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Video Games as Infrastructures of Resistance

Video Games as Infrastructures of Resistance

This blog post covers a heavily understudied area of digital activism: online video games. With people in self-isolation and trapped in their houses for over half a year now, it is crucial that we recognize the creative ways people...
Supercell’s Brawl Stars; a step towards an ethical Freemium design in Mobile Gaming?

Supercell’s Brawl Stars; a step towards an ethical Freemium design in Mobile Gaming?

Supercell released their newest game, Brawl Stars, in December 2018. Its' business model marks a shift towards a more ethical design of Freemium games.
Unfolding Twitch Vernaculars through Emotes

Unfolding Twitch Vernaculars through Emotes

Twitch is the largest and most popular video game live streaming platform, owning up to 72.2% of total hours watched compared to YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and Mixer (Perez). Not only is Twitch a gaming based streaming platform, but it...
Google Stadia: A new player has joined the platform wars

Google Stadia: A new player has joined the platform wars

You either die an information utility, or live long enough to adopt the politics of platforms. Imagine video games no longer being tied to the hardware boxes they’re designed for, but instead being playable anywhere, on any device. We...
Forcing Gamers to Gamble: The Star Wars Battlefront II loot boxes debate

Forcing Gamers to Gamble: The Star Wars Battlefront II loot boxes debate

  Edit Edit status When Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) (SWBFII) released on 17 November there was a huge backlash from the gamer community surrounding the implemented loot boxes and micro transactions in general. In SWBFII the gamer plays...
Mission Control: The changing boundaries of control and ownership in the world’s biggest crowd funding success.

Mission Control: The changing boundaries of control and ownership in the world’s biggest crowd funding success.

The latest controversy surrounding the in development game Star Citizen, struck me as illustrative of the pitfalls and complexities of new forms of financing, and how they manifest the sunk cost fallacy in new, unexpected ways. It isn’t just...
The new Xbox adaptive controller, another step towards digital inclusion?

The new Xbox adaptive controller, another step towards digital inclusion?

It is not easy for some players to enjoy the virtual experience of video games. Microsoft noticed the issue and, to break down the barriers faced by people with disabilities, the multinational technology company just launched a couple weeks...
Twitch.tv: A Socially Valuable Platform, or Just Another Amazon Revenue Stream?

Twitch.tv: A Socially Valuable Platform, or Just Another Amazon Revenue Stream?

Instagram influencers and YouTube vloggers have long been seen as the leaders in monetizing one’s online self. New to this scene are an entirely different cohort of digital money makers: those who profit as professional video gamers on live...
Pokémon Go: A Blueprint for Augmented Reality?

Pokémon Go: A Blueprint for Augmented Reality?

July 2016, a cultural zeitgeist dating back to the 90s was unleashed upon the world with renewed and unprecedented vigour. Pokémon Go fever swept the world – at its peak in mid-July, it was estimated that over 45 million (Griffiths)...
A true astronaut of inner space: how your phone is making Virtual Reality a reality

A true astronaut of inner space: how your phone is making Virtual Reality a reality

“Looking like a cross between a T’ai Chi master, a navy frogman, and the Terminator, a man harnessed to electronic leads and fitted with a strange piece of headgear slowly turns and gestures. The pointing hand and the ballet...
Augmented reality; Pokémon in the real world

Augmented reality; Pokémon in the real world

After 20 years, The Pokémon Company announced the release of its latest project. A new mobile game called Pokémon Go, produced in collaboration with Nintendo and Niantic. The game will be available in 2016 for iOs and Android. For...
Oculus Rift: the next big leap towards virtual reality

Oculus Rift: the next big leap towards virtual reality

In August 2012, the company Oculus VR set up a Kickstarter project to encourage the development of a revolutionary technological device, capable of plunging users into an immersive virtual reality. The Kickstarter rose to see $2.4M invested by 9’500...
Get Water! Have fun and make a difference

Get Water! Have fun and make a difference

What if someone told you that by playing a fun digital game you could raise awareness to a current global issue, promote learning and education, or perhaps even help solving relevant problems at a local, national and/or international level?...
Functions of representation in a work of art & MMORPGs

Functions of representation in a work of art & MMORPGs

Interactive Digital Art ‘‘Do Not Touch” is an interactive crowd sourced music video for Light Light’s song ‘Kilo’. The video was created by Amsterdam based art collective Moniker. Before the experience starts users are being notified that their cursor...
Video Games: Ethical Issues faced by Producers and Consumers

Video Games: Ethical Issues faced by Producers and Consumers

Video games have been facing various scrutiny over the years in which certain ethical issues are questioned over the production and reception of the media product. Grand Theft Auto V and its previous sequels, has faced scrutiny over the...