Category: External Sources

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Heavenly Sword’s Thematic Resonance

This was supposed to go up last Thursday, but it was an absolute mess. It wasn’t until over the weekend did, I realize the problem with the original draft. It was three essays worth of content in one. It was a mess to create a cohesive argument in all of that. Now the version that is up is only two essays in one. I managed to smooth things out so one essay in smack dab in the middle of the other and is necessary to make my argument. The thing is, both pieces are something I’ve wanted to write for a long time, some longer than others. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Critical Distance Curator

Ben asked me to step in again this weekend. Or rather he asked someone to step in and I said yes first. Thing was two days before it had to go up I had only two links. Then the day before I was pushing 30, so thank you all for that. And, well TWIVGB has been going on for over two years now. I want that to sink in for Ben, he’s been doing it for over two years. I’ve been helping for over a year and half officially and dumping more link in Ben’s lap than he can shake a stick at since the beginning. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Enslaved and My First Nightmare Mode Post

So, about a two weeks ago I was asked my Nightmare Mode‘s Editor-in-Chief Patricia Hernandez to join. It was right after and mostly because of my Existential Critical Crisis post that I was asked in the first place. I was a bit taken back. Here I was debating my self worth, or rather I was a few weeks ago, (The amount of time it took to edit that 10-page monstrosity was long enough I was feeling much better by the time it posted.) and here was someone asking me to join the revamping of a site. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Horror Games – Top 25

So, I wrote a piece for Gameranx called Top 25 Horror Games of All Time. Not the most enthralling piece I’ve written, but then that isn’t the purpose of top x lists. I was given the assignment from my editor there and I managed to get it out in about 12 hours. It got lost in the shuffle, so it was published about a month after I wrote it. But that is not why I mention it. I mention it because I wrote it, but I’m going to keep going on about it because when I was writing it, it brought to mind things I’d like to talk about. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Podcasts ho!

A few weeks back, Kris Ligman came to New Jersey to give a presentation at a conference about her research. Before she was to fly back to California she dropped by my home town to say hi and chat. During her brief stop before I took her to the airport, she mentioned that the Moving Pixel crew would like to have me on for a podcast at some point. I said I’d love to join. A while later I was contacted and was asked if I’d still like to come on. Well of course I would but I would need to know what I’d be speaking about. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Another Podcast, Another TWIVGB

It seems to be a theme for this year. I've done more on other people's sites than I've done on my own. This continues to be true. Over a week ago I was invited to do the Chronoludic podcast with Chris Green, Mike Dunbar and Seb Wupper. The topic at hand was the question 'what is a game worth?' The focus of this particular question was the issue of economics and us as game purchasers. WE didn't reach any groundbreaking conclusions or earth-shattering revelations. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

My Latest Work at Critical Distance

While I haven't been updating my own blog much lately it's partly because I've been busying myself with other things. I've worked at finding a new job. I lost or rather finished my other part time, contract work last month. I've also been hurriedly trying to get my RSS feed back under control. The week I spent away from it (I'll tell you why later on) even though it was the week between Christmas and New Years it didn't slow anybody down when it came to posting. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

CDC Podcast Episode 6 is Up

A little over a week and a half ago I asked TWIVGB compatriots Ben Abraham and Ian Miles Cheong if they wanted to join me in restarting the CDC podcast series. I've wanted to do another ever since I last appeared on episode 3. I love talking to intelligent people, intelligently about... well anything really, but the subject here is video games. Given the time of year, I figured it was only fitting that we discuss the year in a retrospective of events, stories and games. I knew the three of us wouldn't be enough. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Indie Game Spotlight – One Chance

(Indie Game Spotlight is an irregular feature, trying to be a regular feature that I haven't done for almost a year and finally got back to. I highlight and talk about an indie game as opposed to the AAA titles that usually dominate the critical conversation.) One Chance is a flash game over at Newgrounds that you must play, but a note before you do. The title is more than that; it is a warning of what you are about to play. You have only one chance to play this game. There are no restarts or replays. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

The Counter-Arguments to Why Video Game Are Bad

This is not an essay by me. I'm sorry if you got that impression and clicked your way here. There are a few posts I've read recently that articulate the debate very well. As with most posts like this it's really for me to have them at my fingertips should I ever need the link. However, with the Supreme Court case coming up soon deciding whether or not video games are protected speech under the first amendment they are good articles to pass around. If you haven't read them before, I thoroughly endorse them, if that means anything. | more