Games

It seems to be a somewhat awkward time for the single-player experience in AAA games. Recently EA recently shutting down Visceral Games and "pivoting" the design of their planned Star Wars game to something seemingly more multiplayer. At the same time, smaller games on platforms such as Steam and Itch.io are, more often than not, single-player. Are games of this scale filling a gap that is becoming increasingly difficult to financially justify in the AAA space, or are games such as last year's Doom or this year's Legend of Zelda indicators that there's still a place long-term for more focused experiences?

Analyze the key factors that enabled The Witcher, a fantasy novel written by a Polish author, to become a hit video game that is clearly the work of great art, talent, and money. Why did the Witcher become a video game and not a movie? What about the story makes it intriguing enough to become a game?

A steady rise has begun in table top gaming, which can be linked to the increased awareness of gaming through online forums and social media. There has become a larger sense of community in being able to discuss a personal engagement with particular games. I would argue that part of this has been the increase in narrative style table top games, both those being released by large corporations such as the Arkham Horror and Betrayal at House on the Hill style games, but also smaller kickstarters and independent games, such as the beautiful Dreamwell, and smaller games like Stuff and Nonsense. Narratives do not need to be complete directed stories, but also the invitation to engage in story telling, such as in the Fiasco style games. Regardless of type part of their success is that there is a narrative in place, it takes it from being something very generic into becoming an immersive experience.

It would be interesting to discuss what are some of the latest trends in narrative styles or content, what are the most popular types of narratives that have endured and where we think narratives in games is heading next.

When one opens the usual source for their gaming apps there seems to be a plethora of text-based gaming role-playing-games, beyond what we once were seeing. Is this simply due to the ease of making such games versus a visual game? Or is there actually a rise in the market for such game play? Has this then replaced the popularity of the choose-your-own-adventure book? Many questions, does anyone have the answers?

Discuss examples in videogames when interactivity matters. Do Cut Scenes or sequences with Quick Time Events have a completely different meaning when they become interactive? Some examples are the final bosses in God of War 3 and Metal Gear Solid 3. How does timed decisions in cut scenes create tension and meaning? Some examples include Mass Effect and Telltale games. Does introducing interactivity in these games make them more immersive?

Monster Prom (2018) is the latest in a line of explicitly queer indie dating sims since the popularity of The Game Grumps' Dream Daddy (2017). It's tone is light, comedic, and playful, owing it's mash-up of horror and sitcom tropes to predecessors like The Addams Family (1964), The Munsters (1964), Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), a slew of campy monster beach party movies (e.g.: 1964's The Horror of Party Beach), and even the recent popularity of the Monster High (2010) toy line and webseries. Monster Prom owes a lot to the "all-ghoul school trope," but it is also unapologetically queer; the game's Kickstarter page includes a blurb on the subject: "Don't worry if you want to romance a certain love interest as a certain character! In Monster Prom characters don't like boys or girls… they like people." This is a kind counterpart to the long tradition of queer-coded monsters and villains in horror cinema, a topic extensively covered in Harry Benshoff in his book Monsters in The Closet: Homosexuality and The Horror Film (1997). Monstrous and villainous queer subtext can be observed famously in classic monster movies like Frankenstein (1931)– which prominently features two men privately collaborating to create new life (and was, directed by a gay man, James Whale)– Dracula's Daughter (1936)– which features a butch female vampire and her effeminate male manservant– and later films like Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge (1985) and Reanimator (1985). The purpose of this article is to trace the trickle: how did our media shift from implicitly queer monsters as villains to explicitly queer monsters as love interests? Also consider the quasi-ironic queer nerd slogan: "The Babadook is a gay icon" and even the non-normative love story that takes place in The Shape of Water (2017).

What are its limitations? What will its advancement mean for other gaming devices?

With Fortnite and Players Unknown Battlegrounds recently making their way to mobile devices how far can mobile gaming go? Will it be limited mainly by the lack of screen real-estate and controls or will technology find a way to create an experience on a mobile phone much like you get on a Nintendo Switch?

I have been following the seemingly trouble wrought story of the game Destiny 2 with interest. Many have stopped playing, listing lack of in-game incentive as a primary cause for their leaving. Some fans have even reverted to playing Destiny 1, claiming the game is superior to the sequel. Bungie recently held a ‘community summit’ in an attempt to address player discontent, and continually update what they call a ‘roadmap’ to increase perceived development transparency. Bungie is not the only developer who has met trouble in trying to appease angry players who have their own ideas about the direction a game should take. My question is this: how transparent should game developers be when it comes to the creative process of game design? To what extent does community feedback and discussion help or hinder the eventual product?