http://www.jarednewman.com/blog Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:13:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I tend to drift from this blog, my little anchor point, but this can be rationalized: When your livelihood entails upwards of 2,000 words a day, there's not much left in the tank when it's over. You can see that now. This is not my best prose. But in what seems ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=113 It's been said that video games need a Lester Bangs, but what we really need is a Chuck Norris. Michael Pachter, known far and wide for his game industry analysis, is that equivalent. Earlier today, Alex Navarro suggested on Twitter that Michael Pachter should have folk status in gaming. Joystiq writer ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=112 -12 year-old boy, approaching the Gamestop clerk with Call of Duty 4 in hand, mother in tow. Your parental controls at work! http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=111 Last time I checked, there's no metric by which people can constantly measure their moral worth. Judging the goodness in one's self is not as simple as reading your fuel gauge. So why do video games make it that easy? Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and InFamous -- all of which inject morality ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=110 In most video games, death is inevitable. It's often the penalty for failure, and on fewer occasions a plot device meant to pull your heart strings. But, purely in terms of compelling narrative, does it work? My former colleagues at The Game Reviews, Joe DeLia and Sinan Kubba, were kind enough to ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=109 It's been a while since I've done this, because my day-to-day writings on the big picture aspects of gaming don't allow for it. But Windosill, Vectorpark's dreamy indie Flash puzzler, begs for it. If you haven't, try the free version, then splurge on the $3 full edition, if only because its ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=108 Here's a great piece by The Cut Scene's Ben Fritz on why The NPD Group should start keeping tabs on downloadable content. Journalists regard NPD as the ultimate authority on video game sales in the states, but right now the market research group doesn't track the popularity of paid downloadable content. ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=107 I have seen my share of video game boobs, uncovered, and they are polygonal. The last time I witnessed bare female flesh in a video game was during Afro Samurai, a game that's saturated with enough "not for kids" content that I chalked it up as par for the course and ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=106 Today's newsletter from gamesindustry.biz is a scathing attack on game journalism, particularly as it exists on the Web. The so-called "specialist media" (what happened to "enthusiast press?") stands accused of fueling rumors and speculation over the big reveals that may or may not happen at game conferences, in this case ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=105 Yes, yes, I joined the Twitter trend, way late. Check out my page. At least I bought a netbook before everyone and their mother started doing it. Though I can't resist the occasional snarky remark, I'm trying to do some fun stuff there, like 140-character game reviews and the return of ... http://www.jarednewman.com/blog/?p=104