Game Blog

GAME BLOG
Army of Two: Posted September 21, 2007
Andy Lemke
Tag: Games in the news
Private security contractors are in the news, and now you can play the videogame. But game designer Chris Ferriera wants to do something different—creating a cooperative, two-person shooter game in Army of Two. It’s a slightly subversive philosophy for a commercial game, but in an interview with Brandon Sheffield, Ferriera reveals the political motivations behind his game.
“We wanted to deliver a message. And we figured two guys, in a situation as tough as theirs, there’s no better way to really bring the co-op to the forefront—because they have to work together and it ties into the title. Army of Two, right? It’s two dudes versus an army. You’re not going to survive it if you go it alone, and if you don’t play with your partner, if you don’t communicate. We have to teach that.”


Videogame Heroines: Posted September 17, 2007
Andy Lemke
Tag: Games in the news
Ah, videogame heroines and their unrealistic proportions and impractical outfits. Erin Hoffman writes of her desire, as well as other female game designers desire, for more realistic portrayals of female videogame characters. It’s distressing for Hoffman and others to see the variance of appearances of male characters, while female characters are largely homogeneous. She says, “Heroic female characters in games have enormous power. The sheer objective-focused nature of videogames . . . means players uniquely feel the strength and capability of these characters in ways not possible through passive media. The experiential power is mind-expanding.”
Perhaps it’s time for game designers to stop designing for what they think gamers want, and start designing for what they need.
A modest proposal? We think not.