Keenan Talamo Games and Play Maggie Greene 5/7/15 Gaming and Toxic Online Behavior Millions of people around the world play video games and many of them play games for the sole purpose of competition. Not all of these people whom play competitively are pro players, in fact most aren’t, and an unfortunately large amount of…

While I’m sure some of you have picked up on it, I am a huge fan of the Souls series. After picking up Demon’s Souls way back in 2009 I was hooked. The tight, responsive, and tense combat, the austere Gothic apocalypse atmosphere, and above all the stellar and nuanced writing have made the series…

Team work is an essential part of any sport or game. Even sports such as cross country or track, which involve competing against others as well as yourself heavily incorporate aspects of teamwork. I played water polo, swam, and ran cross country in high school and still try to involve myself in those sports today.…

  This article could not be timelier.  Many of our discussions have strayed into the gender issues that permeate throughout the play industry. Minecraft is now choosing a side in the controversy, by adding the option of a female character. As of Wednesday (4/29/15), Minecraft will introduce Alex and end their gender inequality.  Girl characters…

The LEGO Company and their amazing “interlocking bricks” have been household names for almost 70 years, but why? While A Million little Bricks, is to be read as a chronological history, broken down into decade-based chapters, leaving much of the critical reading to the audience, the book is nonetheless a valuable tool when approaching the…

Video Game: The Movie focused on the history of video games: past, present, and future. The director, Jeremy Snead, created a relatively easy documentary to follow with interesting transitions and plenty of people to talk about their opinions on the history of video games. This also leads to a problem, yet also a solution. The…

I have always wondered about the professionalization of gaming, and Taylor’s book definitely helped to sort out some of the threads. Like Edbo, I remember watching the twitch thing and just was amazed at how SO many people were watching it and commentating. I honestly did not understand how it was entertaining to watch. I…

I really enjoyed Taylor’s book. A lot of her discussion on the growth of e-sports reminds me of some of the growing pains experienced by baseball in the late nineteenth century, especially some of the difficulties that come with such a decentralized format of sport. For all of the regimentation that comes with bureaucratic leagues,…