itsamoose Posted August 13, 2014 Is anyone aware of other sites/youtube videos/whatever that do this kind of thing? Specifically I'm looking for sites that aim a critical eye on the specifics of mechanics, the competence of narrative, implications of a game's technical implementation (P2P vs client server, damage models, etc), and not things we see on most game related sites such as product reviews and other opinion pieces. As much as I do enjoy these consumer focused sites, I feel as though there is a severe lack of academic or other critical analysis of a game's systems or ethics, aside from an occasional piece on gamasutra or in a classroom somewhere. I enjoy finding these kinds of conversations on this site, but most other places tend to devolve into people yelling opinions at one another, or other chest thumping nonsense. In case I'm being overly obtuse, here are a couple examples: Matthew Matosis, Errant Signal, and Instig8tive Journalism, three youtubers with a similar analytic style Groping the Elephant a blog dedicated to level design in games Tiny Subversions a blog written by Darius Kazemi, generally more focused on the technical implementation of game mechanics and those implications. Also a really nice guy. Cane and Rinse podcast retrospectives on 1+ year old games in a kind of book club format Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eot Posted August 13, 2014 I think this guy fits what you're looking for, he very rarely puts out videos though: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coldbloom Posted August 13, 2014 Maybe this is inappropriate/crass, but I run a blog where I try to look at game mechanics and design and then articulate how they affect tone, player sensibilities and reactions. I hang on a player based approach and try to think about what the actual experience of playing a game is like and what specifically contributes to that if I can identify it. It's called explicating game design. It's a personal project, just something to exercise my design muscles: egdblog.tumblr.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sucks2Bme Posted August 14, 2014 Extra Credits sometimes talks about things like these, although at times the analysis is rather shallow. Could be worth looking into though, as they do have some interesting videos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerofiftyone Posted August 14, 2014 This guy makes some neat videos with really nice presentation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juv3nal Posted August 14, 2014 It's academic which may not be to everyone's taste, but gamestudies.org just put out a new issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerofiftyone Posted August 14, 2014 It's academic which may not be to everyone's taste, but gamestudies.org just put out a new issue. Ahh I used to read this back when I was doing my dissertation at university. For some reason haven't gone back to it since. Seeing that web page brought back some memories. I should start reading again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bakelite Posted August 14, 2014 Super Bunnyhop is pretty good at that sort of thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted August 15, 2014 Extra Credits sometimes talks about things like these, although at times the analysis is rather shallow. Could be worth looking into though, as they do have some interesting videos. I would also suggest Extra Credits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
itsamoose Posted August 15, 2014 It's academic which may not be to everyone's taste, but gamestudies.org just put out a new issue. Thanks so much for the recommendation, I've already read more of this than I care to admit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
