Author: Nicole Hunter
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When the FPS for “Everyone” Goes Pro
Back in 2016 Overwatch was marketed as the FPS for everyone. The game featured racial and ethnic diversity far beyond most other first-person shooters. Beyond that, it was a game casual and hardcore gamers could enjoy. This marketing scheme has been an enormous success with Overwatch selling over 35 million copies as of October. But…
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Can You Enjoy Problematic Games and Uphold Your Values?
Because of recent events, a cultural conversation has risen about what we should do with content which is problematic. Whether it’s in regards to how it was made, by whom, or the content itself. Should we be able to enjoy this content despite our reservations about one or more of these dimensions? This is something…
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Why Video Game Criticism Exists
As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, two of the three definitions of the word, “criticism” address the art of critiquing a work of art or literature. The first known usage of the word appeared in Thomas Dekker’s A Knight’s Conjuring (1607), according to the 1971 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The art of critique…
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Super Mario Odyssey Continues the Series’ Struggles with Gender Politics
My first few hours with Super Mario Odyssey were really uncomfortable. In the first few minutes of the game, when Peach is being kidnapped by Bowser, he taunts Mario by saying, “Are you jealous?” My skin crawled when I heard that. The suggestion was, Mario would be going on his Odyssey because, yeah. He was…
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The Dog Whistle Tactics of This is the Police’s Marketing
This is the Police is an indie, adventure/strategy game which released August 2nd, 2016. The game follows police chief, Jack Boyd as he comes into contact with the “ugly underbelly of Freeburg,” a very New York-like city as he tries to make 500k in 180 days. The game promises the freedom to be as good…
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Stardew Valley’s Diversity Problem and the Mod I Used to Fix it
Early on in Stardew Valley’s development, longtime fans of farming simulators such as, Harvest Moon and Rune Factory, had a few hopes for the Western take on a genre, long dominated by the hyper heteronormative, mono-racial series that is, Harvest Moon. One of those hopes was that Stardew Valley would be racially diverse. And to…
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One of Stardew Valley’s Bachelorettes is Emotionally Abusive and that’s not Okay
Abigail’s plotline in Stardew Valley begins rather innocuously. Abigail is nice and quirky. As you befriend her you play video games together, and play instruments in the afternoon rain. She’s never written as mean or controlling in these scenes. She’s painted as the edgy 20-year-old at odds with her parents. She’s, initially, an interesting character…