Essay
Please Try Again
We say we “play” videogames, but that word doesn’t always mean what it’s supposed to. Lana Polansky traces the line between Street Fighter and just about everything else, and describes why practice is important.
Author: Lana Polansky
Lana Polansky is a Montreal-based writer, game critic, Twine enthusiast, and professional scowler. She has written for Kill Screen, Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, Five Out of Ten, Gameranx, Medium Difficulty, and Bit Creature.
Review
Review: Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
Going down a self-referential route, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is not so serious. Lana Polansky on why the 8-bit reimagining of the game series is more fluff than serious weight.
Profile
Profile: Matt Thorson
We talk to Matt Thorson, creator of platformers Jumper and Give Up, Robot, about minimalism, why creativity is like a machine, and finding an unintended homage in Super Meat Boy.
Essay
What Do You Call It?
Gaming’s biggest hurdle may be to reach outward—beyond the masses, to the upper echelons of culture. Lana Polansky attended the Montreal International Game Summit 2011 and came back inspired, if not brimming with answers.
Interview
Randy Smith
The Thief designer and Tiger Style founder Randy Smith tells us about the heroes, adventures, and games of his youth in Vermont.
Review
Review: Rock of Ages
Lana Polansky reviews Rock of Ages, a boulder-rolling downloadable title that also crashes through history and eons of accumulated wisdom about art and ourselves.
Review
Review: Catherine
Lana Polansky delves into the psychology of Atlus’s Catherine, and finds some disturbing—yet fascinating—tendencies not seen since Freud.
Article
The Best of Both Worlds
Can videogame characters be thought of in literary terms? How can our avatars become more than containers for our whims, biases and fantasies? How can videogame characters demonstrate moral ambiguity, subtlety and growth? Lana Polansky uncovers the layers of character in Bayonetta, a game whose protagonist has more in common with James Joyce than the sexual stereotypes which precede her.
Review
Review: Jamestown
A steampunk take on Sir Walter Raleigh and Jamestown is more than speculative history—it’s a shared sensation. Read Lana Polansky’s take on how the indie shoot ’em up Jamestown takes its genre conventions a step ahead of the pack.