Gaming Onus

How to Talk to Your Father-in-Law About Games

Defending the joy of video games

It started with a question: “How the hell do you and Joe [my brother-in-law] and play these [Call of Duty] games? What is it about them that you like?” It was mostly rhetorical, but said with a tone of disdain and shaking of the head. I froze. The wheels of my mind spun in place looking for an answer. I’d been defending my love of video games almost my entire…

The Game is Boring yet I Can’t Stop Playing

Marvel’s Spider-Manis great… but kind of like a plate of delicious french fries. The fries are hot and salty and sort of greasy, and occasionally you find an extra crispy fry. You can’t stop eating, even when you know you’re done, because it’s so good. The fries even have some interesting dipping sauces on the side, but at the end of the day you’re…

When to be Brave and Default on a Game

Bravely Default: A Case Study for Quitting a Video Game

I got a bad case of the JRPG-itch a couple months ago and wanted to try Bravely Defaultafter almost a year of not playing. I remember loving it as a demo back in 2012 and then when I finally got around to purchasing it. It has the right balance of classic RPG elements and new quality of life improvements for the modern gamer. It’s always…

Isn’t it ironic or paradoxical that Red Dead 2, a technological marvel feat of digital engineering, affords us a simulation of the pre industrial American landscape where you forage, hunt, and steal, roughing it in the natural world? And in concert with this framing of a digital game giving us the pleasure of living off the land, we see the decline of that very same outlaw life style. City Life…

Playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and watching others play through RDR2 has me thinking about agency in video games. The creators have a vision and direction for your character, but they also you want to have agency and a hand in how “good” or “bad” you are.

Night in the Woods – My Last Night

This melancholy life makes for beautiful moments

I’ve finally finished Night in the Woods after playing in bursts over the course of the past couple of months. What an interesting game. I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that so well captures the bittersweet melancholy of life. I can’t remember the last time I consumed any type of media (book, movie, TV show) that made me feel this way for…

I completed the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 (among many other side tasks) a few weeks ago. While it was a satisfying conclusion with a neat tie-in to the first Red Dead Redemption, I feel like I need a break from video games.

I spent so much time inhabiting the world of Arthur Morgan and riding around pre-industrial America that other games don’t hold any appeal at the moment. RDR2had it’s…

Unresolved Business in Red Dead Redemption 2

I demand satisfaction

There are dozens if not hundreds of side quests, strange happenings, eerie locations, and secrets to be discovered throughout the lands of Red Dead Redemption 2. Strangers, deceitful and benevolent both, call out to you at random. Each chance encounter feels wholly organic and unique. That so many unique interactions and side attractions exist within the game to distract…

My play style is "authentic", what about yours?

Self-imposed code of character

Have you ever decided walk instead of run through a video game? Have you ever waited until it was an appropriate time of day to talk to an NPC? Have you ever felt wrong about your attire in the context of your current location or situation? If so, then you’re not alone! I too am guilty of adhering to nonsensical, self-imposed rules of conduct while playing games.…

Night in the Woods – We’re all Animals Just Trying to Survive

Still playing Night in the Woods, still feeling bummed about life.

The slow pace of the opening hours of Night in the Woodswas hampering my enthusiasm for the game, despite the quirky and clever dialogue between characters. But the development of some relationships and appearance of something supernatural and possibly sinister has accelerated the pace of the game. This specter and allusions…

Apex Legends is Good, But I Won’t Play

I want to care, but I mostly don’t

As you’ve probably already heard, a new opponent has appeared in the Battle Royale arena. In a Beyonce-like move, Respawn Entertainment, the developers behind the wonderfully under-appreciated Titanfall games, dropped Apex Legends out of nowhere; for free. I loved Titanfall 2, and I love Respawn, but I don’t really about Apex Legends.

I want to loveApex…

The Division 2 Beta: First Thoughts

The streets of D.C. are lethal and unfamiliar

I’ve played maybe the first hour or so of Ubisoft’s new and improved online shooter-RPG. Here is my initial take away:

The Division 2‘s opening movie is slick. Like a real movie or something.

It feels great to be back in the Division, even if they gameplay is repetitive. I can’t wait to play with friends.

The guns actually feel different this time…

Video Games are an Underrated Art Form, Amen

The Economist’s lifestyle and culture magazine makes the case eloquently

It’s no surprise that the title “Video Games are an underrated art form” would jump out at me. It’s something I’ve believed for a long time and seem to always be defensive of. So when I read the 1843 articleabout an exhibit at the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum in London which underscores the brilliance behind game…

There was a Live Marshmello Concert in Fortnite

Games have come a long way since Mario

Today, Epic Games and Marshmello partnered up to present a live concertwithin the world of Fortnite. This is simultaneously stupefying and exhilarating. The old man part of me thinks a concert within a game is ridiculous. The gamer enthusiast in me thinks a concert within a game is a modern marvel. The younger, cooler, gamer in me wins out. How cool is it…

First Impressions: Wargroove - I bought the charming spiritual successor to Advance Wars, #Wargroove!

Groove is in the War

I did something. Something I haven’t done in a very long time. I took the plunge and bought a new game on day one. And that game is Wargroove. I briefly wrote about the fact that this game was coming out just a couple of weeks ago. Now here we are day one, and I’ve been joyfully playing it.

Advance Wars. That’s the most popular and obvious comparison made to…

Two Nights in Strawberry, Tales from West Elizabeth

Exploring Hawks Eye Creek and Mount Shann

I had heard rumors of a house just north of Strawberry holding untold treasures within. This, coming from an escaped convict I helped liberate shackles off of. Were he telling the truth? There was only one way to find out.

I rode out West, over the Dakota River and into West Elizabeth. I was in no real rush. I moseyed on West at my own pace,…

Why Am I No Good at Being Bad?

My moral compass always seems to point true

Video games let us escape our dreary real-world lives. This unique interactive medium allows you to inhabit a digital avatar to play and interact with polygonal crafted worlds. Video games are a unique medium that lets you roleplay in just about any digital setting you could dream of. Why then, when presented with the option of being good or bad do I…