Category: Essays

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the Art of Overanalyzing a Video Game

I stand amid the roarOf a surf-tormented shore,And I hold within my handGrains of the golden sand—How few! yet how they creepThrough my fingers to the deep,While I weep—while I weep!O God! can I not graspThem with a tighter clasp?O God! can I not saveOne from the pitiless wave?Is all that we see or seemBut a dream within … Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the Art of Overanalyzing a Video Game →

Tetris and the Art of Making the World Make Sense

Two weeks ago I talked about Super Mario World, the first video game I ever played. Last week I talked about Crash Bandicoot 2, the first video game I ever owned. Let's backtrack to a time between those two major events. When I was about six years old, our family moved from Indianapolis to the … Continue reading Tetris and the Art of Making the World Make Sense →

An Ode to the Sony PlayStation and Crash Bandicoot 2

Christmas, 1998: my brother and I unwrapped a Sony PlayStation, and it became one of the best gifts of my childhood. My brother and I had spent months deliberating over what should become our first video game console: the Nintendo 64, or the Sony PlayStation. At the time, both consoles seemed equally matched. The Nintendo … Continue reading An Ode to the Sony PlayStation and Crash Bandicoot 2 →