Remember Me: Come for the Combat, Check Out for the "Subtle" Profundity of the Amnesiac

Some thoughts on the interesting but frequently stupid Remember Me.

Remember Me: Come for the Combat, Check Out for the "Subtle" Profundity of the Amnesiac

The Pace of the Game

Some brief thoughts on pacing, time commitment, and video games, as opposed to other media.

The Pace of the Game

Danger, Romance, Adventure and the Health Bar, or How I Learned to Love the HUD

The double bind of the HUD: it seems artificial, yet its existence in many games represents information necessary to believe in the drama of the game.

Danger, Romance, Adventure and the Health Bar, or How I Learned to Love the HUD

In Marvel Heroes, All the Adventure Is in the Cutscenes

Zap, zap, pow.

Yawn.

In Marvel Heroes, All the Adventure Is in the Cutscenes

Why Superman Fails as a Video Game Character

So, I saw Man of Steel. It's so-so. The main problem, I think, is that Superman and Lois Lane just don't have enough personality to care too much about. The female Phantom Zone villain is pretty fun at times, though.

Supes hasn't had much luck in video games either, and today I considered a few reasons why, which mostly have to do, of course, with his omnipotence and omnibenevolence. I consider whether or not either of them leads to mechanics that can make a game that might actually be fun to play. Superman might just be "anti-fun."

Why Superman Fails as a Video Game Character

Driven to the Grind, Driven through the Grind

My girls and I have been playing Tera Online lately -- separately, since we only have one computer that can run it well. It got me thinking about why I'm playing this multiplayer game as a single player experience, which I think has much to do with the way that the grind has changed in modern RPGs.

Driven to the Grind, Driven through the Grind

Moving Pixels Podcast: Monaco, Neon Noir Heists and the Pleasures of Making Mistakes

The indie scene continues to be where it's at these days. I want my games faster, more challenging, and different. Monaco's aesthetics are cool, and it's gameplay grows on you nearly as quickly, especially the multiplayer.

While I have become more and more a glutton for punishment over the years, enjoying games that make me play more and more perfectly in order to survive, the interesting thing about Monaco is how mistakes become the best parts of the game.

Bad situations in this game and silly mistakes turn into events that are a pleasure to solve. Your or another player's error redefines the objectives of any given level as you have to figure out how to improvise to make that well planned heist -- that just fell apart somehow -- get back on track again.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Monaco, Neon Noir Heists and the Pleasures of Making Mistakes