I should have done this a long while ago but not only am I very slack, I'm playing Bioshock too. I'm going through a lot of small child related trauma and it's affecting my writing capability. I have to spend a good ten minutes a day just sobbing quietly to myself and rocking back and forth in a dark corner.
But I just thought I'd take a little time to explain to you what my new site Gaming Symmetry is about because even though it's only very new (We went live on the 18th July 2011), I'm very proud of it and confident that it's going to be awesome!
Gaming Symmetry is fundamentally about art. We believe that games can be seen and should be treated as an art form just like any other medium. If you've read my critical analysis of Cole Phelps (and if you haven't, I'll have you know, I'm very offended) then you know just the sort of angle we like to take with games! We want to pull them apart, analyse them from every angle and afford them the respect they deserve as a mature rising star in the frenetic world of entertainment.
The writers are as follows: Alice Kojiro, Ali Nazifpour, David 'BGH' Kempe, David DDJ Jerebko, and little 'ol me! We're a motley crew of all ages, nationalities, professions and likes but we're joined together by our love of games and our desire to analyse them intelligently and with a little flair. Each of us has a weekly feature dealing with a wide variety of topics, resulting in what we hope is an interesting and thought provoking range of articles about the best medium in the world!
On a Monday we have 'Oases of Beauty' by Alice Kojiro, a really unique feature written from the perspective of a veteran explorer as he recounts to us the incredible areas he has seen within video games; the beautiful landscapes and the breathtaking detail. Alice has a particular interest in the visual aspect of video games so these articles describe and explore some of the truly wonderful graphics and visual styles that combine to form some of the most beautiful digital vistas. Take a look at the introduction here: Oases of Beauty
On Tuesday we have 'The Controller and The Lamp' by Ali Nazifpour, an English Literature student who takes on games from a literary critical perspective, analysing them in the same way and with the same care he would a book or a film. Everything comes into play in his articles, from philosophy to politics to psychology, resulting in a very focused and detailed set of articles. My favourite article so far has been his analysis of video games in contrast to films and his explanation of how games and films are fundamentally different and to compare them is fruitless. Check out part 1 here: Movies vs The Video Games Part 1 (Part 2 is also up now)
On Wednesday we have 'Gaming on the House' by David 'BGH' Kempe where he fully reviews all aspects of the best game he's found that's completely free to play, whether it be a browser based game or one from an emerging independent developer. It's a great chance to find a quality game you may not know about and also a chance to support some newer developers. Check out his review of a very innovative game Flow, developed as part of an academic thesis.
On Thursday we have 'The Future of Gaming' by David 'DDJ' Jerebko, which seeks to discuss the contentious but exciting issue of where the video game industry is headed, including exploring issues such as the prevalence and rise in popularity of the iPhone as a game playing medium and the challenge it is presenting to the console industry. Check out the introduction here: Introduction to the Future of Gaming
And finally, me! I do a feature every Friday entitled 'Girl Gamer' where I write about the issues of women in the industry in all their manifestations, from developers to characters to the community. It's a really broad issue with a lot to talk about and I'm having a lot of fun writing about it! Here's my first article in the feature, all about how women have been portrayed in video games and how the male gaming community has outgrown gratuitous sexuality; it's time for a change, as important socially as it is economically. Check it out: Objectification of Women in Video Games
So that's about it! I hope you understand a little more about what me and all my collaborators are up to and I do hope you enjoy our features; please feel free to offer up any criticisms, comments or ideas you may have! You can find us on twitter @GamingSymmetry and as always, I'm @minnieliddell.
