Some games have blown my mind with the quality of their storytelling. Braid’s clever use of familiar cliches told us about how perspective changes everything. Red Dead Redemption told us an amazing tale worthy of Leone. Metal Gear Solid 3 made you pull the trigger on Naked Snake’s mentor, the best use of integrating gameplay into storytelling I’ve ever seen. But I’ve never come across anything like Thirty Flights of Loving. To be fair, I’ve never come across anything else labelled a “Video Game Short Story” either, but Thirty Flights of Loving’s storytelling prowess isn’t fundamentally anchored to its gameplay(or lack-thereof) Continue Reading
Grand Budapest Hotel
It is impossible, so far as I can tell, to discuss a Wes Anderson movie without discussing Wes Anderson. If he were a car company, he’d be Morgan. Are his movies good, or are they simply charming? Is the depth an illusion? Is it too abstract, too inaccessible? Does it matter? There is a uniqueness to his films that is hard to articulate, but completely recognizable. Yes, there’s the symmetry of the shots, the faded colour palette, the 2 dimensional movement of all of his characters (people move either towards/away from the camera or directly across the camera), the whimsical Continue Reading
Metro Freelancing
As ever, I endeavor to blog more. I have a few topics rattling around in my head, so I just need to sit down and write. In the meantime, I’ve been doing freelance work with Metro Calgary. Here’s the work I’ve done so far: http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/806784/lrt-on-the-minds-of-calgary-voters-during-ward-12-candidates-forum/ http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/808145/election-forum-gets-intimate-with-calgary-ward-3-incumbent-jim-stevenson/ http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/814897/city-taxi-industry-lights-up-ward-5-forum/ http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/823664/calgary-rcmp-hope-forensic-sculpture-will-help-id-mystery-skull/ http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/823960/thousands-served-on-thanksgiving-at-the-calgary-drop-in-thanks-to-alfred-balm/
The Unreal Summer of Music Continues
Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest After waiting forever(admittedly, I discovered Boards of Canada after they put out their last material : Trans-Canada Highway) for new Boards of Canada, this album was facing a mountain of expectations. Not unlike their Reclusive-pioneering-european-electronic-duo-who-haven’t-put-out-new-material-for-years-until-this-summer-mates Daft Punk, BoC teased us with snippets of new material here and there, opting for a record store day set of unique records rather than SNL ads. Unlike Daft Punk, they didn’t stray far from what made them who they are.
The Unreal Summer of Music
I am in the midst of a siege of amazing music unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I used to wonder what it was like for my parents when bands like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd and The Beatles would release albums within months of each other. Now I know. DISCLAIMER: I don’t know that much about music proper; I’m writing this more as a fan than a critic.
Mystery
Ever since it became public a few days ago, I cannot stop watching the trailer for Metal Gear Solid V. Every time, I search for the new clue that will unlock what’s going on. Are the super natural beings helping or hunting Big Boss? The first thing we see out of place in the gameplay trailer is someone who looks suspiciously like Psycho Mantis. Are the super natural things, all of which resemble things from Big Boss’ past, merely the result of Psycho Mantis digging into his subconsciousness? My good friend Nick and I have been discussing this trailer at length, Continue Reading
Round One of the NFL Draft
Here is the liveblog I hosted for the first round of the 2012 NFL draft on theglobeandmail.com.
First Day
Began my internship with The Globe And Mail as a Web editor today. I think this is going to be pretty great.
Mass Effect 3(Dialogue Wheel 6)
In case you didn’t guess, Spoilers Ahead: I’m not writing about Mass Effect 3 to complain about the ending. There’s been enough said about the subject that I don’t feel like I have much to add. Except that there is one logic behind the madness: DLC. With Shepard dead, and no Mass Relays left, Bioware can write DLC that fits onto all save games. Characters can refer to the indefinite article “Shepard”, none of the crew will know exactly what happened, and you can have non-Shepard adventures on this convenient jungle world. The only thing bioware has to do to Continue Reading
Live Chat about the Dalhousie Strike
Tuesday(Feb 28th) morning, I’ll be co-hosting a live-blog covering the potential faculty strike at Dalhousie. We’ll be having DSU President Chris Saulnier here to chat and answer questions. It will be up on openfile halifax, or you can take part here!