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.
Jason Johnson
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.
Interview
Luke Schneider
Luke Schneider, the solo member of the Radiangames studio, talks with Jason Johnson about the solitude of leaving a major gaming studio and going it alone as an indie.
Essay
Why I Drink the Purple Rain
What is it about the hardest challenges that draw us in? Jason Johnson talks about the infamous Japanese arcade game Mushihemesama Futari and the kind of enjoyment that can only be found in “bullet hell.”
Review
Review: Sonic Generations
Jason Johnson steps onto Sega’s newest roller coaster, and discusses which parts make him want to step off.
Essay
The Year in ADHD
Looking at his favorite games from 2011, Jason Johnson wonders why gaming is becoming like web surfing, if the internet is really destroying his attention span, and if he should even care.
Love Plus
Suicidal Tendencies
On having Everything but the girl in Japan
Columns
Grow Cannon
A virtual pet for crazy people is what this is. Assuming anyone is crazy enough to figure that out.
Columns
Foot Step
In our inaugural Flash Forward column, about all things browser, Flash, and otherwise tab-able and clickable, Jason Johnson writes on the transcendent joy of getting stepped on by a giant boot made of squares.