Author: Edeline Wrigh

Edeline's a writer, artist, game designer, and fairy. She spends her time learning how to do Real Adult Things without growing up.
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Stunning art exhibit reminds us that nature cannot truly be replicated

A video of a landscape: trees dance as what might be wind sings. The sound becomes more intense, revealing itself to not be wind but rain, though the image does not at first reflect it. It carries on, and as the branches move, they blur, as if they were never video but rather paint that has not dried and cannot withstand the added water. It shifts from photographic clarity to an impressionistic style that mirrors Monet, then further still, until the once crystal clear image is just a series of abstract colors. to explore the tension between the real and…
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Artificial intelligence takes national exam, does better than human average

A futuristic thought experiment, Roko’s basilisk, posits that at some point in the future there may be an artificial intelligence (AI) that will retroactively punish those who knew it could one day exist and still did not help to bring about its existence. While in practice this serves more as a logic exercise than as lore that’s assumed to be true, in either case the assumption is that one day technology will be advanced enough that this could be true. high enough to have an 80% chance of admission to over 450 higher institutions While we’re still a long ways…
Article

Eternal Darkness, Psychonauts, and sanity in videogames

Western depictions of mental illness often tend toward the dramatic. Shows like House often showcase rare disorders or extreme versions of a diagnosis when they mention mental illness at all: the schizophrenic woman who sees fire where there isn’t any, a mute patient who is able to speak after one redeeming event, or the man who had bipolar disorder and kept it secret after opting for an experimental surgery—one that ultimately resulted in malaria. In other cases, the idea of insanity is used as, if not a comedic device, a warning; one simply cannot look into the face of an…
News

At last, a virtual art gallery made for bizarre gifs

A building constructed of concrete slabs with a sign reading “Hyper GIF 3D Gallery” awaits you beyond pixelized trees. An open door beckons. Within it, a description of the current show declares “Akihiko Taniguchi, solo show of GIFs.” keep digital art within a virtual space  This is the entrance to a browser-based 3D art gallery. While the street you begin on consists of detailed high-rise buildings—across the street is a restaurant, and next to it a brick building appears to have flowers painted on it—the interior of the gallery itself is, much like physical art galleries, comprised of off-white walls,…
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A videogame about sacrificing townspeople to an unseen god

The Sacrifice, made by team foxboard for a Ludum Dare is, at first glance, a difficult-to-impossible resource management game. Players direct a town comprised of five families, assigning seasonal tasks and trying to maintain enough housing, food reserves, morale, and secrecy. At the same time, players also act as executioner. At the end of each season, one townsperson must be sacrificed to maintain the graces of their god. Morality has little to no place in your decision making. Morality has little to no place in your decision making. A murderer may be well-liked and their death may cause more civil…
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Crossdress as your brother and get beaten as a reward in this game teaser

Christine Love, creator of queer games and cute characters, recently released a teaser for her upcoming game, My Twin Brother Made Me Crossdress As Him And Now I Have To Deal With A Geeky Stalker And A Domme Beauty Who Want Me In A Bind!! Or, for less of a mouthful, Ladykiller in a Bind. a game about social manipulation.  The teaser features a Domme coaching the sister of a prince through hypothetical social interactions with plenty of innuendo, a fair share of kissing, and slaps with a riding crop whenever she missteps or the Domme feels like it. Beyond…
News

Murder Renaissance men with theology, seduction, and firearms

Classical music and art reminiscent of the Renaissance period are at the forefront of Masques and Murders, the newest game by designer James D. Patton. Players must navigate court as a lady dealing with the aftermath of her brother and father’s murders, which has left her heir to a fortune. Meanwhile, the prince who orchestrated these murders plans to force her into marriage with one of his sons to secure the fortune for himself. Using skills such as rhetoric, dance, and swordsmanship, the protagonist must impress and woo each of her would-be husbands to earn their trust and seal their…
News

When everyday life is a performance

This Is My Costume explores life with a non-binary gender identity and its parallels with performative attire. It’s a short point-and-click adventure that was made by game design team Pride Interactive for a recent Ludum Dare, in which the theme was “You Are The Monster.” It begins with the protagonist, Finch, getting dressed—first by putting on a binder, then a t-shirt that reads “this is my costume,” and some cat ears. Later, during a short walk around a party, the character is shown relating more to an abandoned balloon in the corner than the other party-goers, longing to be elsewhere. Once they…
In Brief

Navigate a Queer Zine Fair as a trans woman

In game designer Morgan Sea’s Zine Fair Lady, players navigate a queer zine fair through the eyes of a transgender woman. Though such spaces often ostensibly aim to be inclusive toward people of all sexual orientations and genders, in practice, organizers and attendees focus most on the most well-understood members of the queer community—cisgender gays and lesbians—while invalidating the identities of others.Zine Fair Lady comes with a content warning that reads “Transmisogyny, nudity, & sex talk”; limited interactions give players some insights about the small ways individuals are marginalized even in purportedly accepting spaces. In one instance, the player character…