diablo 4 does not need full character customisation
One of the most highly anticipated features of Diablo 4, due in June 2023, is the character customisation that the newest Diablo game promises. While creating and identifying with characters is important in video games, I don’t think an in-depth…
arcane season 1 easter eggs from league of legends
Nobody could have predicted that an animated Netflix series based on League of Legends characters would have worked. But in 2021, Arcane, the nine-part action adventure series, defied expectations and became a runaway success. As of writing, the series holds…
the gender and roles of overwatch heroes
In this post, I’m tackling the gender and role distribution amongst the heroes of Blizzard’s first-person shooter game Overwatch. In a Reddit post from 2017, a then-Comparative Cultural Studies student addressed the question “Why are there so many female Mercy…
listening to the voice of elohim in the talos principle
When I played The Talos Principle, the puzzle game by Croteam released in 2014, it brought to mind other great puzzle games. Though it can get lost in the shuffle between the legacy of Myst (1993) and the star power…
the last guardian’s trico and companions in video games
In single-player games, the hero is often accompanied by one or more companion characters. In some cases, the companion fulfills a story purpose, such as the robot Six that accompanies you in Heaven’s Vault, providing commentary on the world’s history and…
the subtle storytelling of the video game inside
Since it’s October again, it’s time for my traditional post about a spooky game. Last year, I wrote about the innovative use of death in the mechanics of Limbo, and this year I’m excited to tackle the storytelling of Inside.…
arcane’s silco is not league of legends champion material
The success of the League of Legends animated series Arcane has a lot to do with its characters. Namely, villain-turned-father-figure Silco became a standout favourite of the series. For Riot, one might imagine that this television property would serve as a goldmine for…
a study of gender and roles of heroes of the storm heroes
A year ago, I wrote a blog post analysing the gender and roles of League of Legends champions. Unsurprisingly, the video game stereotype of females in support roles1 was reinforced by the distribution of gameplay roles amongst LoL‘s 150+ playable…
figment: a mind full of incoherent video game design
For a game that’s set inside a human mind, Figment doesn’t make a lot of sense. Released in 2017 by Bedtime Digital Games, Figment is a single-player action-adventure game including platforming, puzzles, and boss battles where the boss sings an elaborately…