As brutal and terrifying as it is in real life, war can make for a compelling backdrop for stories, both real and fictitious. The desperation of the situation, emerging technological advances and influences of bigger-than-life personalities are greatly appealing to historians and enthusiasts (rarely the participants). The optimistic future of Star Trek steps aside during the Dominion War storyline in Deep Space Nine; many fans would say it was for the better. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is considered one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, taking place in an alternate reality smack dab in the middle of a war between the Klingons and Federation.
Countless movies have received great accolades for depicting the ultimate conflict of man, from Bridge on the River Kwai to Saving Private Ryan to The Hurt Locker. The themes, emotions and complexities that a war brings will not stop being adapted into movies, games, books, television, plays, poetry and paintings because the source material is simply too rich. Too important. READ MORE
It must be an incredibly daunting task to make a video game. Forget the fact that it normally takes an enormous amount of effort and finances to get the project to completion. How do you manage to make it good? If it were easy, everybody would do it. And despite the fact most games lie in the “6.5-8.0” range, that doesn’t mean they’re good. Video game review scores are a fickle beast, at best. Hundreds of people are involved in making games at a creative level, so how do you unify them all to make a game with a common goal in mind? Do they all agree on the same thing? Impossible. Picture a group of ten of your friends. Now ask if they all want to see the same movie. Right. READ MORE
In the My Favorite Game series, get to know us better as staff writers share the game they love most and why.
Chrono Trigger is that band you’ve known all your life. You went to all their concerts, knew them before they were popular, have read everything about them and desperately hope for a reunion tour. They’re not mainstream. They’re your favorite thing. READ MORE
Emotional attachment to fictional characters is difficult to establish. Most people will suspend their disbelief to a point. They’ll buy into whatever world they’re seeing, as long as it makes some sense, the plot is coherent and, most importantly, they care about what happens to the characters. It’s an essential ingredient to any successful story.
Video games have it tough. How can you pace a game’s story properly when the user is in direct control of the experience? And how on Earth can you establish interest in the characters, when most video game dialogue ranks slightly below “tolerable” and far, far away from “good”? READ MORE
Video games are a powerful bonding tool, yes. Games are a great excuse for a social gathering, great for keeping in touch with your friends, great for reminiscing about the good ol’ days. Remember when you were a kid and you played that game for days?
Well, what about when you actually are a kid. What do they mean? Hours and hours of entertainment, yes. Blowing up things and killing people in a relatively consequence free, fictional universe? Yes, but take note. All the stuff we like about video games — being a more attractive, clever superhuman who happens to be either way more social, way more fit, sexy, ruthless and adept at creating and destroying worlds — is significantly cooler when you’re a kid. READ MORE
