How To Not Spend More Than You Have

Heroes of Might and Magic II is an old game when they were still getting a handle on new design. As great as it is, it isn't a game that grew up within a critical atmosphere where such things are considered, even if only tangentially nowadays. Which is a long way of saying there is not a whole lot the game has to say. Still I do have one last thing thought the game brought to mind. One that I think is extra important given the upcoming Black Friday. (Though I may be too late to get anyone to read this. | more

Indie Game Spotlight – Small Worlds

The game was made for Casual Gameplay's design contest #6 with the parameters to incorporate this content's theme: Explore. Were I to judge in the contest I would look to how well it incorporated the theme, as a critic I am looking at what that means within the game. I recommend playing it here before continue reading. Small Worlds is a simple game. It has three buttons: left, right and jump. And that's all the game needs. You are in an environment that you cannot see until you begin to move around and explore. | more

The Farmer and the Stork in Heroes of Might and Magic II

The game came out back in 1996, long before the industries present fixation on moral choice. Heroes of Might and Magic II starts off with a choice. The implications between the two men are rather clear in deed and imagery. One man offers a clean conscience and a place in the kingdom and the other monetary reward and a place in the kingdom. This is the truest sense of a moral choice, because yes there is an offer of reward, but it doesn't happen within the mechanics of the game. The choice has no connection to ludic elements whatsoever. | more

Apologies and Clean Up

For those of you following me on twitter, which I suppose is all of you given my repeat audience, you will know of my present troubles. Two weeks ago I had midterms, which took up a lot of my time. The week after that I got a horrible case of the flu that my only condolence was that it happened after midterms. The unfortunate downside being that I missed a good deal of classes and did not write the essays that were due due to the fact my brain could not function properly. | more