but thou must

New article up on Overthinking It today about video games and the categorical imperative. Excerpt: You don’t need to question if killing everyone you see, stockpiling on shuriken and climbing cliff faces while birds fling themselves at you like meteorites (these damn BIRDS) is getting you closer to your end. You never stop and wonder, [...]

this is not the greatest song in the world

Dragon Age: Remember when I said of Mass Effect that I’d almost rather read a novel set in that universe than play a game in it? With Dragon Age, I feel as if I’ve already read that novel. Follow along: in a world where magic is heavily regulated by a religious order (Wheel of Time), [...]

that’s where I caught her eye

Hey all. If you’re into console RPGs, like the Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest series, then you should check out my Overthinking It post on what makes a console RPG an RPG. It’s pretty great. Not big into video games? Check out some of our recent guest posts, like this article linking Batman and Dostoevsky [...]

the love is the liveliest, the life the loveliest

Three pieces of Overthink: (1) I have a post up on the Fallout 3 soundtrack and its existentialist implications. It’s long but should be accessible even to people who haven’t played the game. Have fun. (2) I’m sure you’ve all listened to this week’s Overthinking It podcast. If not, you can hear me stand my [...]

accidents mean no one’s guilty; ignorance means someone’s killed

This media blow might get political, but that’s no fault of mine: The Lives of Others: Oscar-winning German film from 2007. Set in East Berlin in 1984, it follows a Stasi captain ordered to surveill a popular playwright and his actor girlfriend. The passion in their lives draws him in, until he finds himself bending [...]

’cause I’m as ill as the convict who kills for phone time

If you’re not already subscribing, you should check out this week’s Overthinking It podcast, in which four white guys and an Asian argue about rap music. We also sling terms like “racially normative” around and, at one point, call Mozart “soulless and technical.” It’s the most controversial podcast I’ve ever been on; don’t miss it. [...]

and you can’t find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along

And on the third day, they went to the media blow, only to find the stone rolled aside: The Limits of Power: A book-length op-ed. Heavy on assertions, backed up by telling but sparse anecdotes, Bacevich’s new book on American imperialism likely won’t convince anyone who wasn’t one foot in the bag already. But for [...]

wreckx n effect is in effect but I’m the wrecker

A pre-birthday media blow: Mass Effect: I can’t get over the feeling that I’m playing this game wrong. Part of this feeling arises from the fact that Mass Effect has no tutorial to speak of, throwing you into the action with limited instruction but deep backstory. But most of this feeling arises from the hundred [...]

strapped in the chair of the city’s gas chamber; why I’m here I can’t quite remember

Weekend adventures included: Drinking at the Davis Square VFW in a benefit concert for the upcoming Avon walk for breast cancer research. Attendees too numerous to list: essentially, the entire Davis Square community on LiveJournal. I had plenty of beer and cheap gin – there’s no cheaper drinking than VFW drinking, let me tell you [...]

I love committing sins and my friends sell crack

Last week, Leonard asked what form of art or culture I deliberately resist for whatever reason. Thinking about it, I had a hard time coming up with a lot of answers – except perhaps Japanese animation. But I could go on at length about games. I’m a gamer, but not a serious one. I get [...]