Category: Read
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Post-Escapism and Video Games
Post-escapism, according to Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson in The State of Play, is a “discourse that looks for meaning beyond entertainment and the joy of play… post-escapism understands games by placing them in social, political and cultural context. It finds value in what game says about the world around it.” Yes, it’s a place where…
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Everything in A House of Many Doors is Bizarre, Except Queerness
A House of Many Doors is a recent exploration RPG where everything is fantastical and bizarre, yet queerness is treated as entirely normal. Somewhere among the bandits and eldritch abominations that lurk in the dark, my brave explorer fell in love. She did have a previous relationship with the craft’s navigator, an older woman, full of…
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It’s Time to Retire the Phrase ‘Diversity in Games’
When discussing making games with characters who aren’t white, straight, male or cisgender, a phrase often used is ‘diversity.’ When publishers and developers disclose the demographics of their workforces, these are often called ‘diversity reports.’ And for the most part this terminology works. Video game characters and the people who make them are still homogenous.…
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How About a Poem?
They say that crying is worthless. But those are simply lies. It’s when your throat burns with salty tears, that the pain truly subsides. The hurt will never go away, the pain will never stop, but there must be a way to let it out or the aching will turn to rot. . We lock our doors…
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Confessions of a Gaming Addict
Hi. My name is Subject 16, and I’m a gaming addict. It’s been… about six hours since I last touched my PS4 controller, and I can already feel the urge to get back to the game. There are still trophies to get and… God I’m desperate! I need to get out of here… I need to…
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Jacob Frye: The First Bisexual Assassin
Assassin’s Creed is an action-adventure series beloved by many, including myself. Ever since the Ubisoft released the first game in 2007, the series has not shied away from exploring uncharted territory. In the first game, you play as a Muslim. During Brotherhood, Leonardo DaVinci comes out as a gay to Ezio and, in a DLC,…
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And Now, a Word on Kirby, Jane the Virgin, and Poop
Nintendo’s Kirby is arguably one of their greatest characters to date. He’s easy to drawn (draw a circle, and then draw like 6 more circles for eyes, hands, and toesies), he’s pink (that’s color psychology is a compilation of optimism, peacefulness, and nurturing). His appetite rivals Joey Tribbiani’s, and he devours and then poops out…
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Everyday Life in A Cyberpunk Dystopia
VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a drunk, psychedelic dream. It presents a vision of a different era: dark and dazed, equal parts criminal and cozy. VA-11 HALL-A puts you in the shoes of a lowly bartender at the grimiest bar in downtown Glitch City. Despite the circumstances, your bar attracts quite the crowds: big…
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Mental Health & MOBAs
I used to be completely addicted to MOBAs. Every day I would come home from work, stick some mac’n’cheese in the microwave and settle in for a solid 6 hours of ganks, pushes, and base racing. Before I realized it, my evening was over. At the time, I might have thought that I was just…
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The Characters We Love, And Lust
From V-Day to Palentine’s to Galentine’s, February is the month of love. In honor video game bromances like Junkrat and Roadhog, BFFs like Mario and Yoshi, and true wuv like Geralt and Yennifer (or Triss, whatev), here’s the video game dudes and dudettes I love. ‘Cause it’s important to remember that romantic love isn’t the…
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Let’s Talk About Nudity
Ever noticed how tits ‘n ass are all we ever see in sex scenes? The Witcher has hundreds of sex scenes throughout the series, and yet, have you ever seen Geralt’s penis? It seems like every sex scene in any 18+ rated game is filled with boobs and naked females aplenty, but men’s genitals are almost too sacred to…
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Trucking Along With Depression
The concept of space is an important one. Whether physical or mental, without space around the things that we perceive, think or feel, we lose sight of the complete picture. The glass that is always proverbially half-full or half-empty is actually always full; the air sitting in the water-free part is often overlooked. When someone…
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Why Rainbow Six: Siege Is the Chess of Gaming
Please ignore the fact that there are actual video games about chess. Alright, alright, traditional chess may not have 3 different multiplayer modes and a dedicated single player campaign – if you can even call it that – but it’s universally known that chess, much like Rainbow Six: Siege, is mostly about bursting through walls,…
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Terry Crews needs to voice Doomfist in Overwatch
I know something is shaking up the gaming world when my mom calls me out of the blue. “Hi honey, I was checking my e-mail and there is this man all over Bing who wants to be in the Overwatch.” Waitwut? Now, I’d heard about this a week before my mom called me with her…
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Mei is Still Bae
Last week, Overwatch’s Year of the Rooster event went live, and with it came several new skins, emotes, player icons, and a new arcade mode. But what’s drawn the most attention from players is Mei’s noticeably smaller waistline. Lots of people are angry because they feel that Mei is being sexualized. Instead of her adorable…
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Dropsy: The Game About Kindness That We Need Right Now
Dropsy opens to the scene of a lit cigarette falling on a trail of oil; it catches fire, and a circus burns. The sole survivor, Dropsy the Clown, with his three yellowed teeth and unsettling countenance, is naturally blamed. Bumbling around the town after the incident, Dropsy faces a variety of civilians. Each of them…