The latest iteration, in response to being offensive, is often a cry out against sensitivity and censorship, that offended parties want a dictatorship with thought police.
Author Archives: Mattie Brice
The State of Diversity Criticism and “do your fuckin’ research”
The loudest social justice members, apparently, are histrionic, irrational, and polemic in their efforts to discuss diversity issues within this great art form.
Stand up for yourself – Concerned victim blaming
We need to talk about victim blaming. It comes in many forms and appears very often whenever minorities speak about experiencing discrimination.
What about the men!? re: Tropes vs Women
Let me give you the multiple reasons why “Men have it bad too, why do women have to get all this attention!?” is a shitty derailment of what’s important:
The Type of Woman I Want Others to See: Why I Wore Heels to PAX East
There’s two sides to these mass gathering of gaming folk, one being that I can talk with anyone about my interests, but I must also appear professional at all times. An unfortunate part about being a professional who is transgender is to be convincing.
Must I Say Goodbye?: Leaving Behind jRPGs
The idea of Japanese RPGs vs. Western RPGs seems like a false dichotomy. Rather, it’s just jRPGs vs. everything else.
Dear Esther, We’re Moving Past Story
Dear Esther critiques games that use innumerable amounts of game mechanics to communicate experience. It achieves much with just one.
Fans, Capitalism, and Mass Effect 3’s Ending. Oh My.
How can something like this happen? My finger begins to cramp from scrolling through all the screaming and virtual facepalming over the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle on Twitter.
One Day That Wall Is Gonna Fall: Game Design for Everyone
Zia’s song from Bastion wasn’t meant to be a challenge to gaming juggernauts, but it will be on the lips of those leaving GDC this year.
Women, the Ensemble, and Narrative Authority in the Final Fantasy Series
What makes some of the games in the Final Fantasy series interesting is how much the women share narrative responsibility with other characters.
Valuing the Feminine: Why I Love Vanille
Let me come out with it now: my favorite Final Fantasy characters tend to be the classic cheerful and energetic archetype, like Aeris, Selphie, and Vanille.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review
If the philosophies concerning the criticism of sequels weren’t convoluted enough, the Final Fantasy series makes things even more complicated.
How Could He?: Exploring Social Issues Through ‘Dragon Age II’
No one is implying that the LGBT community turn into blood magicians and that the religious march out to cage and murder them, but this conflict still echoes the tensions felt in the lives of real people.
Second Date – Ikezawa Hanako, a Trans* Narrative
Upon a first glance, there seemed to be little application for this analysis outside of criticizing pandering to men’s interests in visual novels, however, my personal connection to Hanako provided me with something else. I saw her do something that triggered a muscle memory from my past: She covers her face.
Narrative Is a Game Mechanic
If game mechanics are meant to provide players with experiences such as fun and anxiety, then narrative actually is a game mechanic, as much as game mechanics can also be narrative elements.