Author Archives: Jake Shapiro
Josh: When I say the Terminator is more evil than …
Josh:When I say the Terminator is more evil than the Frankenstein's monster, it's because the Terminator always had destruction and violence in mind–even before it turned on its creators, it was constructed by the military to kill people.I sup… Continue reading
Frankenstein vs. The Terminator
Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein is arguably the world’s first true science-fiction novel, the predecessor to modern-day robot stories. One would think Frankenstein’s monster is more closely connected to today’s zombie flicks (it’s risen from… Continue reading
Sexuality, puzzle games, and Catherine
I’m not into sleazy Japanese games. I’ve never played Atlus’ acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of RPGs, and never even gave them a second thought until Extra Credits did a fantastic analysis of sexual diversity in games using Perso… Continue reading
Thoughts on Metroid’s 25th birthday
Twenty-five years ago this past Saturday, the first Metroid title was released on the Famicom in Japan. Plenty has been written on how the game revolutionized non-linear gameplay, how it broke gender barriers, how its dark, melancholic mood redefined a… Continue reading
Minimalism in Limbo, and ambiguous endings
Last week, I listed Limbo creators Playdead as one of the best developers in Scandinavia. Today I’ll go more in-depth with their game, and explain why the Danish designers deserve such praise despite Limbo being their very first title.Limbo i… Continue reading
Top ten: Nordic game developers
We live in a video gaming world dominated by the U.S. and Japan. But it’s always intrigued me to look at games developed by the rest of the planet. Last week I took a gander at Canadian developers. This week, let’s look at the newest hotspot for the in… Continue reading
Top Ten: Canadian game developers
In the game industry, we often think of Japan and the United States as the only relevant nations. And yes, the vast majority of games today do come from these two countries. But like Neil Young and Jim Carrey, many people we assume are American are, in… Continue reading
The Secret of Monkey Island and the life & death of point-and-click
The point-and-click adventure genre occupies a strange place in game history, living and dying with LucasArts’ non-Star Wars endeavors in the 1990s. The complete non-action nature of these graphic adventures seems counterintuitive in today’s game devel… Continue reading
Auteurs, Shadows of the Damned, and Suda 51 motifs
The film industry revolves around stars. When you see a movie poster, it likely has the names of star actors prominently displayed to lure you into the theater. Actors are sexy. Actors sell tickets. But there are a number of directors who are big enoug… Continue reading
Trollhunter would make a fantastic video game.
If you haven’t seen the rollicking Norwegian monster flick Trollhunter (Trolljegeren), do yourself a favor. It was released last year in Norway, although it didn’t hit U.S. theaters until this past month–if you’re in the D.C. area, the E Street C… Continue reading