On an artistic style in contemporary videogames. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra.
Are games art? Last year, what Jim Preston wrote drove the nail into the coffin of this absurd and useless question: To think that there is a single, generally agreed upon concept of art is to get it precisely backwards. Americans’ attitude towards art is profoundly divided, disjointed and confused; and my message to gamers is to simply ignore the… read more
The Hidden Uses of Newspapers
Given my ongoing research on games and journalism, along with the occasional publications of my games by news organizations, I often think about the fate of the newspaper. I’m talking about the print newspaper, that big, black and white thing one folds and unfolds and holds in front of one’s face. There’s lots of talk about the death of the… read more
On games as experiences rather than games as products. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra.
When we use a toaster, or a sweater, or a word processing software package, we have certain functional expectations. A toaster should caramelize bread evenly and consistently. A sweater should keep a body warm without fraying or stretching out from repeated use. A word processor should help automate the crafting of documents without requiring specialized expertise. Some of our expectations… read more
Fandom and Detritus
One of my gripes with Henry Jenkins’s book Convergence Culture was its tendency to privilege pop cultural fan activity to other sorts of attention. Appealing though they may be, I wondered if Harry Potter and Survivor really sat at the pinnacle of human creativity in the way that the book implied. One of the problems that concerned me was the… read more
Jason Rohrer in Esquire
Esquire just published Jason Fagone’s profile of art game developer and friend Jason Rohrer. The piece is a part of that magazine’s “Best and Brightest 2008” features, and it’s a terrific portrait of a strange but earnest man whose work is surprising and important. I make a few brief appearances in the article, for which I am grateful, but mostly… read more
On multiplayer games that estrange. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra
Players of Jason Rohrer’s previous art games Passage and Gravitation might squint at first when trying his latest title, Between – intriguingly made for Esquire Magazine as part of its “Esquire’s Best and Brightest 2008” issue. Sure, they will recognize Rohrer’s characteristic style: a preference for pixellation and visual austerity, the simple control over an abstract character, and an environment… read more
The Atari Video Computer System
An accessible book about the Atari VCS as a platform. Co-authored with Nick Montfort. This book is available in digital or physical format. Buy from Amazon Racing the Beam is a study of the most important early videogame console, the Atari Video Computer System (also known as the Atari VCS or the Atari 2600). Through its main example, the book… read more
The role of games in the 2008 election, and beyond. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra.
The 2004 election cycle saw the birth and quick rise of the official political video game. While election strategy game have been around since 1981’s President Elect, that title and its followers were games about the political process, not games used as a part of that process. 2004 marked a turning point. It was the year candidates and campaign organizations… read more
Jacket Art, Title Announced
Nick Montfort and I are happy to share the cover art and a revised title for the book we wrote on the Atari Video Computer System (more about the book). The final title is Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. “Racing the beam” is a way some VCS programmers describe the process of setting up scan lines of… read more
How games can be informal and personal. From my "Persuasive Games" column at Gamasutra
In the late 19th century, photographs were primarily made on huge plate-film cameras with bellows and expensive hand-ground lenses. Their operation was nontrivial, and required professional expertise. The relative youth of photography as a medium made that expertise much more scarce than it is today. All that changed when Kodak introduced the Brownie Camera in 1900. The Brownie was different.… read more