Archive for the ‘Games and Life’ Category

The Critic versus the Consumer

Posted: March 25, 2011 by Twitchdoctor in Games and Life, Games and Writing

When everything seems to be going pretty well in my research, writing, and teaching worlds it is usually a sure sign that the bottom is about to fall out of something.  Or maybe everything.  Sometimes, however, it produces a productive overlap where my teaching helps shape my writing and research agenda which in turn helps [...]

In his article Broadpaw made an excellent point about the reluctance of many people to think of games as art or even that particular games might be a form of art; we are lightyears away from someone acknowledging that a specific game might be great art.  Broadpaw noted that the entire debate is structured around [...]

Upon leaving a reply to “It may be art. . .but I really don’t care,” I soon realized that the reply was quickly becoming its own post. So here it is. My good Twitchdoctor, I am pleased that you tackle the question of “Are games art?” in the way that you have – in that [...]

I’ve often heard the argument that games can’t be art because there are a lot of schlocky games out there. Well, there are also a lot of schlocky novels, films, plays, and paintings out there but we don’t automatically assume that that disqualifies entire forms of expression from ever being considered art.

One of the most striking things about our virtual worlds, even many years on from the first MMORPGs, is how resistant these worlds are to player transformation; for years the marketing pitch of all these games has, in essence, been “you make a difference.” The reality is that you don’t. That boss will re-spawn for the next player, that field littered with the corpses of 30 Savage Fluffy Froofroos will, in five minutes be teeming with life, that town will need to be defended all over again by the next raid.

A turd in 3D is still a turd, only now it is disturbingly lifelike and sitting much too close to your face.

Hey, What’s in a Name?

Posted: October 2, 2010 by twinhits in Games and Life

My name is technically not TwinHits. Unless one has very strange parents, one would expect a more normal name for a person. But, alas, this is the internet and here on the internet, we name ourselves.