Violent Video Games

I recently read an article by the Physicians for Global Survival entitled Video Games that Promote Positive Social Change (pdf). The beginning of the article denounces violent video games, but then list several games the author believes “educate youth about some of the most pressing social ills around the globe. Such games can serve as effective tools in educating our youth about ways in which they can bring about positive social change.”

The title and aim of the article sound great enough, but I strongly disagree with some of the claims the author makes. Continue reading “Violent Video Games”

The kind of game I would design

When I was in school people would ask me, “what do you want to do after college?” and I would say “I want to create games.” “That’s cool,” some would say, and say nothing more. But creative people would continue on and ask me, “what kind of games would you create?”

Now a college graduate, I still get asked that question, usually after being asked why did I move to Los Angeles and me responding with, “to get into the game industry.” Continue reading “The kind of game I would design”

Gamasutra

Continuing with recommendations of sites that interest me, I want to talk about Gamasutra.

Aside from being a designer, I am also a writer. My ultimate goal, in fact, is to write story lines for video games, and I often read articles on the subject.

Recently, Gamasutra posted two articles about narration and subtext in games–two aspects of game design that I think are lacking at the moment. In one article, Bioshock co-creator Ken Levine discusses Bioshock’s narrative drive in an interview. In the first question, though, the author of the article links to a presentation he did at GDC (Game Developers Conference). Both I recommend reading if your a Bioshock fan or if your into game design.

Another article I recommending reading is titles Why More Games Need Subtext and essentially tries to convince the reader that games should be more than just “fun,” which is something I highly agree with.