Games Journalism · Sexuality in gaming

Dog and Pony Show

So as some of you may have read, yesterday Kotaku's Stephen Totilo posted a story based on an interview with Zelda mastermind Eiji Aonuma about Majora's Mask and other topics. One of said other topics was the creation and history of series NPC and running gag, Tingle. And if you follow me on Twitter? Well... https://twitter.com/laevantine/status/568148510853492736 ...you know… Continue reading Dog and Pony Show

Games Criticism · Narrative in Games · Sexuality in gaming

You Can’t Take It Off

Lately, I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a crank when it comes to LGBTQ issues in games. Specifically, I'm worried that I'm being too hard on people who are potential allies. And while I am vehemently against that as a critique coming from allies themselves ("you're not making any friends, you know") I… Continue reading You Can’t Take It Off

Gaming Reflections · Gendered gaming · Narrative in Games · Sexuality in gaming · Uncategorized

Janey Springs Eternal

So to continue what appears to be an accidental series of blog posts writing about Gearbox Software's Borderlands games, I wanted to get something down on paper regarding the newest title, Borderlands the Pre-Sequel. Now, if you follow my writing and Twitter and such you probably already know that I recently reviewed the game for Paste… Continue reading Janey Springs Eternal

Gaming Reflections · Narrative in Games · Sexuality in gaming

Me and Bobby l’Cie

So earlier today on Twitter, Denis Farr and I were discussing how mages in the Dragon Age universe have a lot of queer readings, especially in the sense of political queerness in the 70s/80s. In the process I mentioned that I got a similar vibe from the much-maligned cast of Final Fantasy 13, specifically the relationship between "fal'Cie" (power… Continue reading Me and Bobby l’Cie

Games and Nostalgia · Games Criticism · Narrative in Games · Sexuality in gaming

Went Home

Alright. So thanks to a gift from Maddy Myers, I went home. I had no plans to buy the game, mostly because "mansion games" (thank you Robert Yang) or "first person experiences" (thank you Cameron Kunzelman) aren't my thing. I don't really enjoy point and click adventures, or games where you progress by turning over every little thing until… Continue reading Went Home

Games Criticism · Gendered gaming · Sexuality in gaming

Reach Out to A Particular Contextual Version of the Truth

Right so last night Riot Games researcher and smart guy Davin Pavlas and I had a discussion about Kanji Tatusmi, one of the main characters of Persona 4. Specifically we discussed some of the ways in which his personal story is interpreted along both sexual orientation and gender presentation lines, and along the way I aired a… Continue reading Reach Out to A Particular Contextual Version of the Truth

Fan Culture · Gaming Reflections · Sexuality in gaming

A Slight Followup on “An Open Letter to Riot”

So, a few things happened, and I wanted to bring them up. First, game journo/critic/maven Patricia Hernandez gave my post a write-up on Kotaku which is humbling/gratifying. While I'm not normally a proponent of ignoring comment threads -- I think that sort of sweeps them under the rug as "not real" somehow when I firmly believe… Continue reading A Slight Followup on “An Open Letter to Riot”