Review
There She Blows
What does Nintendo’s new role-playing saga have in common with a sad, dying whale? The list spans the creature’s hide.
Jason Johnson
Profile
Poisonous Paragraphs
The transgender community has found an unlikely folk hero in Poison, a sexed-up Street Fighter character. Jason Johnson traces her murky evolution from concept sketch to rallying point.
Essay
Gunning With Scissors
How can we understand a world coded in language? William S. Burroughs had some violent ideas in the form of handguns, scissors, and word games.
Review
Bullish Stupidity
Jeff Minter’s new fruit ’em up Five a Day is profoundly stupid. Here’s why it dodges skill and statistics, and goes straight to the soul.
Essay
The Legend of Donkey-Woman
When your game breaks all the time, will you give up or will you play along? We go looking for guts and glitches in the Wild West.
Essay
Going Overboard
Some fear heights; others, going outside. Jason Johnson is afraid of fish, which makes even the most innocent and childproof videogames horrible things.
Essay
Rise of the Superhumans
Today the most dedicated videogame players hack the computers to do the work for them. We take an inside look at the world of tool-assisted speedruns, where Mario and Mega Man defy even more logic.
Review
The Longest Hate Story Ever Told
Christine Love’s visual novel Analogue: A Hate Story points the way to a new literature, and a better world, while dwelling on the shortcomings on the past and present.
Interview
The Object Is Present
When is a croaking frog important? A dialogue between composer David Kanaga and Jason Johnson about finding the music of games in their objects and their play, and reaching higher states of consciousness (through art).
Essay
Shining in the Darkness
Jason Johnson looks into the world of audio games—videogames designed for the visually impaired—and finds a medium racing to catch up with modern times. If the zombie first-person shooter Swamp is any indication, games for the blind may herald an unforeseen future for videogames and technology.
Essay
Occupy Fortune Street
Nintendo’s cheerful take on Monopoly found an untimely release in America last December. Jason Johnson digs into the financial game and finds himself overpowered by Mushroom Kingdom denizens who seem blessed by advantages he can’t see, but feels tearing a hole in his savings.
Essay
Will the Real Gamer Please Stand Up?
What’s in a name? The word “gamer” is used to connote men and women who enjoy videogames, and it contains the perilous highs and lowest lows of human experience. Jason Johnson argues that it’s time to leave the term behind.