Rachel Helps

Silent protagonists have a personality, and it’s not yours

In early Zelda games, Link had little personality, but he did have a role to fulfill, whether it was as an adventuring son or a fairyless boy. His silence let players more readily identify with him… or so the Art of Gaming 101 puts it.  Over at PopMatters, Kevin Dickinson argues that “silent” protag

Harvard brain bank melts

A hospital brain bank recently accidentally thawed over fifty brains. Luckily, some of the DNA is still intact. The NY Daily News reports that all is not lost: An initial review indicates that the DNA in the samples is intact and can still be used for genetic research. It’s unclear, however, whether

Want to live inside a FPS? Here’s what it’d be like.

Imagine you’re a game designer obsessed with recreating your games in your apartment, and that you’re looking for a roommate. Beth Newell imagines just such a situation: Future roommates are responsible for buying their own food and should NOT eat anything from the refrigerators in the biohazard con

New York’s playful side shines in park-wide truth or dare

Stumbling on a note left by a stranger is always a bit exciting. For New Yorkers last weekend, Chelsea Davison challenged them to a game of truth or dare: She left 300 cards around the park that asked people to answer “truth” questions via Twitter or perform often embarrassing “dares” in front of fe