Category: Read
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How Breath of the Wild Failed Princess Zelda and Representation
The most recent incarnation of Zelda will not be included in the Smash Bros Ultimate roster, because she is ‘not much of a fighter’. This is a fair estimation of the character, which reflects how Breath of The Wild failed Zelda and representation. Characters in the game are varying in their development, but Zelda really suffered. What…
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Creating Meaning in Heaven Will Be Mine
Heaven Will Be Mine is a 2018 visual novel by Mia Schwartz and Aevee Bee. It is the spiritual sequel to 2016’s We Know the Devil, taking with it many of the first game’s naming conventions and decidedly queer romances while shifting the story to space in an alternate universe’s 1981. It’s a gorgeous masterpiece, and you…
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Waiting for Animal Crossing
The Nintendo Switch was released in March 2017. That makes the new console nearly a year and a half old; and quite the year and a half it’s been. We have seen long-awaited releases such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, and we are awaiting titles such as…
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Anticipated Upcoming Games Without a Straight White Male Hero
Video game developers have become lazy and “safe” when it came to creating their protagonists. The straight while 30-something male image has not only gotten tired and boring, it has become alienating to minorities who play and enjoy games. So, let’s dive in to some upcoming games that celebrate diversity and allow you to play…
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Explore the LGBTQ Game Archives
The internet is a vast, wonderful playground of information and arguably, video games have benefited it’s creation and release on the world more than any other form of media. If you want to find games that deal with heavy topics such as depression, mental health you can. If you for some reason wanted to find…
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Is it Ever Ethical to Use ROMs?
Over the past weeks Nintendo has issued a storm of cease and desist letters, shutting down the two largest ROM hosting sites. This push to stop the flow of pirated games has made a dent, at least for a little while. Although it’s highly unlikely the situation will stay that way. There are some ethical…
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The Silent Protagonist and Gender Fluidity
There is a lot in a voice. In a person’s voice there could be markers for gender, age, and sexual orientation. So why do some games have hours of audio recorded for every other character and yet none for the protagonist? Moreover, why do so many game developers choose to give their hero no voice…
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Embracing Emotional Spaces in The First Tree
The First Tree brought me to tears. I find emotional reactions in games natural, as they often signify a desire for something greater than our immediate reality. This kind of escape is an important part of gaming for all of us. Sony’s old PlayStation 3 marketing slogan invites us to “Play Beyond” what we directly…
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Racism in Villain Design
The battle between good and evil is an age-old plot device that is both fun and engaging. When playing video games especially, people want to feel like they are accomplishing something spectacular; maybe because those feelings are difficult to come by in the real world, or maybe because they want to feel like a hero.…
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An Incel’s Animal Crossing Diary
An extract from the diary of an Incel in Animal Crossing: Day 1 Moving to a new town, leaving the human world and its petty focus on attractiveness behind. I’m going somewhere where I’ll be appreciated as the nice guy that I am. In Incel City, the population is all animals. I’ve always preferred animals. They don’t…
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Should Trigger Warnings be Commonplace in Gaming?
Video games have always been a type of media and entertainment that, in a way, combine books and films. You get to see what is happening to have a visual to go along with the storyline, much like a movie. You also get to come up with your own ideas, your own head canon to…
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How The Sims Became a Champion for LGBTQ Representation in Gaming
When talking about The Sims, an adjective that could very accurately describe it is influential. The follow-up project to creator Will Wright’s SimCity, the game was something that had never been tried before: an intimate simulation of real life where the player can act as either caretaker or doom-bringer for the characters in their charge.…
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Sean Murray is Not to Blame for His Harassment
Sean Murray is too much of a nice guy for someone who has had his life threatened. Reflecting on some of the colorful ways frustrated gamers vented over No Man’s Sky’s controversial release, Murray told The Guardian: “Maybe when you’re sending a death threat about butterflies in a game, you might be the bad guy.”…
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Was Final Fantasy VII Indifferent to Class Struggle?
After AVALANCHE’s destruction of the Sector 01 Mako reactor in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud analogizes the lives of the slum’s population to the controlled and limited mobility of a train on rails; unfortunately, this focus on class struggle is short lived. Conversations about class solidarity are often pushed to the side by the greater cause…
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Why is a Kiss More Terrifying Than a Zombie?
Picture the scene; you’ve just dropped cold hard cash on a new release, something you’ve been wanting to play for a while. The reviews were glowing, every trailer teased more and more information to get you worked up into a frenzy, the main character is a female, but it’s okay because she’s hot and you’re…
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Honest Mental Health and Night in The Woods
Video Games don’t have a fantastic record of depicting mental health. The increasing attention on plot focused games has shown the medium is pretty far behind. As well as fantastic LGBT representation, Night in The Woods depicts mental health in an honest and relatable way. It makes the characters seem real, while still not defined by…