How iPads are revolutionising social games
Tablet games such as Slamjet Stadium show us laughter can help overcome complex rule systems and open up multiplayer"Rule-breaking is creative," Alistair Aitcheson says in his presentation to the...
View ArticleEmotion, autonomy and psychopaths: a cyberpsychologist's take on video games
Berni Good discusses the impact of video games on the human psycheWhen I first met Berni Good, she was introduced as a cyberpsychologist. I admit to thinking a cyberpsychologist was something that a...
View ArticleBoobjam and breasts in video games
US writer Jenn Frank is curating a competition, challenging entrants to write a game about breasts"He almost called it subversive. Then he realised as he was sitting there: no, that's exactly the...
View ArticleAim For Love – the astonishing new project from GoldenEye co-creator
First-person shootout maestro Martin Hollis is turning his hand to matchmaking in Nottingham's Market Square. He outlines the vision behind his contribution to this year's GameCity festivalMartin...
View ArticleThe horror of sequels – the Chinese Room on Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
The developers have managed to create a truly horrific experience, in a good way, but not everyone is happyHorror game Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs has had some PR trouble. It's the sort of trouble that...
View ArticleProfessor Layton and The Azran Legacy – review
Nintendo 3DS; Nintendo: cert: 7+; £35In the long-running Professor Layton Nintendo DS series, the intellectual pursuit of solving logic puzzles, rescuing the distressed, and in general being jolly nice...
View ArticleXbox One: USS Enterprise or HAL?
Cara Ellison investigates the weirder possibilities and darker ramifications of Microsoft's forthcoming entertainment machineThe Xbox One is a games console pretending to be the computer from the USS...
View ArticleXbox One: hands-on review - video
Guardian games editor Keith Stuart and games writer and producer Cara Ellison get to grips with Microsoft's next-gen machine, putting the interface, controller and Kinect through their paces. But are...
View ArticleAlien: Isolation – preview
Creative Assembly has announced a survival horror successor to Alien, Ridley Scott's brooding sci-fi classicThe cleaners have started to come round the Creative Assembly offices. I walk into a stark...
View Article10 indie games to look out for in 2014
Sword fighting, retro hacking, rioting… if you're looking for something other than military shooters and fantasy RPG, start hereWelcome! Come through to the parlour of 2014, sir, madam, and taste of...
View ArticleVideo games to get you through Valentine's Day
Whether you’re helplessly in love or hopelessly alone, these games play on the whirlwind of human interaction. Who needs roses anyway?Today is hated Valentine’s Day, that one day out of the year that...
View ArticleMy year of video game sex
From iPad orgasm simulators to strip tease puzzlers, sex in video games takes shape in surprising waysFrom teledildonics to interactive porn: the future of sex in a digital ageI’ve spunked a heck of a...
View ArticleDōjin nation: does 'indie' gaming really exist in Japan?
Indie games like Minecraft and Fez have had a huge impact in the west, but how is small-scale development faring in the home of Sega, Sony and Nintendo?It’s a balmy night in Tokyo. I tap my nails...
View ArticleDōjin nation: inside Japan's indie gaming scene, part two
Two years ago, famed game designer Kejii Inafune declared the Japanese industry dead. But can a new generation of dōjin and indie developers revive it?Part one: Does ‘indie’ gaming really exist in...
View ArticleA verse about Queers in Love at the End of the World
Twine developer Anna Anthropy turns game mechanics into poetry, and one of her works has been a constant companion to writer Cara Ellison as she traveled the worldIt’s important to me to seek out games...
View ArticleMy awesome trip through a free archive of 'classic' computer games
For the ‘millennial’ generation, remembering the past is such an effort, but if it contains games like Tongue of the Fatman, it may be worth itOne of the best things about being a “millennial” is not...
View ArticleIncrepare: the genius developer who gives his games away for free
Stephen Lavelle’s website offers over 200 strange and thrilling games – yet one of the artform’s most unusual talents asks for little in returnStephen Lavelle develops short games, little games, but...
View ArticleStar Wars Battlefront – the quest to capture fan nostalgia
Electronic Arts has promised gaming’s most authentic Star Wars experience, but can its new shooter compete with the vastness of the movie universe?We’re in a tiny closed-off area at the Star Wars...
View ArticleFour games that tell great stories – and how they do it
Narrative designer Cara Ellison looks at Brothers, Full Throttle, Journey and Half-Life and asks, how exactly do they do this games writing thing so well?Video game writing is still something of a...
View ArticleAfter 20 years Full Throttle remains a narrative video game masterpiece
In examining how gallant, restrained masculinity could function as an action-adventure ideal, the LucasArts game was way ahead of its timeThe fact that developer Double Fine Productions has chosen to...
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