Can EA Be Trusted By Gamers?

In my newest YouTube video, I discuss EA's recent handling of the SimCity offline mode situation and whether or not the company can be trusted after having continuously showed its blatant disregard for the gamers it supposedly care about.

My Youtube vidlog - Choice in Games

 Apologies for having gone so long without updating this blog. I've begun a series of Youtube videos in which I discuss similar issues to what I have written about here on Inner Thoughts of a Quiet Gamer. You can check out the first video, "Choice in Games", by clicking the link below! (Blogspot isn't letting me directly embed the video for some reason)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31TZiZkDOU

Hypocrisy And Hyperbole: Why Our Country’s Efforts To Vilify Video Games Angers Me

hypocrisy

the condition of a person pretending to be something he is not, especially in the area of morals or religion; a false presentation of belief or feeling. — hypocrite, n. — hypocritic, hypocritical, adj.

hyperbole

1. an obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “She’s as big as a house.” Cf. litotes. — hyperbolic, adj.

Before you read the rest of this blog post, I want you to look at and study the two definitions above very carefully.

Gazing Into The Abyss: The Ugly Truth About Violent Video Games

Which makes more sense to you? That violent video games are responsible for the violence in our culture? Or that violent video games are a reflection of our violent culture? It’s a tough question to ask, probably even tougher to answer, but it’s still an important question to ask if we truly want to open up meaningful discussions about video game violence and its connection with real-world violence.

It’s Official: Video Games Are Witchcraft

At least as far as an organization in Southington, Connecticut is concerned. According to a recent article by Polygon contributor Brian Crecente, a small group known as the SouthingtonSOS, based in the small Southington community roughly 30 miles from where the Newton Sandy Hook Massacre took place, is holding an event that they have dubbed the “Violent Video Games Return Program”  on January 12th.

Busting Myths: Could The Odyssey Work As A Game?

Last week I posed the question of whether or not Homer's epic poem The Iliad could work as a AAA video game and this week it's time to cover Homer's other famous masterpiece: The Odyssey. While it's rather easy to see how a poem devoted to warfare, heroes, and gods could be reworked into a AAA title, a game that seeks to retell the wanderings of Odysseus would have to be a much different beast.

Do Video Games Affect Your Political Views?

A recent tweet sent via Twitter from @PoliticalLetter struck a chord with me. The tweet read: “Dear Video Game Designers: Create content that gets people to revolt against the upper class, instead of the usual imperialist propaganda. I had to pause and reflect for a few minutes, I don’t think I had ever heard of video game content being described as “imperialist propaganda” before so what the heck were these people talking about?

Read the full story at explosion.com

Combat Crossover: The Complete First Season

For anyone who has ever wondered: "who would win in a fight between Link and Cloud?" or "could Samus take down Master Chief?", be sure to check out Combat Crossover, my weekly feature over at vgutopia.com

Below you'll find links to all eight battles in the feature's first "season", and you can even still vote on the outcome of the season finale and tune in next week for the results!

Busting Myths: Could The Iliad Work As A Game?

Besides the ever-expanding God of War series, Greek mythology to this day has had a rather small presence in the gaming world. The Iliad in particular has remained as a largely untapped source for game studios and developers which is a shame when you consider that it's one of the most action-packed stories in the mythological timeline.

Top Five Video Games That Should Be Made Into Movies

Now that Deus Ex and Assassin's Creed are getting their own movies, what other major franchises should be getting the silver screen treatment? Head on over to explosion.com to check out my top five picks!

Read the full story at explosion.com

Are (Good) Video Game-Based Movies On The Rise?

Yesterday it was announced that Michael Fassbender, the acclaimed Hollywood actor who many will probably recognize from his role as Magneto in X-Men: First Class but who has also starred in 300, Shame, and Haywire, would not only be co-producing a movie based on the Assassin's Creed license, but would possibly also be starring in it as well.

Poetry in Motion: How Does Motion Capture Benefit Gaming?

I recently read an article about the making of developer Naughty Dog’s latest game The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic survival title that features two protagonists who must work together to overcome the various dangers and obstacles they encounter, and I was struck by one particular element of the development process: their use of motion capture. Now obviously using motion capture (or “mo-cap”) to help render animations and movement for video game characters is nothing new but that didn’t stop Naughty Dog from experimenting with the limits of what mo-cap can do and in the process finding some amazing results.