Tag Archives: Game design

“We Just Want to Make Good Games.”

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Erik Bigras

I’ve been writing a lot for I Search for Traps lately, but through my discussions of table-top RPGs I’ve come across an old question that I’ve encountered when I was studying the world of video games: What is a good game? … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Erik Bigras | Tagged audience, Biopolitics, Comment Culture, criticism, Feminism, game criticism, Game design, Game studies, Gender, good games, Habitus, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Video games | Comments Off

In Search of Transformative Encounters

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Erik Bigras

Over the course of the last couple of years, I’ve slowly drifted away from video games in favour of table-top RPGs. That trend probably started a few years ago when Gaines and I played TTRPGs weekly with a group of … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Erik Bigras | Tagged Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dungeons and Dragons, Game design, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Narrative, Open World, Role-Playing, RPG, Sandbox, Twilight: 2000, Video Game Writing | 2 Comments

Coopted Access: The Rise of the Shooter in Video Game Design

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Erik Bigras

This post revolves around a series of paradoxes. Within the realm of information technology, access often is understood as something that should be promoted. However, within the realms of information technologies, increased access often has led to increased centralization. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Erik Bigras | Tagged Abandonware, Access, Ethics, FPS, Free Software Foundation, Game design, Game Mechanics, Home of the Underdogs, HOTU, id Software, John Carmack, Militarization, Morality, Open Access, Shooter, Video Game History, Wolfenstein | Comments Off

A Severed Prosthetic Memory by NBA 2K14

Posted on April 25, 2014 by LCooke

The discourse of representation, stereotypes, and racism surrounding video games is fraught, and quite frankly not at all progressive. During “black history month,” I took notice to the number of my Facebook feeds that posted the obligatory Black History Month topics, … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Laquana Cooke | Tagged Alison Landsberg, and racism, Bill Russell, black history, black history month, Celtics, Chuck Cooper, Civil Rights Movement, Doris Burke, game criticism, Game design, Game Mechanics, Gender, Hall of Fame, Harlan, inequalities, Jerry West, Kellogg, Lakers, MLK, NBA, nba 2k, nba 2k14, NBA Playoffs, prejudices, prosthetic memory, ps3, Representation, stereotypes, Steve Kerr, Video Game History, Video games, Wilt Chamberlain, Xbox One | 1 Comment

A Vulnerable Retrospective: Desolation Games

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Erik Bigras

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

Posted in Critical Retrospectives, Erik Bigras | Tagged 7 Days to Die, Affect, Choice, D&D, Dark Sun, Dayz, Despair, Dune, Emotions, Emptiness, Fallout, Game design, Game Mechanics, Guilt, Kenshi, Loneliness, MechWarrior, New Vegas, Open World, Remorse, Rust, SEAL Team, Story, Twilight: 2000, Video Game History, Video games | 3 Comments

Extremism as a Narrative Device

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Erik Bigras

Playing DayZ has allowed me to reflect on extremism a little bit. DayZ appears to be a game that fosters a plethora of extremes: one is either an extremist bad guy (I’ll kill everyone!), an extremist good guy (I’ll kill … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Erik Bigras | Tagged A Rape in Cyberspace, Bioshock, BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty, Comment Culture, Dayz, DayZ Standalone, Extremism, Fascism, Frantz Fanon, Game design, Julian Dibbell, Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, Morality, Narrative Device, Skyrim, Story, The Elder Scrolls, Video Game History, Video games, Walter Benjamin, Wilhelm Reich | 3 Comments

Minecraft and the Castle of Uncomfortable Contraptions

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Erik Bigras

Efficiency is a word that’s often hailed as that special thing everyone should try to achieve. When I teach technology-related classes, efficiency is a word tossed around by most undergrads when we ask them about the characteristics of technological systems. … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism, Erik Bigras | Tagged Dungeons and Dragons, Efficiency, Game design, Game Mechanics, Melon farm, Minecraft, Monster spawner, Multiplayer, Railroad, Sandbox, Taylorism, Video games, Voxel | 6 Comments

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Tag Archives: Game design

“We Just Want to Make Good Games.”

In Search of Transformative Encounters

Coopted Access: The Rise of the Shooter in Video Game Design

A Severed Prosthetic Memory by NBA 2K14

A Vulnerable Retrospective: Desolation Games

Extremism as a Narrative Device

Minecraft and the Castle of Uncomfortable Contraptions

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