This week, our partnership with game criticism site Critical Distance brings us picks from Kris Ligman on topics ranging from the fashion of Final Fantasy X-2 to a meditative tribute to Metal Gear Solid 3.
The Devil's Backbone
At The Guardian, Simon Parkin offers up
a profile on US politics' recent move to include game developers in an ongoing conversation on future warfare, thus deepening the connection between games and the military-entertainment-industrial complex.
Also in the vein of military games, over at Vice the seasoned Leigh Alexander
attempts to pin down that most inscrutable of creatures, Metal Gear Solid 3. In doing so, she reveals some of its least talked about, yet incredibly compelling commentary on the dirtiness of war.
Hollow Bodies High
At Polygon, Claire Hosking
shares a solid takedown of the Damsel in Distress trope and just why, precisely, it's creatively lazy. (
Content warning: Polygon's choice of stock imagery peppered throughout the piece features close-ups of terrified women tied up and gagged. Why this seemed a good idea to anyone, I'm not sure.)
Meanwhile, at Paste, Gita Jackson
dashes off a missive questioning why, for a game which so heavily features fashion as a gameplay mechanic, the costume design in
Final Fantasy X-2 is so awful. At Gamasutra's Member Blogs, Tiny Cartridge's Eric Caoili
goes to some length to illustrate just what makes the card game
Netrunner exciting from an inclusivity standpoint.
Finally, at Kill Screen, Dan Solberg
has an excellent profile on independent game developer and artist Lilith, creator of
Crypt Worlds.
Also, a brief shoutout, but Gaming Intelligence Agency
has loads of coverage from IndieCade if you find yourself wanting more.
Dispatches from Vienna
First Person Scholar has begun a partnership with its German-language counterpart,
Paidia. As our German Correspondent Joe Koller notes,
the fruits of this cross-pollination have already begun.
Two strong pieces from Videogame Tourism: Agata Goralczyk
muses on human interaction in post-apocalyptic games while Dan Heck
entertains a thought experiment on a large-scale crossover game.
At Herzteile, we find a podcast interview with
board game developer Andrea Meyer, while at Kleiner Drei there's an exciting interview about
Lady Internet, an upcoming communication network for women.
This Ain't the War You're Fighting, It's the Red October
Developer Stephanie Bryant picks apart a popular retort from naysayers of diversity:
why "just make your own game!" is so oblivious.
It's Not the End of the World, It's Just the End of A Song
As always, thank you to our readers who send in submissions via
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See you next week, space cowboy!
