Teddy Papes

Can gender identity issues be taught with games?

Gamifying simple skills is one avenue of putting games in the classroom (Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing), but games offer more than a fun means to teach simple skills. Dys4ia is a game that deals with gender identity and the difficulties that someone with gender dysphoria faces in a distinctly gendered

Motion control works best as slapstick

When the Wii was announced there were so many rumors: “You can turn the Wiimote and nunchuku into a virtual gun!” and “In Zelda the nunchuku is the bow and the Wiimote is the drawstring!” or “The nunchuku is the shield and the Wiimote is the sword!” Needless to say, it hasn’t revolutionized gameplay

Shortage of new IP connected to old consoles

Everyone is hungry for new IP, but there isn’t enough supply to meet demand. It’s a common issue with videogames, but it’s not isolated to the medium. Not only do sequels dominate film, but even repeated reboots (The Hulk and Spiderman) are on their way to become a permanent fixture. Its safe and ea

The problems with co-op RPGs and Borderlands 2

What happens when you mix an RPG and a shooter to make a game like Borderlands 2? Nick Dinicola at Pop Matters wasn’t too fond of the love child: At the risk of sounding misanthropic: I hated it. In my experience, groups of two or more tended to play Borderlands 2 as a shooter, while I still wanted

Balancing science and fiction in Waking Mars

Making a scifi game lets you bend all the rules. You don’t have to use real science at all, but it’s rewarding when the genre takes a page out of a real textbook. While playing Waking Mars is a balance of flora, developing it is about the balance between real science and making a fun game.  “After w