Earlier this month, Ian Bogost wrote an article eulogizing Maxis, the innovative studio behind SimCity and The Sims. It’s a thoughtful piece, definitely worth a read, especially if (like me) you have a soft spot for sandbox/system games. Saying goodbye to a loved studio wasn’t Bogost’s only focus, though. Amid […]
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Envision yourself shut up in a security office. A flock of murderous animatronics stalk the corridors. Above, you hear the rattling of the vents. One may be inside. There’s no one around to help you. Is it a trick of the mind or are you in danger? What do you […]
One of the many things that we talked about in episode 97 of the podcast (it’s a good one and you should go back and listen to it right after you finish reading this post) was the incredible lack of diversity among the popular Twitch streamers and YouTubers. While there […]
I spend a good deal of time watching, thinking about, and analyzing anime. Prior to the start of each anime season (which is broken up into fall, winter, spring, and summer), I meticulously comb over the list of upcoming premiers and choose those series I believe have potential to be […]
Recently, LEGO rejected a LEGO Ideas submission featuring the women of the Supreme Court, citing LEGO’s rule of not engaging with current politics. On one hand, I see their point; I don’t really want political LEGO sets, and I can certainly think of more than a few politicians that I […]
I’ll never forget the moment, years ago, when I mentally “picked” a flower while walking into a Blockbuster Video. I glanced at their sidewalk planter, which had a number of beautiful pink and purple flowers in it, and I swear I saw a hand icon in my vision and heard […]
This is not your usual NYMG post. I’ve been talking about the Good Game Autoblocker a lot lately. Everyone has; it’s a hot point right now, with talk of blocks as censorship, as people shutting off lines of discourse. I talk about it, I defend it, but I don’t use […]
This week, over 3,000 academics gathered in sunny, warm Tampa, Florida to talk about writing and language and consume every bit of coffee the unprepared Mariott hotel had to offer. It was the 66th meeting of the Conference of College Composition and Communication (affectionately known as Cs), a hub for […]
I recently read a great article from FemHype that focused on the problematic, one dimensional representation of mentally ill characters in video games. Lindsay Goto, author of the article, analyzed the insanity trope in depth, writing about the portrayal of mentally ill characters as either crazed antagonists with a violent agenda […]
Episode 97: Let’s Talk About Let’s Plays (“Save As” to download or head over to iTunes to subscribe) This week we talk about Let’s Plays and their potential as critical media.
Welcome to the newly redesigned Not Your Mama’s Gamer! All the content from the original site is here, but we’ve updated not only the look and feel of the site, but added a number of new features that should help readers more easily navigate content. Over the next few days, […]
About two weeks ago, I had the privilege to attend the 2015 Game Developers Conference (GDC) through an opportunity at work. For those who may not be familiar with the annual gaming conference, GDC is the largest gathering of professional game developers. But rather than the industry trade show feel […]
The term “serious games” is problematic. We play for fun and enjoyment, yes, but the idea behind serious games is that they are somehow more impactful…more real…than other games. But these games also try to fill a void that is lacking in the world of AAA titles and platformers. Serious […]
This full game review comes courtesy of guest writer Carol Hood. Welcome, Carol! The best-worst thing to ever happen to my Vita was Hotline Miami. See, no one can convince me there was a better old school beat ‘em up than Streets of Rage (1 and 2, we do not […]
Last week, as Offworld was launching, we created a partial list of sites, podcasts, and resources that feature women and/or gamers of color, or that explore cultural issues of interest to those groups. We’ve since updated the list, through our own efforts and some help from friends and fans, and have […]
Stealth mode is to games what the brokeback pose is to comics. It’s the Rob Liefeld of game design, mysteries wrapped in enigmas wrapped in how in the hell are you even doing that come on now. I’m a croucher. I admit it. Especially in a game I’m just learning, […]