Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Moving Pixels Podcast: There's a Little Killer in All of Us

An awfully long podcast about Killer 7.

As always, I believe I got lost in talking about how Suda's games are about games. Not sure I articulated it as well as I have in some past articles. I dunno.

Moving Pixels Podcast: There's a Little Killer in All of Us

Rogue Legacy: Old Money and Better Living through Dungeon Delving

A review of the very nicely designed Rogue Legacy:

Rogue Legacy: Old Money and Better Living through Dungeon Delving

Monday, July 29, 2013

Creatures of Appetite

I often say that I prefer dogs to cats. Cats are self indulgent, self absorbed creatures. They remind me too much of people. They remind me too much of myself.

The dog, on the other hand, is a noble creature. Seemingly selfless, ever loyal, ever faithful, and capable of unconditional love.

My basset hound puppy, of course, escaped again, bolting outside (as she loves to do) to run roughshod over the neighborhood. I took a small piece of boneless chicken and a leash as my implements of entrapment. She made me chase her two blocks, but as always, she was trapped by her stomach, a creature of appetite, a creature of impulse. Once again, I was reminded of people and once again too much (unfortunately) of myself.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Smoking while cooking bacon

The only act of defiance left.

Pathetic.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

"First World Problems"

I swear if I hear this phrase one more time...

Yeah, I get what people are trying to suggest with it, but it's usually used by middle to upper class white kids that don't know that poverty exists everywhere.

Come to Detroit some time, and I'll show you houses that my sister and her husband insulated because people had their heat shut off and had ice building up on the interior of their walls (and, yes, helping out with paying the heating bill was also part of the solution, but they were looking for something that might serve as some longer term help since it was likely to happen again). Or come to my Salvation Army, and I'll introduce you to some guys I know that live in their cars. Now, I suppose you think these guys are "privileged" because they own a shitty '84 Buick Skylark, but I assure you that the overall picture isn't a portrait of an ideal society, nor is the car itself a particularly ideal place to eat and sleep in.

The phrase "First World Problems" is clever. I admire cleverness, but in this case, stop being so very clever, open your eyes, and help someone out that might need it. They're probably closer at hand than you think.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Trolling the Player: Punk Aesthetics and the "Anti-Fun" of Suda 51's Games

Doesn't anyone listen to punk anymore?

I may sound condescending, but I often feel like I need to explain what punk is to just about everyone around me. That punk wants to provoke discomfort, regardless of how offensively that provocation might be to liberals, conservatives, your mom, or your dog, is something I feel like no one "gets" anymore.

In a culture so worried about words and who is going to be offended by what, we sure don't seem interested in intentionality. We just indict, indict, indict. It's the New Puritanism, and I can't bear it.

That isn't exactly what this article is about, though, just my own vague tangental musings.

This is about Suda 51 and how he tells me to "fuck off" whenever I play his games and how I kind of love him for it.

Trolling the Player: Punk Aesthetics and the "Anti-Fun" of Suda 51's Games

Friday, July 12, 2013

I don't sleep

Not much and only intermittently.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded: Antique Raunch

This is probably the best review that I've written in a long while, and it's for a freaking Leisure Suit Larry game. Go figure.

Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded: Antique Raunch

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Moving Pixels Podcast Celebrates HUDs, Health Bars, and Start Screens

Having recently written about the HUD and its relationship to how we experience game worlds and the drama of game plots, I wanted to talk with someone else about how they view these seemingly "meta" elements of games. The following conversation with Nick Dinicola is the result:

The Moving Pixels Podcast Celebrates HUDs, Health Bars, and Start Screens