Author: Helen Liutongco
-
Of White Samurai and Internalized Racism
Flat nose. “Pinch your nose,” your family said to you, when you were a child. “Your nose is too flat. If you pinch it everyday, it’ll grow tall and pretty.” One of your Filipina classmates confirms this story, citing a cousin of hers whose nose really did lose its roundness after being subjected to daily…
-
Fire Emblem: Heroes Needs All The Shirtless Men It Can Get
So about Fire Emblem. This is a series that, in its recent entries, wholeheartedly embraces gratuitous, ridiculous, or even borderline distasteful fanservice. Yet despite—or perhaps because of—how occasionally embarrassing these games are, I’ve developed something of a soft spot for them. The popular mobile game Fire Emblem: Heroes is perhaps the most blatant offender of…
-
‘Emily Is Away’ Is Good But A Female Protagonist Makes It Better
With the recent release of Emily Is Away Too, I decided to revisit its prequel game, 2015’s Emily Is Away. For the uninitiated, in both games, the entire story unfolds within the confines of an AIM-esque chat program, in which you converse with your friend, the eponymous Emily. The chatlogs chronicle the ups and downs of…
-
Uzbekistan Ban Lends New Angle to Violent Video Games Debate
It seems that wherever video games travel, controversy inevitably follows. The central Asian nation of Uzbekistan has officially banned 34 games from import and distribution, citing the violent and pornographic content that the games appear to promote. The list itself is a bit of an oddity; it contains the usual suspects such as Grand Theft…
-
Breaking Down Gaming’s Socioeconomic Paywall
“Do you own a Nintendo 3DS?” my homestay brother once asked. His question genuinely surprised me. I had yet to see a video game console at any of my previous homestays in the city of Durban, South Africa. That felt doubly true for the small rural area where I lived at the time. Even the…
-
Counter-Strike Trolling Leads To Transgender Inclusion
Over the past few days, you might have come across a news story regarding a group of transgender women who were barred from participating in ESL’s all-women Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. In compliance with the official rules of the tournament, the women were asked to show official documentation stating their gender, such as a passport. This issue…
-
Why Doesn’t Social Status Affect How You Get Money In RPGs?
In the typical RPG, your relationship with money tends to follow a certain trajectory. Regardless of social status, you usually start out broke. By the end of the game, you will probably end up with more money than you can spend. For the most part, you barely need to put much effort in amassing money,…