News & Views
9/5/15-9/11/15
Welcome
back everyone! We’re getting deeper and deeper into the packed Fall season. Metal Gear Solid V has been making news,
big Hearthstone tournaments are
happening every weekend, Until Dawn
has the biggest numbers on YouTube, and plenty more. I’ve been having a great
time using my September to play smaller titles that have been sitting in my
backlog for far too long. Three titles beaten already!
As always,
I’m back with another jam-packed entry into the long running News & Views
series. This week I found writing about Hot Ryu and how sexiness is not sexual
objectification, how Microsoft consulted with a Native American tribe for Killer Instinct, and the torment of
being Mario. Check out the articles below and be sure to let me know what you
think!
And of
course you can check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast
that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods,
check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!
Spotlight
Daniel West, Gamasutra
Worth Reading
Paul King,
KillScreen
Steven
Messner, Unwinnable
Dean
Takahashi, VentureBeat
Mike Stout,
Gamasutra
Maddy
Myers, The Mary Sue
With Comments
Innuendo
Studios, YouTube
Innuendo Studios produces some
absolutely phenomenal content. If you haven’t, his series “Why Are You So
Angry” is a must watch. Taking a step back from heavier subjects, Innuendo
Studios articulately and brilliantly describes his deep dive into eSports and
competitive Smash
Bros. play. Well worth your time.
Lana
Polansky, Sufficiently Human
Polansky touches on a truth in
gaming that we, as an industry of writers and commentators, haven’t ever been
able to precisely define. A couple years ago, the separation between gameplay
and story was termed Ludonarrative Dissonance. A mouthful, I know. Here,
Polansky argues that idea needs to be redefined. Thought about in new ways. Her
idea is that of coherence versus dissonance. She argues, amongst many great
points, that gameplay needs to support themes. I’m all for having better ways
to describe video game phenomena.
Maddy
Myers, The Mary Sue
Yeah, I had to put this in here.
Sorry. Quiet is, well, Quiet. Kojima has a long history of not-so-great
portrayals of women in his Metal Gear Solid franchise. On the
character design side, Quiet is downright atrocious. Kojima himself said that
Quiet was designed to cater to cosplayers because of her, uhm, outfit (or lack
thereof). However, the game also offers a preposterous ‘reason’ for Quiet to be
dressed like she is. So that raises the question found in this piece: Why not
just be honest that Quiet’s design is purely for male fan-service?
Patrick
Klepek, Kotaku
I want to wish PlayStation a happy
20th anniversary! I’ve been a huge fan of their consoles since the
PS1 came out. My first PlayStation memory is going over to Mike’s house and
sitting down to watch him play games like Twisted Metal, Jet Moto, and Metal Gear Solid. As soon
as I saved up enough money (my parents REFUSED to buy me one, something
something video games are bad for you something), I went to the game store and
bought my own. 1998 was a good year.
Riley
Macleod, Offworld
Macleod offers a fascinating take on
the male body in games. Often we see male characters that represent the male
power fantasy: tall, muscle-laden badasses. But male protagonists in stealth
games offer something different. To quote Macleod here, “In games, men's bodies often represent brute
strength. Stealth games are the focal point for an alternative masculinity:
sleek, illusory, sensitive, and self-reflective.” Great read.
Javy
Gwaltney, Paste
Laura Bailey is a prolific voice
actress. She also happens to be one of my favorites. It’s great to hear what
she has to say about voice acting, the characters she plays and more. By the
way, my favorites are Fetch (Infamous Second Son), Fiona
(Tales from the Borderlands), and
Rise (Persona 4 Golden).
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