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 […]
Yearly Archives: 2015
379 posts
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 […]
Ever since the announcement of the new Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U at E3 last year people have been pondering the existence of a female Link character. The usual suspects on the internet exploded. People swore their allegiance to a male Link and vowed to disown Nintendo […]
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.
Interested in writing news stories about gaming and geek culture? We’re looking for a few good writers as we move into a new era — a redesigned site, a stronger focus on presentation, and greater engagement with the industry and community — and we need strong additions to the team […]
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 […]
I don’t know how I end up playing horror games for the site, but here we are again, this time with OSome Studio’s White Night. Then again, I’ll play almost anything with an intriguing art style and I’m a huge fan of noir, so the minute I caught a glimpse […]
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, […]
The first day at PAX East is extremely overwhelming. As the escalator descended into a landscape of colossal screens and mainstream logos, I wove through throng after thong of colorful cosplayers and eager gamers on the EXPO floor. I attempted to wait in line for the Oculus Rift but the […]
The ways that I see my seemingly divergent areas of scholarly study constantly coming together still continues to amaze me after years of doing game studies work. This week in my Minority Rhetorics graduate seminar we had a great conversation about Gloria Anzuldua’s Borderlands/La Frontera and blaxpolitation. To keep it brief […]
Social media hubs around GamerGate — both sides — have been in rare form this week, with much discussion ignited anew. It’s not surprising, really; a lot’s happened lately, with controversies around Reddit and GamerGate-related subs, GDC and PAX East and the relaunch of Offworld. Yesterday, however, things took a […]