Our Gardens By Jeremy Signor • December 4th, 2019 When we as players interact with the frameworks that developers give us, the tangible result becomes like a garden cultivated by both.
Fallout 3, The Outer Worlds, and the Megaton Problem By Jeremy Signor • November 22nd, 2019 Binary choices in games persist today even as RPGs get more and more open. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Disco Elysium and Finding the Beauty in a Cynical World By Jeremy Signor • November 6th, 2019 Initially unbearably cynical and grim, Disco Elysium asks you to find beauty and redemption in your trash fire of a main character through true role playing.
The Joy of Labor in Wilmot’s Warehouse By Jeremy Signor • October 30th, 2019 Games require labor to work. But the joy we find in labor is what gives games their spark.
Even the Mediocre By Jeremy Signor • October 16th, 2019 Too often we think of keeping good games alive when we think of game preservation. But ignoring the rest does a disservice to the whole of game history.
The Mumbling of Control By Jeremy Signor • October 9th, 2019 The setting and premise are undoubtedly the stars of Control, but the sound design and nonsensical dialogue truly make the Oldest House otherworldly.
Untitled Goose Game Subverts Stealth Gameplay By Jeremy Signor • October 2nd, 2019 Untitled Goose Game is the most innovative stealth game in years thanks to the subversion of the usual stealth gameplay loop and bold thematic juxtapositions.
Sayonara Wild Hearts Exudes Queer Energy By Jeremy Signor • September 25th, 2019 Sayonara Wild Hearts is not only a celebration of the queer and feminine in games, but proof that these qualities have been part of the medium all along.
The Platforming Genre That Might Have Been By Jeremy Signor • September 19th, 2019 We all know how the Metroidvania became the standard for so much of the platforming genre. But what it there was another possibility?
On Sincerity and Scheduling By Jeremy Signor • September 11th, 2019 Anime-inspired games that are built on scheduling like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Persona appeal to queer people through agency and sheer earnestness.
Eliza Shows Why Human Bias Is Necessary By Jeremy Signor • August 28th, 2019 Bias is often held up as an obstacle towards impartial decision making. But in reality, it’s the key to the sense of empathy that connects us all.
Feature Excerpt I Wanna Be Your Dog By Jeremy Signor • August 22nd, 2019 That awkward moment when giving up your free will to a supercomputer-powered hive mind brings out your inner sub.
Problematic Bodies By Jeremy Signor • August 21st, 2019 Tired tropes make gay men the butt of way too many jokes in games. But we can find power within the problematic bodies they inhabit.
Queer Cooperation By Jeremy Signor • August 14th, 2019 Experiences that network queer people together are key to queer survival. That makes games that do that while fostering a sense of cooperation absolutely vital.
Transforming Bodies By Jeremy Signor • August 1st, 2019 Transformation is oftentimes central to the queer experience. That’s why bodies that represent humanity’s transformative nature are so appealing.
Microaggressions By Jeremy Signor • July 24th, 2019 The more media takes little swipes at the core of who you are, the more you wonder if you should be consuming it in the first place.
The Gay Dating Conundrum By Jeremy Signor • July 17th, 2019 Dating sims are increasingly taking on a queer bent, but few examine the quiet devastation of absence felt by the rural gay.
Bear Bodies By Jeremy Signor • July 10th, 2019 When representing masculine characters, videogames default to chiseled muscles. But those who fancied different body types still had something to latch onto.
The Homoeroticism of Contra and Altered Beast By Jeremy Signor • June 26th, 2019 Embracing the homoerotic undertones of video games can help gaymers grapple with their own sexuality.
Gaymer Pride By Jeremy Signor • June 19th, 2019 Identities are great and necessary tools for understanding yourself and establishing communities. But it’s not worth losing yourself to their darker tendencies.
Masquerada and the Heart of the Queer Family By Jeremy Signor • June 12th, 2019 The status quo values blood and legacy while othering those that differ in the name of “family values”. The queer family is built from something else.
The Space Between Lacks Meaning in Its Metaphor By Jeremy Signor • June 5th, 2019 Metaphor can be a powerful tool to lead audiences to some sort of meaning. The Space Between seems content to just bludgeon you with it.
The Ballad of EarthBound’s Gay Tony By Jeremy Signor • May 29th, 2019 Gay representation isn’t about explicit labels, and it isn’t about hollow lip service. It’s about writing characters that are believably queer.
Shakedown: Hawaii Shows Why Capitalism Sucks By Jeremy Signor • May 22nd, 2019 Placing you in the shoes of an unapologetic rich capitalist shows how much of a nihilistic circle jerk capitalism is.
A Sekiro Journey: Isshin, the Sword Saint By Jeremy Signor • May 15th, 2019 The final boss encounter of Sekiro shows just how well paced a video game boss can be.
Katana ZERO Offers Only Excuses By Jeremy Signor • May 8th, 2019 For a game that channels Hotline Miami so heavily, Katana ZERO is unusually generous in granting players absolution for their eventual murder spree.
Preserving Ideas with Blaster Master Zero II By Jeremy Signor • April 24th, 2019 Bold ideas should persevere, but they need room to grow.
Baba Is You Rules By Jeremy Signor • April 3rd, 2019 By letting you manipulate the implicit rules of its world, Baba Is You reveals how underlying assumed rules shape how you play games.
Hypnospace Outlaw Finds the Horror in Viruses By Jeremy Signor • March 26th, 2019 An eerie tribute to the early days of the internet, Hypnospace Outlaw reveals the hidden hell of computer viruses.
Rethinking Action with Devil May Cry 5 By Jeremy Signor • March 20th, 2019 Though very much a Devil May Cry game, 5 hints at a new future for the character action genre.
Searching for Souls in Reverie By Jeremy Signor • March 13th, 2019 What exactly makes a Dark Souls-like experience? And do we do games a disservice by searching for it?
The Shonen Flowmotion of Kingdom Hearts III By Jeremy Signor • March 5th, 2019 Kingdom Hearts III succeeds at putting you in the driver’s seat of a shonen anime fantasy.
Choose Your Own Adventure with Slay the Spire By Jeremy Signor • February 13th, 2019 Slay the Spire lets you craft your own narrative with branching choices that harken back to Choose Your Own Adventure books.
The Heavy Footsteps of Resident Evil 2’s Mr. X By Jeremy Signor • February 6th, 2019 The whiff of threat of him is enough to completely change the game you’re playing, warping your entire awareness around the possibility of him.
Katamari Damacy: Keep Going By Jeremy Signor • January 23rd, 2019 Katamari Damacy might be the most affirming experience in gaming.
GRIS: Her Journey By Jeremy Signor • January 16th, 2019 GRIS wants to be Journey, but ultimately learns the wrong lessons and loses its voice.
Road Trip By Jeremy Signor • January 2nd, 2019 When you’re trapped in a car with nothing to do but play handheld games, you start to see their inherent worth.
The Master of Unlocking By Jeremy Signor • December 19th, 2018 Unlocking aspects of a game is an old bit of gameplay feedback that’s still satisfying.
The Catch By Jeremy Signor • December 12th, 2018 The raw feeling of capturing a Pokémon is augmented in Pokémon Let’s Go.
Figure it Out By Jeremy Signor • December 5th, 2018 Return of the Obra Dinn uses gameplay lines more synonymous with tabletop deduction games than traditional videogames.
