Videogames 101, 201, etc. |
Critical Distance
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https://critical-distance.com
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A site that compiles lists of the best writing on games
from the blogosphere every week.
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The Journal of Game Studies
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http://gamestudies.org
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The premier resource for academic games writing,
edited by Espen Aarseth.
Covers videogames as well as other types of games.
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Shmuplations
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http://shmuplations.com
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Translates interviews with Japanese game devs from throughout history.
A highly valuable resource.
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Hardcore Gaming 101
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http://www.hardcoregaming101.net
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Obsessively in-depth coverage of a seemingly infinite
amount of games, both popular and obscure. They
occasionally release print books on specific topics. If
you've just learned about a game, look it up here! A rare
instance of the term "hardcore gaming" that doesn't
make me roll my eyes in 2019.
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Tokugawa Corp.
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http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr
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A site dedicated to Japanese retrocomputing.
PC-98, X68000, FM-Towns and the like.
It's an old one, but its forums are still active.
Send in your copies of Technopolis today!
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Art Games have Always Existed
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRmMOveppLGPAZZdzY5zCZab5fqj1v_tl
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A catalogue of games on the high-concept side going decades back,
for those who still think the "artgame" was invented by Johnathan Blow in the year 2008 AD.
Compiled by MendelPalace.
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(pc) 1 Windows games and software (~1997)
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oVNgml_pQ1Yk0Qc4X-WFkSoj2rEr3Yd
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Another catalogue of weird and interesting games,
this time centering on early Windows.
Compiled by Nathalie Lawhead.
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Sounds From The Abyss mixes
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEdRlER1F5rGvaoE-XbV6jz6OymxQw4jx
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Several compilations of strange game music selected by ella guro.
Strange and wonderful; you'll be glad you dived in.
(A companion to the long-defunct "Sounds From The Abyss"
blog.)
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Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling
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https://emshort.blog
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A blog about "Narrative in games and new media,"
penned by writer, critic and veteran game dev Emily Short.
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Cool Jams for Data Divers and Information Gourmets |
Hyperland
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https://vimeo.com/72501076
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A whirlwind tour of the brave new worlds
of hypertext and multimedia at the dawn of the '90s,
with Douglas Adams and Tom Baker!
More info
here.
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The Joy of Cybersex
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https://archive.org/details/The.Joy.Of.Cybersex.1993
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An even more whirlwind tour
of the intersection of eroticism and computer technology—again,
at the dawn of the '90s—from anime girls on CD-ROM
to computer-generated nudity to lewd BBSes and beyond.
Fascinating stuff.
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TV's TV
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfAON7qmybIb_GXIQvgyVBeQoeQ3i2v0_
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A high-tech, free-form, late-night Japanese TV block from the mid-1980s.
"Found Vaporwave," as it were. More info
here.
(It's also linked on this site's homepage, in case you missed it.)
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Pasokon TV
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http://pasokontv.blogspot.com
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Okay, now for some actual jams.
Click the monitor screen and get whisked away...
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New World Notes
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https://nwn.blogs.com/
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A blog dedicated to news and developments
in Second Life, IMVU, Star Citizen, and other such metaverses.
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People I Think are Neat |
ella guro
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http://ellaguro.blogspot.com/
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The blog of ella guro, aka Liz Ryerson,
an impossibly brilliant musician, critic and game dev.
I've learned a lot from her work.
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Retro Pals
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https://www.youtube.com/user/Sardius
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A channel "dedicated to videogame history,"
the Retro Pals release mini-documentaries on the games of old,
as well as stream them on Twitch.
They take the jankiness of many such old games in stride;
tune in to their weekday night streams,
and you'll spend as much time laughing as learning.
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The Freak Museum (Mechapoetic)
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https://www.twitch.tv/thefreakmuseum
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The Twitch channel of Lana Polansky,
who describes herself as "elvira for very odd videogames."
Also check out her site, Sufficiently Human
("Game reviews for art freaks")
here.
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Notable Works |
Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto"
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https://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/cyborg1.htm
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You've probably already read this somewhere at some point,
but in case you haven't, here it is.
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Chris Crawford's "Dragon Speech"
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBrj4S24074
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The legendary Chris Crawford presents the audience of GDC '93
with his dream of what videogames could become artistically,
a dream he had been chasing for years up to that point.
A dream, and a challenge, his own personal dragon.
Freaking...WATCH. THIS. I beseech you.
It's powerful.
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Misc. |
Metroid 2: Return of Samus - Official Site
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https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/mea/top.html
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No, that's not "Samus Returns," you read that right.
And no, this is not a capture from the Internet Archive.
Somehow, against all odds,
the original promotional website for Metroid 2
has been online since god knows how long.
A little treat for you early web fans.
I learned about it through
this tweet.
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