Finally got the chance to play through Spec Ops: The Line (thanks, Isaac). It is really good, like Bioshock good as far as dealing with its themes in a really interesting and thoughtful way.
The game got me thinking again about video games and how they tend to fit into the broadest literary categories (tragedy and comedy), so I'm talking in part about Pac-Man as a tragic hero once again (which I always find amusing).
Some thoughts on the post-Minecraft phenomenon of playing unfinished games:
The Art of the Unfinished: Early Access Games and Other Works in Progress
A day later than usual, but this podcast marks a point near the end of our discussion of The Wolf Among Us. I seem to recall liking this episode a bit better than the previous ones.
Another essay by a UWSP student. Erik Kersting graduated with a degree in English last year:
From Nietzsche to Hegel: Perspectives on Humanity in Dark Souls
A few thoughts on a very old, very trashy game. That being said, some of this discussion is likely going to be useful to me for some other things I'm writing, and to be frank, the most extreme genres are often the starkest and most straightforward in their symbolism. They become easy to make a point with. Horror works as easily as sex farce and vice versa.
Pursuing the Plumber: Sex Role Reversals in Leisure Suit Larry
Not the most amazing game ever, but interesting. It's got a Stephen King vibe in spots, but I really kind of got more interested in its circularity and repetition and what that means in the greater context of the medium.
It's brief and worth poking around a bit maybe just for its simplicity.
Recorded a long time ago. Thus, not sure what to say. Might be a good episode?
We are still working on returning to iTunes. Hopefully, soon.
