Video games often receive criticism for promoting toxic communities and hate-filled chats, but Kind Words offers something unique: An environment where gamers can lend a helping hand and seek input from peers. In a time of isolation, this friendly game has become a means of correspondence for thousands of people across[Read More…]
Gaming
Stuff we liked this break
Winter break is all about recovering from finals, spending time with your family, and updating your Goodreads and Letterboxd accounts. Here are the best from the A&E team’s period of rest and relaxation. Book: Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror To those unacquainted with Jia Tolentino’s writing, it might seem like an[Read More…]
McGame Jam highlights video game programming, art, and beavers
Designing an entire video game would be an impressive feat to accomplish within a matter of years. This past weekend, however, the McGame Jam, a development marathon organized by Game Dev McGill, condensed the video game making process into just 48 hours of straight development that took place Jan. 10-12.[Read More…]
Queering video games
My first encounter with a gay relationship was as a kid playing The Sims 2, when I selected the ‘flirt’ action for two male avatars. Taking caution to make sure that no one was watching my computer screen, I didn’t know what two boys ‘flirting’ even looked like. I thought[Read More…]
Combating negative representation of Muslims in video games
On Feb. 13, Game Dev McGill, a student-run club for individuals interested in game development, held an open lecture called “The ‘Slims: A how-to guide for Muslim representation in video games,” presented by Osama Dorias. Dorias is a game designer at Warner Brothers Games Montreal, as well as the co-founder[Read More…]
“Art a la Mode” bridges the gap to the future of art
A street artist, a professor, a tattoo artist, a videogame designer, and a curator all walk into a bar—or rather, a McGill University auditorium. On Nov. 30, the McGill Students’ Visual Arts Society (MSVAS) presented “Art à la Mode: Keeping Art Current,” a Q&A discussion panel questioning visual art’s position[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: A new battlefield in the fight over video games
There is something oddly familiar about the criticism that was levelled against Battlefield 1, the next installment of Electronic Arts (EA)’s hugely successful military franchise, after the game was revealed in early May 2016. Just as all other once-novel entertainment trends—such as television, rock, and rap music—had to face in[Read More…]
