Enabling the Cause of Accessibility

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Mike “Broly” Begum is one of the best competitive fighting game players in Texas. In 2010, he ascended the competitive Super Street Fighter IV circuit to become a major state contender, while simultaneously achieving the distinction of being Texas’s number 5-ranked Super Smash Bros. Melee player. While accomplishing either of these feats is impressive, and accomplishing both simultaneously is even more so, perhaps most impressive is that Begum, at least ostensibly, would appear to be one of the least likely fighting game champions around.

Pick Up Anything of Use

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THE ADVENTURE GAME IS NO LONGER RELEVANT, they scream, eyes flecked with the righteousness of the lifelong gamesman. THE CONTROL METHOD IS FRUSTRATING, the INPUTS UNSATISFYING. What are these, PUZZLES?! Oh, DECISIONS?! Where is the smoothness of play? The feeling of control? Why is it that we must combine this and that to make a conversation come to life? Why must I stumble from screen to screen like this? I am the hero. Why is everything so difficult? Everything in it is difficult they say. Everything in it  is difficult.

Panels and Frames: Turkey Time Machine

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Thanksgiving is upon us, America. I used to think of Thanksgiving as the holiday sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas. Sure, there’s a great dinner in there, but it doesn’t have the taboo overtones of Halloween, nor does it have the gleeful anticipation that surrounds Christmas. Thanksgiving is centered on an enormous supper with family. Its practice is, ideally, wholesome (even if its storied origin may not be, but that’s a tale for another time). Over the past few years, I’ve come to appreciate Thanksgiving in its own right. It’s a time of reflection – a time to be thankful for

Pretension +1: Indie Gaming Console Launches to Minimal Fanfare

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BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – A loose-knit collection of programmers, anarchists and baristas launched an indie gaming console to little or no fanfare Thursday. The collective chose not to give the gaming device a name, a standard set of specifications or even a price point. “We’re trying to avoid the whole gaming hype train,” said hacker/forestry science major Arturo Gutierrez. “I mean, when I think of a brand, I think of cowboys searing the flesh of innocent cows. This isn’t about cattle capitalism.”