As we discussed in a previous post, Hideo Kojima is the first game designer to create a Postmodern video game. Postmodernism is an artistic movement that began in earnest in the late 20th Century, though its roots go all the way back to the 1910s with Dadaism and Surrealism, such as Rene Magritte's The Treachery … Continue reading Hideo Kojima, Part 3: Deconstructing Video Games
In 2012, Kojima said in an interview with The Guardian that he has a highly active imagination, and that even in adulthood he has to keep his mind from wandering off and making its own stories. He even paused during the interview to discreetly share what was going through his head at that very moment … Continue reading Hideo Kojima, Part 2: The Surreal Art of the Visual Metaphor
Hideo Kojima's Instagram bio states, "Game Creator: 70% of my body is made of movies." As we've recently learned, Kojima's love for movies runs deep into his childhood. It has stayed with him through difficult times like when his father passed away, or when he was striving to make it as a game designer. They … Continue reading Hideo Kojima, Part 1: How a Film Geek Makes Video Games
The 1963 film High and Low begins with a renowned Japanese shoemaker, Mr. Gondo, sitting in a luxurious living room. He is surrounded by his fellow company shareholders. Dozens of shoes pile up on the center table. Between puffs of cigarettes, the men discuss how to move their shoe company forward, and the conversation quickly … Continue reading The Life and Times of Hideo Kojima
Uncharted Golden Abyss is an action/adventure game developed by Bend Studio with the supervision of Naughty Dog. It was published by Sony and released on the PlayStation Vita in February 2012. It's no secret that Sony loves making cinematic games, and it's no secret that critics love playing them. When Naughty Dog released Uncharted: Drake's … Continue reading Uncharted Golden Abyss: My Sony Summer Blockbuster
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is a 2D Platformer / Level Editor developed by Double Eleven and Tarsier Studios with the help of Sony's internal developers. It was published by Sony for the PlayStation Vita in 2012. It's been a while since I've talked about the PlayStation Vita... let's fix that! If you've owned a Sony console … Continue reading LittleBigPlanet PS Vita: Sony’s Answer to Super Mario Maker, Before Super Mario Maker
What makes a game good? No, really, what makes a game worth talking about and remain worth talking about? What makes a game stay around for decades instead of fading away into obscurity after its launch week? Most of the discourse around video games are reviews, Top 10s, and analyses. Those certainly have a place … Continue reading How To Read a Video Game: The Hideo Kojima Preview
I once wrote a post about games I thought I'd never want to play. In this post, I claimed that I'd never want to play a game so ugly as Skyrim or Dark Souls. I elaborated about the overblown set pieces of cinematic games like Uncharted, sacrificing meaningful gameplay for a B movie plot. I … Continue reading My Gamer Palate
A year for a human is about... 10 years for a video game console. That would mean that in a few days, the Nintendo Switch is hitting the big ol' 4-0. I advise you to make sure your Nintendo Switch doesn't go and buy a big shiny sports car just to make sure he's "still … Continue reading The Nintendo Switch’s 4th Anniversary
Part of what makes Literature (the kind you read in English class) so enduring is how two readers can view a story from completely different perspectives, and the text could provide evidence to support both conclusions. For example, when Hamlet encounters his father's ghost demanding revenge on his murder, you could argue that Hamlet literally … Continue reading What Remains of Edith Finch – A House Haunted by Reality
