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Eric Swain Critical Responses, Recent Posts

The Supergenres of Action, RPGs and Adventure Games

I wrote a piece for Gameranx asking the question, ‘What is action/adventure?‘ This is part of the larger question about game genres, one that’s been discussed at length over twitter and several posts have come up as well with regards of what certain genres are. As much as the genre debate is generally one of semantics, or in the case of Action/Adventure pigeonholing, I feel there is a necessary undercurrent of philosophy and focus behind the question of what they are that is generally lacking in the current discussion. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Costume Quest and the Annual Tradition

The day after Halloween I have a post up about a potential Halloween tradition in video games. I personally have traditions every year for other holidays with family and friends as I’m sure most if not all of you do. And while Halloween is important for my friends and I we don’t have any set ritual. It’s different ever year. As I have a weekly obligation to talk about games and I’m smack dab in the middle of another project that takes a lot of time and leads to little results until it’s done I decided to go back to a short game from last year. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Slow Times at Paradise City

So, my weekly post is up at Nightmare Mode. It was supposed to go up Thursday and alack it is Monday. One of these days I’ll publish on the target day. One of these days. Part of the reason it is late is that this needed far more editing than anything else I’ve published there to date. But what should I have expected. My target post deadline is Thursday and the only game I’ve played all week is Burnout: Paradise, a game in a genre I’ve literally have no experience in other than demos. | more

Eric Swain External Sources, Recent Posts

Atmosphere is Not Enough: A Limbo and Another World Critique

I played Another World on Monday and Limbo on Tuesday and I wrote the post on Thursday. I had a post due and I missed the previous week pulling my hair out trying to get the follow up piece on Heavenly Sword written. It didn’t work out. It was quite fortuitous that I played these two games when I did and found a connection between them. Another World is an amazing game. It’s hard as hell, but it’s short. Limbo is also difficult, or at least brutal and short, but isn’t as great. | more

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 Recent Posts, Thoughts

End to Navel Gazing Week and Other Thoughts

Well, I said it was navel gazing week some time ago and I wanted to wrap up, after that monster of a last post, with a few more informal thoughts. Since that time has passed and other things have happened, I figure I might as well just mash it all into one post. Really all that’s left to think of are a few musings on how to make game criticism more visible at least in my tiny corner of the world. | more

Eric Swain Game Issues, Recent Posts

Existential Critical Crisis

(This is late. This was meant to come out over a week ago. It’s ironic that it was so difficult a piece of criticism to write in that it deals with criticism itself.  I still don’t think it’s quite right, but it’s got to come out sometime.) I said on twitter last week in response to the bad Freeplay panel that I would…hang on; let me see if I can find it. … Here it is: Well I’ve done a bit of that so far from one perspective and another, but here is the big enchilada. | more

Eric Swain Game Essays, Recent Posts

Indie Game Spotlight: p0nd

Indie Game Spotlight is a weekly feature where I highlight an independent game that deserves attention. Given the difficulty these developers have in being heard, every little bit helps. Some will be free, some will cost money, but all are deserving of some attention. P0nd is a one-button, flash game by PeanutGallery that came out I want to say over a year and half ago. It is a strange game and before I go any further, I want you to go try it. It won’t take more than a few minutes of your time, definitely not more than 5. | more