Author Archives: kunzelman

Swain on Dear Esther

So Eric Swain has an article up at PopMatters about Dear Esther. I have written about Dear Esther extensively on this blog. Faithful readers of this blog will know that I have a particular weird love for Dear Esther. I’ve played it … Continue reading

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Latour on Aramis

Nothing happens between two elements of Aramis that the engineers aren’t obliged to relay through their own bodies. The motor breaks down, the onboard steering shakes and shatters, the automatic features are still heteromats overpopulated with people in blue and … Continue reading

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Quote: Metro 2033

It appears that the devastation we brought upon ourselves was complete. Heaven, hell, and purgatory were atomized as well. So, when a soul leaves the body, it has nowhere to go and must remain here in the metro. A harsh, … Continue reading

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Glissant and Opacity (2): Relation

This post, like a great many (all?) of the posts on this blog, is about my trying to figure something out for myself. What follows is the rambling that I need to do in order to work my way through … Continue reading

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Designing Horror: Deep Sleep

This post is part of the Designing Horror series. Game: Deep Sleep by scriptwelder Deep Sleep is a game about a person having a dream. Things connect. Things fall apart. There are mysterious dark forces; a phone whispers over the driving … Continue reading

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On Spec Ops: The Line

My thoughts on Spec Ops: The Line in short: the art department is brilliant. I think that the plot, the “twist,” and the gameplay were all generic whatever fare. I think that the aesthetic is inspired, and I honestly believe that those … Continue reading

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Comics vs. Games

TIFF Nexus, possibly the worst-named entity of all time, has been sponsoring or holding or doing something with game jams in Toronto. Even though the guy explains it in the video, I am really confused about the whole thing–but my … Continue reading

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Glissant and Opacity

So I have done a little work with Glissant in the past, but I’m now sitting down and working through Poetics of Relation. It is amazing stuff, and it is really informing the stuff that I am doing right now on … Continue reading

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Designing Horror: The White Chamber

This post is part of the Designing Horror series. Game: The White Chamber by Studio Trophis (which doesn’t properly exist anymore.) The White Chamber is about a woman who wakes up in a coffin on a spaceship. The station is abandoned (seemingly) except for … Continue reading

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McCloskey on Rhetoric

The trick of claiming certitude as a way of avoiding serious persuasion is Plato’s Trope. I hold in my hand a proof, such as they have in mathematics–not the wretched opinions they trade in the courts of law–that kings should … Continue reading

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