Game Studies 101

Gaming in Color

“Out of the closet and into the arcade! Gaming In Color is a feature documentary exploring the queer side of gaming: the queer gaming community, gaymer culture and events, and the rise of LGBTQ themes in video games. Diverse queer themes in game storylines and characters are an anomaly in the mainstream video game industry, and LGBTQ gamers have a higher chance of being mistreated in social games. Gaming In Color explores how the community culture is shifting and the industry is diversifying, helping with queer visibility and acceptance of an LGBTQ presence.” – Gaming in Color

June 8, 2016 0

Cutthroat Capitalism

economics / journalism

“You are a pirate commander staked with $50,000 from local tribal leaders and other investors. Your job is to guide your pirate crew through raids in and around the Gulf of Aden, attack and capture a ship, and successfully negotiate a ransom.” – Wired

September 27, 2016 0

Twilight Struggle

history / political science

“Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the 45 year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the USSR and the USA. The entire world is the stage on which these two titans fight. The game begins amidst the ruins of Europe as the two new superpowers scramble over the wreckage of WWII and ends in 1989, when only the United States remained standing.” – GMT Games

June 29, 2016 0

Archaeogaming

history / resource

“Archaeogaming is a blog dedicated to the discussion of the archaeology both of and in video games (console, computer, mobile, etc.). If a game uses archaeology in some way (such as the Archaeology skill in World of Warcraft), we’ll discuss it here. If the design and function of pottery, textiles, and architecture vary between iterations of a game (e.g., Elder Scrolls), we’ll discuss it here…”

May 20, 2016 0

Spent

economics / game / sociology

“Urban Ministries of Durham serves over 6,000 people every year. But you’d never need help, right? Over 14 million Americans are unemployed. Now imagine you are one of them. Your savings are gone, you’ve lost your house, and you’re down to your last $1000. Can you make it through the month?” – Spent

December 30, 2016 0

Queer Game Studies 101

game studies / queer studies / women's studies

“To help promote a conscientious community of scholarship around Queer Game Studies, we offer this “101” — a handy introduction to the field as it stands in mid-2016. Whether you are embarking on Queer Game Studies research yourself, putting together a syllabus, or looking for a presenter or contributor to speak about queerness and games, we hope you’ll look into this outstanding work.” – Queer Game Studies 101

June 30, 2016 0

Game Design Workshop

game design

“Author Tracy Fullerton demystifies the creative process with a clear and accessible analysis of the formal and dramatic systems of game design. Examples of popular games, illustrations of design techniques, and refined exercises strengthen your understanding of how game systems function and give you the skills and tools necessary to create a compelling and engaging game…”

February 19, 2016 0

LGBTQ Video Game Archive

queer studies / women's studies

“This “archive” of LGBTQ video game content is meant to be a resource for researchers, journalists, critics, game designers/developers/publishers, students, gamers and/or people who play games and anyone else who is interested in learning more about the history of LGBTQ content in video games. Why “archive”? Well because this is not a traditional collection of primary sources that would be required for an Archive.” – LGBTQ Video Game Archive

June 30, 2016 0

Big Pharma

economics / health

“What if you had it in your power to rid the world of disease, to improve the lives of millions, to ease suffering and cure the sick… and earn a tidy profit? As the head of your own Pharmaceutical Conglomerate you have this power resting in your hands. Will you use it for good? Being totally altruistic may not be the best business plan. The uncomfortable truth (is there an ointment for that?) is that some remedies are more profitable than others and illness is good for business. Welcome to the world of Big Pharma!” – Twice Circled

September 27, 2016 0

Game A Week

game design

“That’s when I realised that design experience isn’t in the size of your games, or even in the scope of it – it’s in the number of projects you’ve been through. That sounds like a ridiculous claim to some, but let’s run through the mental stages of developing a game the way I see them: conceptualisation, identification, development, polish and release. Everybody has a different expression of these stages, but everybody goes through them for each released project.” – Rami Ismail

August 19, 2016 0