Dear “fans”, we need to have a talk…

Fans of a thing embarrass other fans of the same thing.

In this case: Angry gamers do something stupid that embarrasses other gamers. It’s a story we hear so often, these stories have become an indistinguishable mess of frustrating idiocy; a wrong not merely anchored by entitlement and immaturity, but damage to the very thing we all love: the creation of beautiful things.

The latest is a “petition” to get Gamespot reviewer Carolyn Petit fired from the site. This time it’s not for the usual reason of a “low” score (which sometimes sees reviewers get death threats, even for films); instead it concerns her mention that the game is misogynistic. Readers claim Petit has been pushing her “agenda” (adore that word) and politics for some time and this is the last straw(man) or something. [Read more…]

A beautiful game you should buy

I wrote a little essay on the indie title Gone Home. I’m not sure I conveyed just how much this game meant to me; it cements that games, like books, comics, film, is a medium not a genre. It can be as meaningful or -less as we want.

Many games have this effect (the Mass Effect franchise remains one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had as a person). I think for people like me, who grew up in the 90’s as one of those weird kids who liked ghosts and wanted all those supernatural things to be true, this game will strike a chord.

I still read Stephen King and I still want to write books – that’s about all I’ve carried through from the 90’s. But Gone Home still made me nostalgic.