Author: Emma Kidwell

Emma is a level 10 Bard in Dungeons & Dragons and also writes sometimes.
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Get ready to unlock the secrets of A Normal Lost Phone in January

It’s cold. You burrow further into your scarf, hoping to shield more of your face from the harsh winds biting at your cheeks. The streetlights do little in their attempt to guide you along the cobblestone street—the fog is too thick to distinguish shapes. As you walk, you squint against the way the light disperses among the thick mist, resembling soft glowing orbs that float in the night sky. The weight of your boot crunches against something that is not pavement. You glance down to find that it’s a phone. Removing your hand from your pockets, you bend down to…
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Your next dose of Uncharted features two female leads

It was revealed during the Playstation Experience on December 3rd that Uncharted 4’s single player DLC will feature a few familiar faces. Returning to steal our hearts is Chloe Frazer as the main character and mercenary leader Nadine Ross as supporting cast. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is slated for a 2017 release and has been described as a standalone experience. In true Naughty Dog fashion, the studio remained tight-lipped after the conclusion of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, leading many to wonder about the inevitable DLC. Some fans speculated that it would follow the adventures of Sully and Sam, as…
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Balthazar’s Dream reveals what good boys dream of, and it’s ruff

A soft whimper causes you to look up from your work. It’s your dog, who is sleeping peacefully in bed. Is she dreaming? Her legs twitch slightly. Maybe she’s running around in a field, chasing a squirrel. She’s too old to do that now, but you like to think that the tiny mammal stood no chance in the dreamscape. “Wow.” You think to yourself. “She’s doing such a great job laying there.” You rouse yourself from the couch and tiptoe over to the sleeping dog and carefully drop to your knees and place your face mere inches from her nose.…
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Visual Out asks you to embrace the glitches of a dying computer

“They deserted us. You’re all that’s left.” These are the words that echo through Visual Out, a Metroid-like platformer set inside the guts of a broken down, dying computer. Created by Ohio-based game maker MadameBerry, Visual Out has you play as an escaped program tasked with exploring different sections of the machine in hopes of finding out the secrets of your creator’s demise. As the program, you can gain unique abilities and upgrades that will aide in exploration. You can manipulate the environment around you by controlling the flow of power, and roam around a mix of mechanical and digital landscapes, rendered with…
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Go on a procedurally generated walk with a dog

It’s quiet. The air is gentle and warm as it brushes past your neck and causes you to close your eyes. A barking in the distance causes you to step away from admiring the lake—the soft, rhythmic motion of the waves was lulling you in a trance as it splashed against the shoreline. An impatient whining beckons you to turn around, and you oblige. Sitting obediently is a good boy, with black-and-white fur and pointed ears. Your heart swells. He’s doing such a good job sitting there. As you walk toward him, the dog springs up and begins to walk…
Feature

I miss the summers in Japan: How videogames overcome language barriers

I sat cross legged in front of the TV and watched as Alex carefully removed the Super Nintendo from its dusty, neglected box. Our grandfather hardly used it, preferring to play Shogi on his computer instead of the console. Also stored away were a pile of games with labels we couldn’t read. The Japanese characters were printed in bold intimidating letters, with no illustrations to help guide our interpretation of what the cartridge held. He fished around for a second before grabbing the Super Mario World (1990) cartridge, blowing into it. It was a very familiar ritual, repeated during our…
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Find your favorite room amid the chaos of The Catacombs of Solaris

A strategy to use when exploring ruins in Dungeons & Dragons is to hug the wall. Have the beefiest party member (preferably a halfling barbarian) lead the way—not necessary, but a warrior knows how to survive. When presented with the option to turn either left or right, pick the latter. Always. The party will always find their way out eventually, even if it takes two hours. With this in mind, I travelled through the ever-changing environment of The Catacombs of Solaris. It’s a “mind-bending” first-person exploration game created by Ian MacLarty in which the goal is to “find your favourite…
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One game creator’s way to overcome depression? Make an uplifting game

The blinds are drawn. The room is dark and quiet. It’s past noon, and you’re still in bed. Your eyes are fixated on the carpet, bland and beige. The walls are white and bare, the furniture is hard and stiff. What is supposed to be a safe and comfortable space feels more like a prison—you are trapped. You haven’t showered yet, and your stomach reminds you that it needs attention. Your body is screaming at you to get up. Get out of bed. There’s work to be done. But moving is a chore. The signals that travelled to your brain…
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Post Apoc Dating Sim will let you make sweet, sweet love to a toaster

“If I ever had rust, would this bother you?” You’re halfway through a second glass of wine at this point. Tina is sitting on the table across from you, anxiously awaiting a response. Her body is shapely—mainly square, but boy do those four corners look sharp. The shiny chrome of her skin reflects the sun, bright and hot. The two slits located at the top of her form contain soft, delicious pieces of bread just begging to be warmed up. Tina is a toaster. You don’t judge. There’s no room to be picky in the post-apocalypse, and this was starting…