Category: External Sources

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – This is Innuendo Studios

I’m sorry this is a few weeks late. I wanted it out on time and instead the unedited audio just sat on my desktop for a month, mocking me. Let that not reflect on my interview with Ian Danskin about his work on his YouTube channel Innuendo Studios. We cover from its viral first video about Phil Fish (or not as the argument goes) to his continuing strong output of thoughtful criticism. The podcast is live in iTunes, please rate and review us, and on the podcast’s RSS feed. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Highbrow, Middle Brow, and Lowbrow in Free-to-Play Gaming

This week on the Moving Pixels Podcast we do another anthology of 3 small free games. The games this time are A Date in the Park, Mandagon and The Lion’s Song. For this variation on the occasional trip into free game land, we, essentially, each picked a game out … (This post is lost beyond this point.) Moving Pixels Podcast: Highbrow, Middle Brow, and Lowbrow in Free-to-Play Gaming » PopMatters "No need to linger little totem; heed the words we all have spoken!" | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Explores Act IV of ‘Kentucky Route Zero’

The long-awaited Act IV of Kentucky Route Zero has been released and now so has our discussion about it. It’s a game about being lost. With each new episode KR0 seems to find a new way to express this both thematically and structurally. While Act IV may be the most constrained episode geographically, it also feels like it is also the most expansive with narrative crafting options. It strange coming back to continue a game after letting it lie two years fallow. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – The Spawn of History

This month on the Critical Distance Confab I interviewed Bob Whitaker, the man in charge of the History Respawned YouTube channel. What Bob does is not too dissimilar from what I do. Though instead of interviewing critics, he interviews academics and scholars about their field of expertise through the lens of video games that overlap with that subject matter. It’s an interesting and underutilized lens from which to approach games, so I’m glad someone is doing it. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Catches ‘Em All

Last week, we discussed the summer’s hot new game, Pokémon Go. This really was the summer’s big game. It was everywhere and I don’t just mean out in the wild playing it. Culturally it seemed to have saturated the mind share for the past few months. You couldn’t go much of anywhere or read something without Pokémon Go being brought up. It’s why I felt in some way able to talk about it as a cultural event despite having never played it myself. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Goes ‘Inside’

This week, we inspect PlayDead’s sophomore game, Inside. We go into a long, long discussion on the nature of purpose in art. The dichotomy being, whether it should be imbued with meaning or whether pure expression is enough. And then whether Inside succeeds or fails in regards on those merits. … (This post is lost beyond this point.) The Moving Pixels Podcast Goes 'Inside' » PopMatters "........." - There! That's my quote. Because no one says a goddamn thing in this game. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Battles the ‘Jotun’

This week on the Moving Pixels Podcast we look at the brilliantly animated, Norse, giant-slaying adventure, Jotun. This is a game born of Norse mythology. Those stories are inscribed in the worlds you visit. It isn’t just a source for the developer to mine enemy types from, but a presentation of an ethos of that world view. As Nick notes in the podcast he was expecting for a long time for victory to mean Thora would be granted life once again. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

The Moving Pixels Podcast Unearths ‘Uncharted 4′

This week we look at a AAA game, the end of the Uncharted series, A Thief’s End. Our usual host, G. Christopher Williams does not have access to a PS4 and had to bow out of this episode. I put the call out for a guest over several weeks and got few responses. Justin Keever ended up being the one we brought on to discuss the game. Instead of having a thesis to discuss this game under, we used the ‘throw everything at the wall and see what sticks’ method. | more

Eric Swain External Sources

Critical Distance Confab – Minisode 13 – Soundscapes and Dreamscapes

Last Friday, the latest minisode of the Critical Distance Confab went live. Joining me for this minisode is games and digital arts creator Lauren Schmidt. All the games we discussed had a strange unearthy quality to them in some respect. Sometimes you get lucky when looking for a title because one or both of you say it during the podcast. We’re off schedule for the moment. The minisodes are supposed to come out at the end of the month, but recently they’ve been shifted forward due to reasons. | more