Monthly Archives: October 2013

A Simulated Retrospective, Part 1: Pirates

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Erik Bigras

Welcome to a Higher Level Gamer Critical Retrospective! Retrospectives can take many forms: some focus on a single franchise while others take a more expansive approach. For these retrospectives, I’ll be taking the latter approach. These retrospectives aren’t meant to … Continue reading →

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360 No Scope Corny Shoot: The 7th Generation of Games

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Gaines Hubbell

By Gaines So, Critical-distance.com does a segment called Blogs of the Round Table (BoRT), which I like because it often pulls the occasionally disparate communities of video games bloggers together around a single topic, building the community, and it has … Continue reading →

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BoRT: Why Starflight Changed the Way I Game

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Erik Bigras

One of the things that I was alluding to last week was that I “grew up” playing role-playing games (RPGs). I was still a young kid in the 1980s, so I missed out on the Ultima and Wizardry franchises. Back … Continue reading →

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The Knowable and Unknowable Futures of Open World and Sandbox Games

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Erik Bigras

Nowadays, an open world is almost a must, or what Michel Callon (1986) has called an obligatory point of passage, when it comes to designing an RPG. For example, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Assassin’s Creed, and Fallout all possess a … Continue reading →

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Kickstarting your Dissertation?

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Erik Bigras

Those of us who are in academia are aware of the diminishing funding opportunities offered. This is especially true if you’re studying a topic that is on the fringe of what is considered “popular” research. I know I’ve been having … Continue reading →

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Troll Shit Rolls Downhill -or- Game Experience May Differ During Online Play

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Gaines Hubbell

By Gaines “This is some really petty bullshit.” [Sounds of gunfire]. “Why? Why would you do this?” [Sounds of gunfire]. I open my phone and deposit my cash in my bank account because that’s something you do in the middle … Continue reading →

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From the Pilot’s to the Captain’s Chair

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Erik Bigras

“It’s like Dwarf Fortress, but in space!” was my first thought when Gaines explained the game to me. It turns out that I was mostly wrong. As of yet, Kerbal Space Program (KSP) doesn’t possess the same depth of complexity … Continue reading →

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The Trials of Wilsted Kerman

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Gaines Hubbell

By Gaines Wilsted Kerman is the hero of Kerbin.  Wilsted Kerman was a victim of a youthful, exuberant, and careless Kerbin space program, the Kerbin National Aeronautics and Space Administration (KNASA), which having finally discovered the combination of fuel, lift, … Continue reading →

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Nuances of Satire: Falling into GTA V’s Biopolitical Trap

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Gaines Hubbell

By Erik and Gaines Ever since Grand Theft Auto V’s (GTA 5) release, there have been a series of blog posts concerning the deviant and aberrant behavior one can engage in within the game. Topics of discussion have ranged from … Continue reading →

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