Escapism Squared: High Times With a Video Game
kotaku.comI noticed something curious in my field. All these brilliant, brilliant colleagues and developers are terribly sad. And I couldn't even really talk to anyone about it, because that's just how it is. Don't you know, Patricia? Creative fields and depression practically go hand in hand. Plus, the smarter you are, the more capable you are of knowing how much the world sucks. Duh.
Estimated reading time: 10 min
The Trouble With Call of Duty's Scary New War of the Future
kotaku.comBut in reality, what makes certain operations "black" is not that they go undetected by enemy forces—after all, most of military engagements are meant to surprise or deceive the opponent. The peculiarity of black operations is of being untraceable and deniable by the very institutions which finance and conduct them.
Estimated reading time: 8 min
Most Popular Video Games Are Dumb. Can We Stop Apologizing for Them Now?
kotaku.comAm I being too harsh? Am I asking too much? Should I just set down the controller and spend my time sipping port while reading 19th century French poetry if I'm so intellectually-frustrated with games?
Estimated reading time: 11 min
How Video Game Fans Mourn the Death of One of their Own, Slain in Libyan Attacks
kotaku.comSean Smith, known as Vile Rat in Eve Online and on the Something Awful forums, was one of four Americans killed in the attack on the consulate in Libya yesterday. In the hours since, the communities he left behind have rallied to honor his legacy in the way that only the internet really can.
Estimated reading time: 5 min
Nerds and Male Privilege
kotaku.comShe was in there for less than 4 minutes before one mouth-breathing troglodyte began alternately staring at her boobs – evidently hoping that x-ray vision could develop spontaneously – and berating her for daring to comment on the skimpy nature of the costumes – in this case, Lady Death and Witchblade. She fled the premises, never to return.
Estimated reading time: 11 min
The Difference Between A Good Video Game and a Bad One
kotaku.comThis must be why I loved Portal 2 last year, a game that may have had just one solution to each of its puzzles but let me feel like I was experimenting—making decisions—as I tinkered with possible ways through. And this must be why I tired of Uncharted 3's combat, which offered me the same choices against the same enemies ad nauseum.
So What If I'm A Woman? Let Me Play The Damn Game.
kotaku.comPeople would regularly take note of the publications listed on my badge and say, "But you don't really play, right?" I was assumed to be eye candy, the pretty face of a publication whose content was provided by people with actual talent. Every time I protested, the offender would say - as if it were a proven fact - "Well, girls aren't usually into this stuff, you know."
With the Galaxy in Flames, My Video Game Hero Finally Came out of the Closet
kotaku.comI was an openly gay man playing a character who did not have the tools to properly express his character, and therefore was projecting my own knowledge of what it is like to live a closeted life—the shame, the guilt, and the sheer terror of not knowing how to take that first step.
Estimated reading time: 7 min
'Indie Game: The Movie': The Kotaku Movie Review
kotaku.comThat's another thing: given the message how indie gaming is in some ways superior to the mainstream gaming, it's somewhat contradictory to constantly refer to the standards that the other side uses to determine a title's validity, such as sales figures and review scores.
Kristin K recommended this story.
I’m Tired of Being a “Woman in Games.” I’m a Person.
kotaku.comSexism in games remains an unsolved problem, it's clear. Some of you will be nodding along, and some of you will hear the s-word and roll your eyes and go, "oh, this again?"
Estimated reading time: 8 min
Tim Hendrik Juhl recommended this story.
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