The Archive

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.



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.


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.



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.




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.


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


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?