[...] The symbol of the monster, the abject, exists to embody and assuage our fears of the natural and unruly body. In order to maintain the current social order, which privileges the intellectual and social over the emotional and biological, fat bodies must become monstrous. They are failures. They are the abnormal that delineates the... Continue Reading →
The Consequences of Design
Much of life is about overcoming barriers. Every organism, from lowly one-celled animals to human beings, exists by interacting with its environment. This interaction includes moving from one place to another, creating a space for the self, lifting a load, or learning how to use a tool. Our ability to interact with the environment is,... Continue Reading →
The trouble with fembots
I’ve got some news for you Fembots have feelings too - Robyn, Fembot To tell the absolute truth, they probably don’t have feelings, though. At least not emotions of the messier kind, the kind that real women have to live with. A fairly recent conversation brought up the idea of fembots and the very real... 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 →
Enjoying Thinking
I've been slowly finding my way back to the joy I feel when analysing and thinking about both games and design. One of my areas of interest right now is monsters, particularly monsters in game, and because I'm a woman, female monsters in games. I've been reading Haraway, Butler and Kristeva, in addition to a... 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 →