Ah, the mini-roguelike, my new favorite form of mini-punishment.
One part Binding of Isaac, two parts Oregon Trail, add a sci fi backdrop, mix well, and you have FTL. A little game that is sucking hours and hours of my life away.
FTL: Faster Than Light Appeals to Some Kind of Inherent Masochism in a Gamer
Racy title, huh? Though not a racy game at least by the average estimation of such.
I spent some time with what I believe to be Edmund McMillen's most controversial title, and I wrote a bit about my response (well, more than a bit, really) to the grotesque imagery and gameplay. However, I am equally interested in how McMillen juxtaposes things that seem like polar opposites in order to unseat our expectations.
Probably it would just be best if you read it yourself.
It plays well. Yet, it lacks a soul.
This week on the podcast we discuss Sleeping Dogs. A game I had a hard time pulling myself away from and yet a game that feels like some essential ingredient is missing from as well.
Moving Pixels Podcast: Disarming the Open World with Sleeping Dogs
Just checking in with a review of Darksiders II in which I argue that sometimes good gameplay needs stronger context to get a player motivated to play. Oddly, Nick Dinicola wrote a blog post that also ran today that kind of addresses a similar issue as he argues that sometimes the opposite is true (sort of), using Driver: San Francisco as an example of such. The two essays read well as unintentional companion pieces, perhaps.
I have been playing FTL and am hooked on it in a way very reminiscent of my obsession with The Binding of Isaac. My latest post is some attempt to explain what motivates the compulsive play of these two games for me by trying to find their commonalities.
So, I'm interested in the brutality of Sleeping Dogs.
Not that open world crime games aren't violent, but there is a moment late in the game, that is really surprisingly intense.
I published little last month. Of course, I played little as well. Summer doldrums, other projects, no access to a console, tons of reasons.
But now there's an open world game on the scene. I'll probably be writing a few pieces on Sleeping Dogs, as these virtual spaces (even when there are only mild variations on the typical iterations of the genre, as is the case with this game) tend to always open a few interesting avenues of discussion.
In this instance, I am back to an old hobby horse of mine: the messages sent by clothing your avatar.
Dressing Up and Dressing Down: Clothing, Semiotics, and Sleeping Dogs
