In Assassin's Creed: Origins one of the draws for me was to be able to play in Ancient Egypt. In some ways it's not the pyramids, although the pyramids are impressive. It's about Hermopolis and Hatshepsut's temple in the Valley of the Kings. Hermopolis was one of the most beautiful locations along the Nile, and... Continue Reading →
One of those Moments – Headshotting with Shepard
Surprising absolutely no one, one of my favourite pieces of gameplay in Mass Effect 3 are the spectacular ways that I can remove the heads of the Reaper and Cerberus forces thrown my way. Head explosions. It's ghoulish I know, but it's also super satisfactory. I think one of the reasons I like these very... Continue Reading →
One of those Moments – Kassandra
Kassandra is one of the most beautiful, most powerful and most awesome player characters I've ever had the pleasure to play. The exception being Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. What Kassandra has on Shepard though, is a finished character design that ticks just about every box in the awesome list. She's strong, she's scarred, she's... Continue Reading →
Intersectional Game Design?
Lately I've been reading quite a few books on the topic of design, colonialism and ethics. Being someone with strong views on social justice and the idea that equality and diversity is not necessarily a bad thing - in fact I think it's vital for our continued existence - I've started to think about the... Continue Reading →
Dehumanizing the Enemy in Games
NOTE: This post is my own musings on game design, and it should not be taken as fact or the opinion of anyone except myself. For my last achievement/ trophy in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, I needed to be naughty enough to call attention to myself from five bounty hunters. There's a system in the game,... Continue Reading →
One of those Moments – Leaving Earth
Having played Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and finally getting to play Mass Effect 3 brought home a sense of finality and a monumental sadness in me. The sadness was reinforced by some of the initial scenes in Mass Effect 3, where music, audio design and cinematics come together to create one of the most... Continue Reading →