Category: External Sources

Eric Swain External Sources

Moving Pixels Podcast: Our Best Games of 2014

It’s that time of year again, the one where critics and websites all sit around and have fun talking about the games they liked over the past 12 months. As per usual, I’m still working out what my best of year list will look like. I’m still playing games for instance that could make it on. Lots of catch up happens at the end of year and, for me due to my CD commitments, into January. That list is still incoming. As for our discussion, it is really interesting to see our unique perspectives come through our lists. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – On ‘Killing is Harmless’

Things are still getting hammered out with regard to the direction we want the podcast to go. In the meantime, I interviewed Brendan Keogh about his book that headed a whole wave of video game criticism books, Killing is Harmless. Don’t have much to say at the moment. The interview quite nicely speaks for itself and plans for future possibilities are still being worked out. Now that I’m back from my road trip the RSS feed has been updated so it should be on iTunes now. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Goes ‘To The Moon’

The first podcast of the new year is up on PopMatters. We discuss the 2011 indie game, To The Moon. I was on the positive end of things when it came to To The Moon, but at the same time it wasn’t a game I was willing to fight over. It’s a game that is fine, not exceptional, just fine. That’s where I was after playing it and after the recording of the podcast. I’ve grown a little warmer towards it upon relistening to the conversation. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

My Work in 2014

It’s become customary to share ones work at the end of the year in one big roundup. I think it should be pretty obvious by now that I’m in favor of looking back and reflecting upon the past year. I don’t feel like going to deep on it though other than making mention of what I managed to accomplish. I fell apart quite a few times and couldn’t keep up with my own set workload, so I’d rather just let the aggregate of what I did worth mentioning be it. I continued to be on a lot of podcasts this year. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

This Year In Video Game Blogging 2014 – Post-Mortem

This is my fifth This Year In Video Game Blogging feature. That means I have been a part of Critical Distance for over 5 years. That still hasn’t quite sunk in. I wrote up the methodology for how the TYIVGB feature gets done at the beginning of the month, but I figured I’d still do a post-mortem talking about how it actually went down. I had so much to say when I was silently trudging through the entire list of things to read and consider. Now I find myself somewhat silent now that it is out. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Reviews for October/November/December

These are the last few reviews I published at PopMatters for 2014. I do feel I’m getting better at the practice. I really did want to like Gods Will Be Watching. Of course, what person doesn’t want to play a game they won't like. It’s more than that, though. I have a penchant for gravitating towards works of a philosophical bent. Early on we get that the game is about making hard choices in impossible situations and the sacrifices that have to be made. I soldiered through to the end. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

NPC – Non Play Criticism: Everybody’s An Art Curator

It is a truism in video game circles of serious thinkers that video games are a young medium and that we are forging new territory with our criticism. That is of course bullshit in both respects. Video game critics are often cut off from other mediums. May perhaps that our medium is so new that more energy is required to get anything done as each new step is not just walking along a singular path among the fold, but having to stir and pour the concrete before a step may be taken. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Actually, It’s About…2014

Released today was our annual end of year wrap-up podcast. This year I brought up regular Kris Ligman, semi-regular Alan Williamson and newbie to the podcast Lana Polansky. This year sucked. I think pretty much everyone can agree on that. However, because every year we all end up feeling miserable we decided to avoid directly talking about the biggest story of the year and in doing so found the year was a much nicer time that we had all forgotten. I like that year. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Considering the Two Seasons of ‘The Walking Dead’ Video Game

My last PopMatters column of the year and I look back to compare Season One and Season Two of The Walking Dead. Everything seemed to be working in The Walking Dead‘s favor coming into Season Two. Everything I was hearing made it sound like we were in for interesting possibilities. Clementine as the main character seemed like a really good move and the integration of the 400 Days cast was expanding it into a wider world. And yet, it wasn’t bad, just lesser. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

NPC – Non Play Criticism: Near Future Novels

It is a truism in video game circles of serious thinkers that video games are a young medium and that we are forging new territory with our criticism. That is of course bullshit in both respects. Video game critics are often cut off from other mediums. May perhaps that our medium is so new that more energy is required to get anything done as each new step is not just walking along a singular path among the fold, but having to stir and pour the concrete before a step may be taken. | more