Comments for Critical Distance

Comment on Fallout 3 by David Carlton

David Carlton — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:53:39 +0000

Thanks for the heads-up. I think these are false positives, but at any rate Denis has moved his blog off of blogspot recently, so I would look him up at his new location here: http://vorpalbunnyranch.wordpress.com/

Hmm, though now that I look there myself, I’m not seeing either of the articles in question. I’ll ping him and see if he’s planning to move them there.

Comment on Fallout 3 by Lars Westergren

Lars Westergren — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:30:58 +0000

I get a security warning with Firefox and scriptbloc when trying to read any of the vorpalbunnyranch articles -
“This web page at vorpalbunnyranch.blogspot.com has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences.”

Comment on August 15th by The Sunday Papers | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The Sunday Papers | Rock, Paper, Shotgun — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:34:01 +0000

[...] up from the always good Critical Distance, here’s Emily Short analysing her problem with indie videogame storytelling. In short: the [...]

Comment on Grand Theft Auto IV by People Don’t Forget/Nothing is Forgiven – Red Dead Redemption – 2010 - vanlandw.com

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:59:40 +0000

[...] can’t think of one thing Red Dead Redemption does that isn’t an improvement over GTA4. Marston as a character is an improvement over Niko again in every way possible. He’s not [...]

Comment on July 18th by Immersion and the self « v?rface

Immersion and the self « v?rface — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:53:29 +0000

[...] journalism, This Week in Videogame Blogging. Commenting on the conclusion of my post, Abrahams says “To offer a quick alternative – my understanding is that in some spiritual philosophies the lett… This is an interesting point. I have wanted to write on the concept of the self and its relation to [...]

Comment on Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars by Ian Cheong

Ian Cheong — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:09:43 +0000

I would echo TheGameCritique’s words when he says that Surfer Girl comes off as being somewhat self righteous. Her endeavors to “illuminate” the socially unaware masses that play video games seems rather obnoxious, considering the implication because we like video games, we are therefore ignorant to the world around us.

Of course, there is no reason why games can’t serve a higher purpose beyond entertainment, just as films like Blood Diamond and Doubt can carry a message that outweighs their inherent value as enjoyable, well-directed movies.

There’s no reason why anyone has to make a compromise between activism and gaming, either. They’re mutually exclusive–and for her to argue that time could be better spent on “real issues” seems like a conceit.

I’m not going to condemn her for it, though. She, like anyone else, has every right to choose the medium of her soapbox to spread awareness of whatever issues she finds important. She found it in games blogging, while others find it in theater, art, and music. More power to anyone who would do that, I say–but it’s important for people like her to maintain some sense of perspective.

Comment on Jesse Schell, ‘Design outside the Box’ by Skinner-boxers vs Dungeon Masters « Gameify

Skinner-boxers vs Dungeon Masters « Gameify — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:04:12 +0000

[...] theme of his amazingly popular talk at DICE10 (here’s an excellent round-up of some of the conversations this started). And an extract from a strongly disapproving Jay Bachuber at Wise Gaming: If [...]

Comment on BioShock by Leveling Up « Can We Leave Now?

Leveling Up « Can We Leave Now? — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:45:27 +0000

[...] critics, designers, and academics trying to be the vanguard of our newest art form. A single game, Bioshock, spawned essays on “Ludonarrative Dissonance,” Randian Objectivism, moral agency, the meaning [...]

Comment on June 6th by The Sunday Papers | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The Sunday Papers | Rock, Paper, Shotgun — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 11:08:05 +0000

[...] week in blogging for a while, so if you’re not reading it, and you enjoy this, you’ll find much to enjoy over there. L.B. Jeffries piece on Gaming Architecture particularly caught my [...]

Comment on Jesse Schell, ‘Design outside the Box’ by Critical reactions to a points-based world – Richard Sandford

Critical reactions to a points-based world – Richard Sandford — Thu, 20 May 2010 08:38:00 +0000

[...] And there’s a really comprehensive round-up of critical responses to Jesse Schell’s talk (the one that set me off in the first place) from David Carlton here: “Critical Compilation: Jesse Schell, ‘Design outside the Box’“. [...]