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November-December Roundup: Illness
Pardon me, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. Are you feeling any better? Gee, you look much better. For what it’s worth, I appreciate that you’ve pushed on through the holidays and I hope you’re on the...
View ArticleJanuary 2017: ‘Healing’
Another year passes and the world is a little different. It’s pretty normal at the start of a new year to look at how things might change over the course of the next 12 months. At the end of 2016 we...
View ArticleJanuary 15th
We all participate in constructing social structures, though in the real world most people don’t have a whole lot of institutional power. As many look at 2017 as a year that will demand strong...
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January 22nd
I love it when critics find ways to get a point across without words. Images can be just as valuable a critical tool as writing; they offer a different set of techniques for demonstrating what a game...
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January 29th
Do you feel like garbage right now? Well then I have a treat for you. Games critics this week have gone searching through the detritus of the city for hidden treasure, and created archives of material...
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Visual Essay Jam
Do you have an idea for a piece of game criticism you’re having trouble putting into words? Have you read a great piece of criticism recently that you want to respond to? Or is there just something...
View ArticleFebruary 6th
A lot of games critics worry, understandably, that their work can’t address the problems that people face in the real world. Others have already started the work of politically-engaged games criticism...
View ArticleEpisode 42 – Great Levels, The Best Levels In Gaming
http://www.critical-distance.com/podcast/Critical-Distance-Confab-episode-42.mp3 Direct Download Our first interview of 2017 is with Great Levels in Gaming YouTube producer Max Barnyard. Like our...
View ArticleFebruary 12th
Is ignorance bliss? What kind of things can we learn when we admit to truly knowing nothing at all? Games critics this week have been considering the problems of celebrating ignorance as well as the...
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Visual Essay Jam roundup
The first Visual Essay Jam was held on itch.io over the weekend of February 10th-12th. In this short time, and only two weeks after I had come up with the idea in the first place, 25 visual essays were...
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February 19th
This week, critics find different ways to talk about paranoia, fear, and comfort in relation to videogames. Imagine with me now I want to start with a little link to the roundup of Emilie Reed’s...
View ArticleThe Critical Distance Awards 2017
For the past few years, at the end of the year we’ve awarded the “Blogger of the Year” title to a writer who has inspired and impressed us. This year, we decided to do things a little differently....
View ArticleFebruary 26
This week’s roundup asks where violence fits in political discourse and how to care for yourself in a troubled environment. Interesting Times (Content Warning:discussions of violence and racism) View...
View ArticleEpisode 43 – Think, Game, Love
http://www.critical-distance.com/podcast/Critical-Distance-Confab-episode-43.mp3 Direct Download In this episode, I interview the newly crowned Critical Distance 2016 Journalist of the Year, Heather...
View ArticleMarch 5th
This past week has been full of thoughts, on beginnings and endings, and worth reflecting on before next week starts in earnest. Hopefully your weekend has treated you as gently it could, warming and...
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January-February Roundup: Healing
Why hello sunshine! You’re looking much better. I’m glad to see you on the mend. A little time and a lot of care seems to have done us all a lot of good. Maybe there’s a long way to go, but for...
View ArticleA mini reading list for International Women’s Day
Wanna observe International Women’s Day and find new perspectives on games? Try reading these critical writings about the representation of women in games. I thought I’d put together a very quick list...
View ArticleMarch 13th
We spend time in caves, bedrooms, and bathrooms this week as games critics discuss how to make games cute, politically relevant, and intimate. This week’s roundup comes a little late, but it’s a good...
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March 19th
This week’s critical writing changed my understanding of how games connect to the physical world and to urban life. Let’s go on a little wander through the winding paths of online discourse. Visuals...
View ArticleMarch 26th
Every week, games criticism seems to get better and better at pro-actively addressing the political and historical circumstances we occupy. This week is a stellar example, with pieces covering prisons,...
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