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A consideration of the role of voice acting in games and whether its importance has become exaggerated. Also I am a grumpypants. This is important.

With the "game is art" crowd endlessly debating this subject, one question that is often ignored is whether it's necessary in the first place. And at the root of it all, is there simply an inferiority complex many "game critics" suffer from?

Tim Schafer with an axe, Chun-Li vs Forrest Law, killing Gears of War and drunk-driving around Panau.

Since finishing Heavy Rain, I've been reading different people's reaction to it. Many of them say that this is the future of videogame narratives, and that it signals the death to linearity. But do we really want all our games to be a bland shade of grey, complete with both a happy and a sad ending that lacks any real emotional punch?

This is an academic essay I did for my course (First Year Art and Design!). It's a bit academic and a bit dated at this point but I'm sure somebody'll find it interesting. If anyone want's to see the bibliography I be happy to update the post.

Feature/interview with Indiana University professor Lee Sheldon. Sheldon wrote a premier textbook on storytelling in games. The story discusses Sheldon's views on the current state and future of video game storytelling.

Quantic Dream has fixed most of the issues present in Indigo Prophecy with there brand new title, Heavy Rain, which is built on the same general concept and design as their last game. This concept being, of course, the idea that story is the most important aspect of the game, and that anything you do in the game can alter what happens.

I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 immensely. SURPRISE! But something that's been brought up before but something I've noticed personally for the first time is how different your own version of Commander Sheperd turns out. I couldn't wait to hit on Tali, but what did my friend decide on? It surprised me.

My first article on Bitmob and my first spotlight. I drop some knowledge on the world about how women being helpless damsels that only drive the plot forward is sexist and wrong. The world really should have figured this out by now.

Maturity in gaming has come a long way from the early 8-bit days, but even the most adamant of gamers can tell you that “maturity” in gaming still has a long way to go. Here is a list, in my opinion, of a variety of spectrums of storytelling, human being, and human interaction that gaming needs to strive towards to be taken more seriously as a mature medium of entertainment. At no point do I want anyone to take this list as a “all of gaming must head towards serious content” argument but rather a request that a select few developers and publishers stop pumping insane amounts of money into the Grand Theft Auto and God of War clones of the world and create something new and meaningful from time to time