Essays

GTA 6, Black Mirror, and the Platonic Ideal of the Video Game

What could games ultimately become? Rockstar Games and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker offer diverging visions.

May 9 •

The Steam Reviews for "Blue Prince" Are Hilarious

"Now on 100+ hours of play... I still have a lot of mixed feelings about the game, and it has some weird game design decisions..."

May 2 •

The Games Industry is Deprofessionalizing

The fragmentation of a creative form and its institutions

Apr 18 •

A Divisive Question

Is AI tech getting exponentially better? And if so, what does that mean for the games industry?

Apr 11 •

Is Making A Great Game All That Matters?

My theory: A 7/10 game can't be helped. A 9/10 game can't be stopped.

Mar 14 •

Games Marketers Are In Crisis Mode

The world's biggest games publishers no longer know how to reliably sell games

Feb 28 •

Memes are a form of file compression

And not all information is compatible with our operating systems

Feb 21 •

What I'm Reading About the History of Venture Capital and Game Development

Plus some quick book, game, and TV recommendations

Feb 7 •

2,500 Books To Go

The clock is ticking, and attention is all we have.

Jan 3 •

Book Review: Too Much Fun – The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer

push to talk #50 // the forgotten history of early 80s home computer games + a bizarre anecdote involving nintendo, commodore, and (allegedly) the mob

Dec 13, 2024 •

Curators vs. the Algos

push to talk #49 // to find truly great games, music, movies, or books, you've gotta exit the algorithm and find a human with good taste

Dec 6, 2024 •

The Long Death of the Gatekeepers

push to talk #48 // a digression on william faulker + what the book publishing industry can teach us about the value and ultimate fate of industry…

Nov 29, 2024 •

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