The American River Current

When is a game still a game?

When is a game still a game?

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki September 25, 2013

I recently ran into a flash … thing online called “Cookie Clicker.” It’s set up like a typical flash game, but it’s lacking one important aspect of a game. When you open the browser-based...

A league of their own

A league of their own

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki September 18, 2013

In a perennial glut of sports games, “Mutant League” was an outlier which could appeal to even the biggest jock-hating gamers. In the ‘90s, a video game was produced for the 16-bit era called...

Scripting for Tie-in

Scripting for Tie-in

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki September 11, 2013

When was the last time you saw a movie that was blatantly written with an eventual game tie in in mind? For me, it was Riddick. I saw the new entry in the dystopian sci-fi franchise last Friday, and...

Bad games are not just a problem of burnt out pixels

Bad games are not just a problem of burnt out pixels

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki May 7, 2013

The ability to become the biggest name in the industry while doing everything wrong is not unique to video games. Wizards of the Coast current rights holder to the most highly recognized tabletop roleplaying...

The cream rises, but the scum rises higher

The cream rises, but the scum rises higher

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki April 25, 2013

There is one industry where being terrible at your job seems to be the ticket to the top. Whether video or tabletop, the biggest game companies often seem to have little to no clue what they’re doing....

Sex, blood and games

Sex, blood and games

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki April 3, 2013

Two gangs face off for war in the city streets. Explosions burst, blood flies and splashes, and bodies drop with sickening thuds. A woman invites a man in for coffee and they have sex. One of these...

The cost of console gaming is “too damn high.”

The cost of console gaming is “too damn high.”

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki March 12, 2013

For the price of freedom to play any game release, you could buy two used cars-or one, and a decent computer (and still play a lot of games). For the first 22 years of home gaming consoles, up to the...

Android maverick Ouya fights the console war

Android maverick Ouya fights the console war

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki February 26, 2013

The console wars thunder into motion once more. Nintendo released the Wii U last year. The PS4 has just been announced. Fans wait with bated breath for Microsoft’s entry. But the biggest news in gaming...

HR 287 makes video games smut

HR 287 makes video games smut

Korbl Klimecki and Korbl Klimecki February 12, 2013

Apparently Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) teaches one to kill by stomping on arrows set to a catchy and memorable beat. Also, Real Time Strategy games about directing troops, such as Starcraft, somehow confers...

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