The Impact Factor

News & Views

10/10/15-10/16/15

News & Views is your source for the week’s best video game writing! I found a lot of great articles for you all to enjoy. Check out below for links to writing about the neuroscience of survival horror, colonialism in Metal Gear Solid V, and gaming’s reinforcement of the ‘American dream’.

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

Fight or Flight: The Neuroscience of Survival Horror

Maral Tajerian, Gamasutra

Worth Reading

It's still a man's, man's, man's world; Or, who is Nathan Drake?

Reid McCarter, Kill Screen

Placebo effect present in video games, say UK researchers

Chris Kerr, Gamasutra

The Colonialist Undertones of Metal Gear Solid V

Omar Elaasar, Paste

Gaming's Never-Ending Adolescence

Jeremy Parish, US Gamer

How a front page Reddit post affected the sales on an indie game

Askel Junkkila, Gamasutra

With Comments

How Videogames Are Saving the Symphony Orchestra

Sarah E. Needleman, Wall Street Journal

The Legend of Zelda symphonic performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert inspired me to include this article. Orchestrated video game music can be amazing. I’m so happy to hear that these kinds of performances are drawing huge audiences back to the concert hall. While I understand criticism from long-time orchestra fans, I find most of their complaints unfounded. Perhaps video game music will get a new crowd to attend Tchaikovsky?

Pain is temporary; quitting last forever

Riley Macleod, Kill Screen

Macleod gives a fascinating take on how video games have consistently reinforced for the idea of the ‘American dream.’ A dream that’s often an illusion, writes Macleod. His argument centers around how success is almost always represented as a feature of a person’s character, citing that in reality, you can do everything right and still fail. It’s a great perspective and well worth reading.

The Horror of Being Human

Kaitlin Tremblay, Unwinnable

Tremblay’s short piece about horror is a good one. Horror so often plays upon what it means to be humans, and the fear surrounding the human condition. Tremblay uses two of the most iconic video game horror franchises of all time, Resident Evil and Silent Hill to comment on this. To put it briefly, Resident Evil displays the fear of losing your physical self, and Silent Hill is all about the fear of losing your mental self.