In this piece, we analyze the recent new footage from The Last of Us Part II, and include a graphic breakdown of violence enacted in the footage, particularly violence against women. If you’d like to watch the footage for yourself, you may find it here. Sony’s show at Paris Games Week was […]
women
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A note: I’ve only played through on low chaos with Emily so far, so while I’ve read about high chaos choices and Corvo playthroughs, I speak from the vantage of only intimately knowing my own adventure to reclaim Emily’s throne. Note also: spoilers here! When Emily was revealed as the […]
Recently, LEGO released the Disney Castle, and I was both excited and conflicted when I saw the set. The LEGO Disney Castle had been rumored for a while, but I didn’t pay much attention to the rumors. In my mind, I imagined the set would be more like one of […]
Over the past few years, surveys conducted by IGDA have revealed a rising number of female game developers. Since 2009, the number of female developers has doubled, but women still only represent approximately 22% of game designers, woefully low numbers compared to data that indicates women make up half the […]
One of my favorite places on the internet is the LEGO Subreddit. Unlike some other subreddits, the one for LEGO fans is filled mostly with people who want to share and discuss their hobby. I’ve been following the LEGO subreddit for some time now, and I’ve found the space to […]
Not long ago, I started playing State of Decay again. I know, I know, but at this point, it’s become a comfort object for me, something to help me relax during a busy week. I started a new Breakdown game and fiddled a little with Lifeline again, and looking at […]
With the release of the upgraded State of Decay Year One Survival Edition just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit the original game, which I explored at length over the months after release in terms of realism and representation (as well as gameplay and mechanics). At […]
Last week, as Offworld was launching, we created a partial list of sites, podcasts, and resources that feature women and/or gamers of color, or that explore cultural issues of interest to those groups. We’ve since updated the list, through our own efforts and some help from friends and fans, and have […]
Last week, I wrote about the revelation that Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard was originally conceived as a woman, at least in visuals (not necessarily in terms of game content), a piece that sparked a bit of discussion on my Facebook page about the nature of the industry and reality. “Reality” […]
As you may know, I’ve been re-subscribed to World of Warcraft for several months now and have been having a great time in the new expansion. One of the things that’s been most enjoyable is seeing the Outlands from a new perspective- this expansion uses a parallel universe as an […]
Late last week, Jonathan Cooper revealed on Twitter that, in the earliest animation tests for Mass Effect, the character of Commander Shepard was a woman, and the online equivalent of confetti was thrown by fans who played, and loved, Mass Effect through a female-centric lens. FemShep, after all, is the […]
So often, when anyone calls for greater diversity in video games, their requests are met with one very common answer: “You want something different? Make it yourself.” These days, we’re told, anyone can make a game. It’s so easy. The tech requirements have been reduced to almost nothing; with a […]
In the first part of this study of Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, I questioned whether the Bechdel Test was the best benchmark for judging whether or not a piece of media had something to offer in terms of good female characterization. Is the Bechdel Test enough, or does even […]
Recently there’s been a lot of discussion in the media about the top films of 2013 and the Bechdel test. Movies with real, rounded female characters are doing well, by the numbers, and with award season picking up, we’ll likely see more of these reports. Unfortunately, anyone who studies the […]
In my continuing look at game covers, I thought I’d explore the best-rated games of 2013 according to Metacritic’s compiled review scores. So far, I’ve looked at top-selling games instead of best-rated, or I’ve looked at a particular selection, as when exploring Xbox indies, and the results have been surprisingly […]
Come the apocalypse, I want a good pair of boots, a comfy pair of cargo pants (not too baggy, not too tight), and something that covers my torso pretty completely (weight dependent on weather conditions). You know, failing full body armor or a suit made from sixteen rolls of duct […]