September 30, 2009 Eric Swain Critical Responses, Recent Posts September’s ’09 Round Table Entry – What Do Spatial Relationships Mean to Us Isn't That Spatial? Every video game has certain benefits and constraints in the way it represents space. Interaction fiction, arcade titles, 2D side-scrollers, isometric RPGs, and first person shooters all have advantages and disadvantages to how they deal with space-some technical in nature, some design-based. This month's topic invites you to explore the ways games have represented the spatial nature of their storyworlds and what this does for the audience experience. | more
September 15, 2009 Eric Swain Game Issues, Recent Posts Where are all the War Games? I've been playing Battlefield 1943 a lot lately. It's the first shooter in a long time that I've played. I am usually a single player game kind of guy and usually shun multiplayer modes, unless the person is sitting right next to me. But I tried out the demo and I was hooked in the free half hour it gave me and immediately bought the unlocked game. Playing it lead me to a realization. | more
September 14, 2009 Eric Swain Game Issues, Recent Posts Gaming Made Me Gaming Made Me started with the crew over at RocksPaperShotgun and the various designers they asked, and then others in the middle circle has taken up the question of which video games have made them who they are. Michael McBride talked about how discussing such information will have your audience better understand who you are and where you're coming from when they read your analysis. I'm willing to one step further and say it's an excellent method of self-examination so you can understand yourself better, see any bias' you might have and writer better critique in the long run. I figured it was my turn after last post self-searching nature plus it felt like a good exercise So here we go. | more
