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Your Critic is in Another Castle: Antichamber, Unhealthy Relationships, and putting Mass Effect in the Smithsonian (again).

http://www.your-critic.com/2013/02/antichamber-unhealthy-relationships-and.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Tuesday, February 26, 2013. Antichamber, Unhealthy Relationships, and putting Mass Effect in the Smithsonian (again). Back in December, I got an e-mail that made my day. It was an editor for Smithsonian Magazine. Asking if I'd be interested in taking on a short piece looking at the use of film noir style lighting in video games. My picture is on the Contributors page. And yes, that's the piece that inspired my meditation on light. And I got to review Antichamber. August ...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: I Am Andrew Carnegie

http://www.your-critic.com/2014/09/i-am-andrew-carnegie.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Thursday, September 4, 2014. I Am Andrew Carnegie. I surveyed the land, then built my home exactly where I pleased: just far enough away from the railroad station and center of government, but close enough to them for easy access. Right on the river, with a nice view. Knocked down some old-growth trees and local flora to do it, but the land was mine to command. Then I expanded the mansion, until the gaudy gold-plated curiosity became the centerpiece of the town. Villains...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: The Surprising Moral Clarity of Mass Effect 3

http://www.your-critic.com/2012/12/the-surprising-moral-clarity-of-mass.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Saturday, December 29, 2012. The Surprising Moral Clarity of Mass Effect 3. I've been working on a commissioned feature about film noir lighting in video games. Without going into what I'm writing in that essay, my very first thought was: "Oh, that's easy. I've played Mass Effect 2. No, wait: it's Thane! Of course, we all know where the road paved with good intentions leads. The essay in question will be running in early 2013, and I have been asked to make it current, to...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: A Combustible Lemon - This is That Post

http://www.your-critic.com/2011/05/combustible-lemon-this-is-that-post.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Tuesday, May 3, 2011. A Combustible Lemon - This is That Post. This is my Portal 2 post. ;) I'm going to put most of it behind a cut for the sake of avoiding spoilers, particularly of the single-player campaign. I'm nice like that. Orange wouldn't do that for you, and Blue and I both know it. I honestly have to just make a big fat bullet list, because there are so many things we can all talk about. The first was an all-female cast. Speaking of female casting, in Portal 2.

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: The Age of the Dragons, Part III: The Epic of Ser Cullen

http://www.your-critic.com/2015/01/the-age-of-dragons-part-iii-epic-of-ser.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Thursday, January 8, 2015. The Age of the Dragons, Part III: The Epic of Ser Cullen. I said on Twitter, as I played through Dragon Age: Inquisition. That I was developing a theory. The best representative of the player, I mused, isn't actually the Inquisitor, the player character. The best representative of the player is, in fact, their advisor Cullen. And now I will try to explain. The same Commander K. Shepard, as seen in ME1, 2, and 3. Even when I play different Comma...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: The Game of Life: No Cheat Codes Available

http://www.your-critic.com/2013/09/the-game-of-life-no-cheat-codes.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Wednesday, September 11, 2013. The Game of Life: No Cheat Codes Available. You are in the NURSERY. There is a CRIB here. You hear a PURRING SOUND. You are carrying a BABY. Put baby in crib. You cannot put the baby in the crib. There is a CAT in the crib. It is purring in its sleep. Remove cat from crib. There is an INDIGNANT CAT on your feet. Put baby in crib. There are definite elements of Tetris. Sometimes it's a racing game (perhaps the Rainbow Road track from Mario K...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: Why I Play

http://www.your-critic.com/2015/03/why-i-play.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Monday, March 2, 2015. There is always something worth finding if you go to the farthest edges of the map. I don’t like to play mages or wizards. I do enjoy being an archer, a sniper, or an assassin sneaking through shadows. I value loyalty less than I value compassion. I naturally gravitate toward diplomacy and the resolution of conflict. I worry less about threats to me than I do about threats to the people I love. It is not where I go that matters. See more at: http:/...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: Not a "Real" Gamer

http://www.your-critic.com/2014/02/not-real-gamer.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Saturday, February 15, 2014. Not a "Real" Gamer. It's amazing how easy a trap it is to fall into, really. Last night I was about to lament, "I haven't played a video game in months." The problem is, that lament is false in every way. I got a 3DS for Christmas. A purple one. I love it to pieces. Not a day has gone by since the morning of December 25th that I haven't picked it up. When my husband gave it to me, he also got me Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies. Something women...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: How Microsoft Actively Chose to Cut their Customer Base, or: a Parable of Cousins

http://www.your-critic.com/2013/06/how-microsoft-actively-chose-to-cut.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Thursday, June 6, 2013. How Microsoft Actively Chose to Cut their Customer Base, or: a Parable of Cousins. I have these cousins. Or, rather, my husband has these cousins, but, y'know, family through marriage. And last year we talked Mass Effect. With their father. This year, the oldest came to visit and stay with us for a few days and my husband and I sent her home with a burned disc full of our favorites from GOG, for her and for the rest of her family. It's not that Mi...

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Your Critic is in Another Castle: Guest Post: On Xbox One and Television

http://www.your-critic.com/2013/05/guest-post-on-xbox-one-and-television.html

Your Critic is in Another Castle. Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Guest Post: On Xbox One and Television. What I saw was a Microsoft that wanted to own the living room (a notion that has already been discussed well by Leigh Alexander. I won't address the Xbox One's gaming potential and possibilities here, as there are plenty of other places you can find that and people far more qualified to discuss it. [ Ed note: in fact I am hoping to write more about this here in this very space in the next week. The first co...