For the past week or so, I’ve been running a game called BLOODSPORT that I designed and wrote. In this game, twenty-two men and women are abducted from their beds and dropped into a sandy alien coliseum, where they’re forced to fight to the death for the pleasure of their alien captors. Players spend most [...]
All posts by kentsutherland
Playing God
When I grew up, some games were off-limits. Diablo was a no, because Satan was right there in the title. Grand Theft Auto was also disallowed when my parents caught me mowing down police officers and lines of Elvis impersonators with a machine gun. Mortal Kombat was banned for obvious reasons—you can rip out a [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on September 14, 2011
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2011/09/14/playing-god/
Second Person Shooter 2:The Reckoning
Hello, my friends! It has been a long time since we have conversed on the ways of video games under the cool blue moon. But do not fear! We are back, Laura and I, to facilitate fascinating discussions, to tickle your brain cells, to ruffle your hair affectionately through the tubes of the internet, and [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on September 10, 2011
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2011/09/10/second-person-shooter-2the-reckoning/
Skinny Stone Tower of Babel
Everyone’s playing Minecraft these days, so here’s a scene that might be familiar. I’ve built my sweet cliff-side villa and I want to go exploring. The thing is, getting lost is easy when the world is made of blocks. I want to make a monument—an unnatural landmark—so that I can always find my way back [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on November 8, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/11/08/skinny-stone-tower-of-babel/
Found in Translation: Chanting the Words of the Buddha
Yesterday, I loved Final Fantasy XIV. Today I’m not so sure. But this is only the latest oscillation in my sinusoidal relationship with Square-Enix’s brand new MMO. I’ve been trying to write about Final Fantasy XIV, but my opinion of it is more erratic than a seismometer during an earthquake. When I write something, I [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on October 10, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/10/10/found-in-translation-chanting-the-words-of-the-buddha/
Dr. Mario, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pill
My grandma is better at Dr. Mario 64 than I am at any game. Dr. Mario is a plumber-turned-doctor who solves all of his problems with a torrent of colorful pills. He exists in a world where viruses are smirking and primary-colored, and where three consecutive instances of a single color is a surefire recipe [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on September 11, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/09/11/dr-mario-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-pill/
Press ‘x’ to Continue
I’m two hours into Persona 3 Portable and I’m thinking about the illusion of control. It’s one of those games that spins its own web for a while. Your main act of participation is to press a button at the end of every line of dialogue—to give the speaker permission to continue. If you don’t [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on July 17, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/07/17/press-x-to-continue/
Do I control your body or your mind?
I’m going to talk about Loved now. If you haven’t played it, you should go fix that. It won’t take long. I believe that all games require trust. When we start playing a game, we form a pact with it. To some extent we’re giving ourselves to that game—we’re allowing it to affect the way [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on July 11, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/07/11/do-i-control-your-body-or-your-mind/
Or maybe all games are in the second person
Laura is done with her term, but I’ve got 20 pages to write between now and next Wednesday. Also, I’ve had a horrible virus that has left me sleeping for 16 hours a day, running a high fever, and swallowing like my throat is made of sand and ouch. I’m feeling a bit better today, [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on June 5, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/06/05/or-maybe-all-games-are-in-the-second-person/
Salutations, New Readers!
To all of our new readers: welcome! The past few weeks have been crazy. We were linked on Rock Paper Shotgun, Critical Distance, Game Set Watch, and Gamasutra. Laura and I both had pieces republished on Kotaku. Our views per week have moved from the hundreds to the thousands. And so, we wanted to take [...]
Posted by kentsutherland on May 26, 2010
http://secondpersonshooter.com/2010/05/26/salutations-new-readers/
-
Authors
kentsutherland
lauramichet
guestwriter
