Okay, internet. It's time. After my talk at GaymerX2 on fat characters, and after hearing the folks at Gearbox give their own talk on inclusivity in design, I decided I really wanted to write something about one of the NPCs in Borderlands 2, a Gearbox title. Her name is Ellie, and she's a big lady mechanic.… Continue reading On Ellie
The Subtle Knife
So there's this thing that bugs me about being gay and I imagine it bothers a lot of other people on the queer spectrum, too. It mostly comes down to: when do I want being gay to "matter?" The problem is that there are two answers to this which are concurrently true -- Always Never… Continue reading The Subtle Knife
On Competition
A short post for you but my Tumblr is mostly about awful depression feelings I have poured out like an emo poetry slam, so it goes here. No videos/images, sorry America. GUESS WHAT THERE'S A VIDEO I FOUND ONE FUCK YEAH Anyhow, Patrick Miller made a blog post today called "Fighting games aren't just about competition"… Continue reading On Competition
Before I Literally Explode
Sorry, guys. This isn't a very funny post, and there's not going to be any images or videos, mostly because I'm writing it to get something off my chest before something seriously bad happens. So my friend Mark Vigorito mentioned a story from Slate on Twitter earlier. Specifically, this story, titled "LGBT Microaggressions: Are We… Continue reading Before I Literally Explode
Fabula Spoilers Crystallis
So I wrapped up Lightning Returns and in the process I had some thoughts about how the history of the FF13 meta-series has gone down. Thus I just sort of sat down and poured them onto the page. In the absence of having any new or interesting critical commentary to post, I figured I'd just throw… Continue reading Fabula Spoilers Crystallis
Saintsception
This has been a long time coming. It's time... to blog about Saints Row. Specifically, the latest game in the series, Saints Row 4. We're going to get there in a roundabout way, however, so bear with me until this is over. I want to talk about how Saints Row 4 is a game, about games, about games.… Continue reading Saintsception
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
Three Short, Fat Films
I've realized I probably do too much Mega Buster charging when it comes to blog posts: I wait until I've got so fucking much to say that it pours out in a sometimes untempered flood of nonsense that people excusably stop reading 10% of the way through. So today I'm trying an experiment in just getting a… Continue reading Three Short, Fat Films
She’s Got the Look
So Bryce Mainville wrote a short piece last week about suggestions for overhauling the design of Street Fighter 4's main cast. It's a quick read, and not all that controversial; most of the suggestions are relatively mild changes, but I found the entire post thought-provoking and wanted to elaborate on my thoughts on the subject in general,… Continue reading She’s Got the Look
Taking a Dive
So last night I was part of mostly spectated a discussion on Twitter about the game Divekick. This may or may not have been caused by statements I made earlier that day suggesting that Noah Sasso's BaraBariBall was, perhaps, a bigger success at taking a core fighting game idea and turning it into something broadly accessible by… Continue reading Taking a Dive