Uncategorized – Page 9 – Rounding Off Infinity

The Curious Happenings of a Gamer Not Built for Elden Ring

The fervor over Hogwarts befuddles me. As a licensed property, I need to see a lot more to be interested. Reviewing the combined track record of PortKey Games and Avalanche Software shows a publisher who has only released mobile games, all of them bad except for one. And a developer that has released mostly badContinue reading “The Curious Happenings of a Gamer Not Built for Elden Ring”

Streamers, Podcasters, Gamers: FFS, Protect Yourselves

Since rising from the ashes in this new incarnation, I’ve said that I would skew away from the lecture-y, preacherly litany of the past. I’ll renege on that aspiration for one moment. These past few months have seen a barrage of cyber-attacks on game companies, plying for the sweet, succulent sensitive financial information of thoseContinue reading “Streamers, Podcasters, Gamers: FFS, Protect Yourselves”

My Changing Relationship With Games (or why it’s important that the Steam Deck will never do 120fps and how that might make me finally subscribe to PlayStation Now)

Long title. A lot to unpack this morning. But we’ll try to move quickly. I’ve been molting. As a lot of you know over the past couple of weeks I’ve been transitioning to only playing on PC, after 20 years of playing on 3 or more platforms, and twice as much time gaming in general.Continue reading “My Changing Relationship With Games (or why it’s important that the Steam Deck will never do 120fps and how that might make me finally subscribe to PlayStation Now)”

I’m Out; Transition to PC Complete

It’s been under consideration for the last four years or so. Really even longer than that. When I built my first gaming PC, back in 1999, I asked myself a few months later why I would ever have a need to play on console ever again. In truth, I only kept my original PlayStation aroundContinue reading “I’m Out; Transition to PC Complete”

Does It Matter Whether You are “Good” at Games or Not?

If you’ve seen any of my iconography, you know that the tagline “For the Love of Game” often features prominently. Knowing who you are as a gamer is a lot about figuring out your id. Much in the same vein as it is difficult to figure out whether you are an introvert or an extrovertContinue reading “Does It Matter Whether You are “Good” at Games or Not?”

I Spent the Day Re-Building a Streaming PC so I Could Return the ATEM Mini Pro

Truth. The Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro is a slick looking piece of gear. Wonderful to the touch, and elicits a feeling equal to the happiest of digital ballets whenever your fingers dance across the sizable keys to run your live video production of choice. Unfortunately, I have found the quality of its video outputContinue reading “I Spent the Day Re-Building a Streaming PC so I Could Return the ATEM Mini Pro”

Searching for Frankenstein’s Monster on Gamer Twitter. Or Avoiding It.

This is typically the time of the year when we make wide-sweeping, hand-wavey gestures towards notions of being better. Better family members. Husbands. Wves. Fathers. Mothers. Working out more. Living life healthier. For those of us who are into the content creation gig, we often resolve to do something better in that space. Sometimes itContinue reading “Searching for Frankenstein’s Monster on Gamer Twitter. Or Avoiding It.”

The Murder of the Gaming Dialogue

It has been a year of anniversaries. Xbox. PlayStation. GameCube. In two months it will have been 20 years since I launched my first website and penned my first blog post. In that time, the dialogue on gaming has experienced an arc that I imagine will be not too far from the rise and fallContinue reading “The Murder of the Gaming Dialogue”

Does the Pedigree of a New or Unknown Dev Make a Difference?

Years ago, I ascribed to the conventional wisdom that most gamers don’t know their developers. Meaning that they could not name the developer of some of the games they played, maybe even their favorite games, by name, location, frequent publisher the studio worked with, and whether it was a first or second-party studio or publishedContinue reading “Does the Pedigree of a New or Unknown Dev Make a Difference?”

The Inevitable Truth is You Don’t Know Whether a Game is Good Until it is released

Gamers have a long existing love affair with trying to establish a game’s theoretical Metacritic or (choose another scale) review score before it is released. I get it. There is some joy in playing review score poker over the 12 – 18 months between a game’s announcement and/or E3 showing and its eventual launch. ButContinue reading “The Inevitable Truth is You Don’t Know Whether a Game is Good Until it is released”