May Roundtable: Labor in Games

May Roundtable: Labor in Games

May Day may have come and gone, but it’s always a good time to talk about labor and worker’s rights. Both in and out of games (and the games industry), we’re seeing a growing consciousness of how exploitative labor practices shape our society. From increased pushes for unionization to games explicitly about striking or exploitation in the workplace, these ideas are also part of ongoing conversations within the gaming industry. That’s what we’re discussing this month—labor and work within the games industry, both representationally and behind the screen. (more…)

April Roundtable: Earth Day

April Roundtable: Earth Day

Happy April! Despite much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I have once again declined to make our roundtable theme “frogs” despite the arguable seasonal appropriateness. The only thing we love more than Wario and Waluigi here at Sidequest is frogs. But April is the month of Earth Day, April 22—so let’s talk about the Earth, ecology, and associated themes this month. (more…)

March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

March Roundtable: Luck Mechanics

Happy March! Here in the Pacific Northwest we’re sandwiched between bitter winter and the slightly warmer temperatures of spring, but mostly it’s just cold. How lucky we are! Thanks for applauding my super smooth transition—this month we’re talking about luck and luck mechanics in games, which is different from actual luck. I would know, considering I lose every board game I play because I have no actual luck. (more…)

February Roundtable: Wario and Waluigi

February Roundtable: Wario and Waluigi

This month, the month of love, we’re going to let you take a little peek behind the Sidequest curtain. For whatever reason, we rank quite highly for the search term “wario and waluigi,” which is not something we expected when we wrote “Wario and Waluigi: Who Are They, Anyway?” all those years ago. But because the Brothers Wario (if they are, in fact, brothers) keep driving traffic to our site, and because our other highest-ranked keyword is porn related, this month’s editorial meeting went A Certain Direction and Zora made us aware of this Wario and Waluigi body pillow (link NSFW). So what better way to honor the Brothers’ service to Sidequest than to make them this month’s icons to celebrate Valentine’s Day? (more…)

January Roundtable: Sequels

January Roundtable: Sequels

Every year in recent memory has felt like a sequel to the last. Literally, of course, in that time marches ever forward, but also thematically, if the real world can be said to have a theme. New year, same topics. We’re in year three of a sustained pandemic, capitalism continues to ruin everything, and every week is a fresh deluge of news about exploitation in the gaming industry. So what better topic for this cheery occasion of turning over the calendar than sequels? (more…)

December Roundtable: The Games of 2022

December Roundtable: The Games of 2022

Games really do just keep on coming out, which is why we’re devoting this month’s roundtable to the year’s games. Not the best games. Not the worst games. Just the year’s games, which include the games that we played, the games we didn’t play, and more. The end of the year is a great time for reflection, which, for me at least, means a lot of looking back at all the things I didn’t do. (more…)