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.

The finished piece is indeed very short (I could definitely write a few thousand more words on the topic) but I had a great deal of fun writing it and my editor was excellent to work with.  It's in print on newsstands today, in the March 2013 issue, or available online.

My picture is on the Contributors page for the issue and everything.  Next to Jane F*cking Goodall.  I'll probably be pleased with this for quite some time to come.

(And yes, that's the piece that inspired my meditation on light in ME3.)

In other work I am pleased with, I have been doing some light contributing to Gameological, who are also a delight to work with and a fount of patience.  I pitched in to the Valentine's Day Inventory of Unhealthy Relationships in games (guys guys guys there are so many) and I got to review Antichamber, which is a delicious mindscrew of a game.  I found its logic best explained in the language of the dreamer

3 comments:

  1. Sorry that this is off topic, but since nothing has been heard from you since February I wanted to see if you were still writing, if not here then perhaps some where else?

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  2. Hello. It is now July. I hope all is well; I hope you yourself are well. It may come upon you to note that it is considerably past June -- indeed, we have now passed so far from June that it is even August. As you suggested that you might have links that I or any other interested party, of which this commenter is certain there exists a considerable number, might follow so as to increase their experience of the joy and illumination that your writings upon the noble art of the Video Game may offer.

    Further, as we believe that we have explicated as briefly as possibly --for as we all know, brevity is a vital virtue in blog a commenter, even as it is in historians, were it the case that my observations, that is those comments regarding the lunar procession, been unimportant I should have summarily omitted them -- that the promised month of June has passed in good fashion, and July in a like manner, we find ourselves compelled to pose this question to your honorable self, with all humility due our own lowly station in comparison to your Ladyships exalted one: is their any place where we might find your writings?

    With most humble regards, James of A.

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  3. Hi James, I appreciate your enthusiasm. :) One piece ended up not running, unfortunately.


    As for the rest, consider me on a fairly lengthy but finite hiatus. The truth is, life away from writing caught up with me rather profoundly: we're expecting our first child literally any day now (I am 39 weeks along). That's rearranged my energy levels and my priorities for a bit but I'm really strongly hoping to be back to a regular, if light, writing schedule by the end of the year.

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