Kill Screen Archives: Michael Thomsen

May 14 Essays

Will Work for Fun

What are the roots of free-to-play capitalism? Michael Thomsen argues that in-game commodities and microtransactions are not new ideas so much as the latest ways that videogame companies instrumentalize us.

Mar 20 Reviews

The Untold Depths of Snake Eating

We can try to make sense of the sound and the fury of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D as it escalates and unravels. But maybe we don't need to.

Mar 14 Columns

When Robots See Us Laugh

Have you ever asked the nearest robot how you can help it—not vice versa? If "charismatic machines" take hold, then we'll have a lot to laugh about.

Feb 7 Reviews

Review: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

The ever-popular genre of medieval role-playing continues its downward march with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a collaboration between game-design heavyweight Ken Rolston, fantasy luminary R.A. Salvatore, and comics auteur Todd McFarlane. Michael Thomsen finds the results less than uninspiring; they are anti-creative.

Nov 29 Reviews

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Nintendo's new Zelda opus is a paean to learning and wonderment. Michael Thomsen dissects the contradictions at the heart of Skyward Sword, both mechanical and human.

Nov 7 Essays

Difficulty and the Neoclassical Era

What sense can be made of the influx of game mechanics and forms? Michael Thomsen argues that recent videogames have pruned their rules with purpose, bringing us into the beginning of a neoclassical era of game design.

Sep 26 Articles

Deconstructing Disease

The merger between videogames and biochemistry led to an HIV breakthough. But is it really a game?

Aug 22 Articles

Walk on the Wild Side

Why men are more likely to play as women in World of Warcraft, and how they behave differently when they do.

Jul 14 Reviews

Review: Wii Play: Motion

Why a series of mini-games about swimming, vegetables, and balloons is one of the more profound titles in recent memory. Michael Thomsen breaks down the expressive abilities of Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus controller.

Jun 22 Articles

Touching From a Distance

We speak with researcher and assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, Ingmar Riedel-Kruse, about making games with microscopic lifeforms.

Mar 29 Articles

A Mind of One’s Own

Think games are smart now? MyCyberTwin’s John Zakos and his business partner Liesl Capper-Beilby are hoping to bring their moldable AI clay to everything from massively multiplayer games to microwaves. Will AI in games be too smart for its own good?

The Archive

Will Work for Fun

The Untold Depths of Snake Eating

When Robots See Us Laugh

Review: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Difficulty and the Neoclassical Era

Deconstructing Disease

Walk on the Wild Side

Review: Wii Play: Motion

Touching From a Distance

A Mind of One’s Own

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