I’ve been doing a lot of research in the past months into representation in video games, particularly gender representation, with a few forays into racial representation. As a woman who prefers to play as a woman whenever possible, this is an issue close to my heart, and it’s one that […]
Alisha Karabinus
185 posts
Sometimes it really is about ethics—or is it? GamerGate members (ostensibly) launched a site this week called Deep Freeze, which, in their own words, aims to serve as “a journalism reference resource, conceived to supply a reader with easy-digestible[sic] information to determine the reliability of an individual writer or outlet.” […]
Not long ago, Sam and I wrote about the monetary burden of performing critical work, and that and related issues have been a hot topic lately, with many discussions about gaming, cost, and access going down on social media. In the interest of continuing that discussion, and as part of […]
Last week I wrote about diversity in State of Decay, but I focused on only a very concrete, measurable aspect of diversity, raw numbers, when I broke down the ratios of white characters versus PoC in Undead Labs’ game. As I said in that piece, though, the numbers don’t tell the […]
After a short and troubled lifespan, OUYA is reportedly seeking a buyer in the wake of massive debt. According to a memo from CEO Julie Uhrman leaked to Fortune, the company was unable to renegotiate repayment to investors like TriplePoint Capital, from which they seem to have secured funding of more than […]
Like games? Like cheap games? How about eight games for four bucks? This Indie Legends bundle from Bundle Stars came across our Twitter feed today and some jaws dropped, which meant we needed to share it with you. This bundle, available for the next two weeks, includes: Monaco Guacamelee SteamWorld […]
This is the first in a series of Critical Let’s Plays on State of Decay Year One Survival Edition we’ll be featuring here at NYMG, exploring Lifeline, the main story mode, and Breakdown (though we may not do the full stories for all modes). There’s a lot to unpack in […]
This is a little different from our standard Power Hour Reviews not only in that I’m revisiting a game we’ve already looked at extensively (in an earlier version), including reviews, but in that I’m exploring the basics and changes in all three modes. It’s an extra-double-bonus look at the update of […]
State of Decay feels very diverse; you begin story mode as a black man and the first person who joins you and your friend is a Latina. In Lifeline, you begin as a female soldier fighting alongside a Hawaiian man and a black man. Often, in Breakdown, it’s easy to play […]
The line between adventure games and interactive fiction is at best a little blurry, and sometimes doesn’t exist at all, and finding that line in author Matthew Burnside’s forays into interactive media and games is a particular challenge. Often, in adventure games that skew toward interactive fiction, the plot’s the […]
Last night, some of the women of the NYMGamer team started tweeting under #yesIplay. #yesIplay is about telling the stories of of “gamers”—a term we’re using loosely here—that are often silenced or questioned. video games, board games, whatever and however you want to define it. #yesIplay is intersectional; we want to hear […]
The official Time 100 list of influential people debuted today, and gaming critic Anita Sarkeesian made the list thanks to her tireless efforts to widen the conversation around gaming and gaming culture in the face of continuous waves of harassment. Sarkeesian was profile by geek icon Wil Wheaton, who detailed […]
The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, the National Council of Women’s Organizations, and the National Organization for Women, along with House Rep Katherine Clark (D-Mass) held a congressional briefing today on the ongoing issues of violence, harassment, and stalking in the online arena. Speakers included Michelle […]
Last week, I shared some analysis of gender signifiers in character models from State of Decay, a game that seems to do a good job of presenting practically dressed and designed characters, while also featuring some diversity in body types and more. A commenter pointed out, however, that including some […]
With the release of the upgraded State of Decay Year One Survival Edition just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit the original game, which I explored at length over the months after release in terms of realism and representation (as well as gameplay and mechanics). At […]
Early on the morning of April 3, Randi Harper (aka freebsdgirl), architect of the ggautoblocker, reported police had shown up at her door due to a call about a hostage situation. Harper details the events both on Twitter and on her blog, and says because she filed a report in […]