 – Conspiracy

Posted on 04/23/2014 by kunzelman

This is the second of a few essays in a series on Assassin’s Creed 2, which is itself part of a much larger series on the Assassin’s Creed franchise itself. It isn’t possible to talk about Assassin’s Creed without talking about conspiracies. They’re the life … Continue reading →

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