This January we sat down to discuss the history and significance (or lack thereof) of the award “Game of the Year” (GOTY). We then discuss some of the games that were put forward for the title this year, and our own personal favorite games of 2015. Continue Reading
In this month’s podcast five past and present editors of First Person Scholar discuss the episodic drama Life is Strange. We discuss how the game deals with choice and agency and how it depicts the self and character in a… Continue Reading
In June, Sam Barlow (Aisle, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories) released Her Story a game where players search through a database of archival footage from a police interrogation. In his interview with Austin Walker at Giant Bomb, Barlow spent a lot of time talking about how literature and film inspired much of the game’s design – as recovering/sometimes literary and film scholars ourselves, we discuss some of the underpinnings of crime fiction and how they hang together in Her Story while also talking about the game’s relatively unique take on interactivity. We talk at length about the game play, the open ending, and detective games in general. This is a highly unique game that we can’t recommend enough. Have a listen to our thoughts about the game and tell us what you thought about Her Story in the comments! Continue Reading
Four members of the Games Institute take a hard look at the Amiibo trend from a variety of angles including: historical materialism, fan exploitation, nostalgia, consumerism, fan cultures, and competing corporate strategies. A good mix of pontificating about Nintendo as a company and a culture and general nerding out. Continue Reading
In this FPS podcast we’re talking about the game everyone hates to love, Dark Souls. FPS’ Jason Hawreliak, Michael Hancock and Rob Parker were joined by UWO professor Jonathan Boulter via Skype. They discuss difficulty, Heidegger, spatiality, narrative and aesthetics. SPOILERS AHEAD. Continue Reading
Kurtz (Heart of Darkness), the surveillance state (1984), Mr. Hyde (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), and the monster (Dr. Frakenstein): all are nuanced antagonistic forces that propel their respective narratives in order to address social and ethical issues. Compare that with an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, a planet approaching ecological disaster, an economy ever-reliant on dangerous loans and non-renewable resources, and you have to wonder: where are the quintessentially 21st century villains? Continue Reading