Feb 10Gender DysphoriaWhat is “gender dysphoria”? A mental condition which forms the basis of identity of trans people, a distress born out of mismatch of the body and the mind? Or are we distressed due to the pressure of society’s hidden and open expectations, rigid laws, backwards traditions, malicious apathy and even…LGBTQ11 min readLGBTQ11 min read
Jun 16, 2022Pokemon, Sequels and Perception of ChangeIf you see discussions about video games online you likely have heard about a sentiment that Pokemon as a series is stale and unwilling to change. Looking at the “mainline”[1] games at a glance it is easy to see why: All of the games share a wide variety of tropes…Pokemon13 min readPokemon13 min read
Oct 25, 2021Classic Call of Duty PC GamesIn the twilight years of old-school first-person shooters prior to the modern military shooter invasion, Call of Duty 1 (2003), Call of Duty: United Offensive (2004) and Call of Duty 2 (2005) emerged as among the finest FPS games and WW2 fiction the world could offer. In the days before…Call Of Duty15 min readCall Of Duty15 min read
Sep 1, 2021Jrpg Is A Bad Name For A GenreThe term “JRPG” as a video game genre annoys me. Long-time readers of this blog might remember that I have written about this before, but this topic is worth re-visiting because it continues to create annoying discourse. That old post doesn’t quite hold up to my current standards, and also…Jrpg20 min readJrpg20 min read
May 24, 2021Operating System MythsThere are two pernicious myths about operating systems: First, Linux (1) is difficult to use for casual users. Second, Windows operating systems are easy to use for a casual user. What is “a casual user”? Here, it refers to a user who engages with the computer mainly via applications in…Computers8 min readComputers8 min read
Mar 28, 2021Game CriticismHow can I write better about games? What do I look for in a video game essay, and to some extent, media critique as a whole? Review, retrospective, critique or analysis; for the purposes of this discussion, they are all essays about a released game or part of a game. …Writing11 min readWriting11 min read
Mar 5, 2021The Finale of Avatar The Last Airbender and Pacifism(Full Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender) Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005–2008) has a four-episodes long grand finale. (Season 3 Episodes 18–21) The one half of it is concerned with Aang trying to reconcile his pacifism with having to kill Fire Lord Ozai, and the other half is the final showdown…Atla11 min readAtla11 min read
Feb 16, 2021Disgaea 1There are essentially three main issues with “grinding” in a video game: Making the repetition interesting, providing meaningful goals and successfully connecting the act to the narrative. These all culminate in one fundamental struggle: It is one of the most artificial player activities in a video game. It resembles learning…Disgaea12 min readDisgaea12 min read
Dec 23, 2020A screenshGrindingI define grinding as “repetitious combat whose primary goal is to increase various statistics about a character ”. It is most commonly associated with RPGs; Players grinding for character levels, items or currency is a natural part of these games. Here, I will discuss some bad and good examples, with…Game Design18 min readGame Design18 min read
Dec 13, 2020Games Can Be Fun From The StartWith the influence RPGs had on game design, many games prefer to keep things simple in the beginning and open up gradually as the player progresses. This ensures that player can learn how to play without getting overwhelmed and that the game doesn’t run out of new gimmicks early on…Videogames7 min readVideogames7 min read
