Review: Haulways Trucking Inc Provides A Much-Needed Escape

Review: Haulways Trucking Inc Provides A Much-Needed Escape

When I started playing Haulways Trucking Inc in December, I was interested in how playing as a long haul trucker might be a way for me to reflect on my own sense of isolation, brought on—and this may come as a surprise to many—not by lonesome cross-country drives but by a combination of being disabled and living through a pandemic in a wildly ableist society. My intention going into the game was to draw heavily on this theme, exploring how my character felt about encountering strange and scary things on the road, with nobody else to lean on and only their vehicle as reliable refuge. What I wasn’t expecting was how leaning into the game’s sense of adventure and magic also provided me with a much-needed escape from my real-life loneliness.

(more…)

GYGO: Games for Relief & Activision Blizzard Sued (AGAIN)

GYGO: Games for Relief & Activision Blizzard Sued (AGAIN)

Content note: mentions of transphobia, harassment and abuse, toxic workplace environments, and suicide.

Hello! Maddi here for this week’s dose of gaming news. Since last we spoke, Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring were released, and my household has been spending a lot of time with both. My husband has been taking on every boss he can find in Elden Ring, while I… have been getting my butt handed to me by machines. Let us know what you’ve been playing on Twitter, or, if you’re a member of our Patreon at the Sega Genesis tier or higher, in our Discord! Now, here’s all the news you might have missed last week. (more…)

5 TTRPGs to Scratch That Anime Itch

5 TTRPGs to Scratch That Anime Itch

The ongoing pandemic has me, like everyone else, watching a lot of anime, and while it’s always fun to be taken along on the ride, sometimes a person wants to help direct the story. While I don’t have the hookup to any studios (or the skill, or the time), I do have a big ol’ mental rolodex of tabletop roleplaying games, and I’m here to share the wealth so you too can triumph through the power of friendship. (more…)

Let Me Tell You About My OC: The Shared Anxieties of a Long-Time Storyteller

Let Me Tell You About My OC: The Shared Anxieties of a Long-Time Storyteller

As an indie comic artist and visual storyteller, I’m used to creating characters with complex backstories and edgy personalities. But none have been so strange and intriguing as that of Laurus Francoeur, my latest creation and member of my friend group’s first Wanderhome game. (more…)

Digital Spaces for Digital Games: How BostonFIG Fest Virtual 2020 Brought a Show Online

Digital Spaces for Digital Games: How BostonFIG Fest Virtual 2020 Brought a Show Online

Like the Game Devs of Color Expo, the BostonFIG Fest was one of many events that had to adapt and change their show in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In typical circumstances, the annual games event is hosted around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, as noted in my recap of a previous year’s Fest. But because a pandemic simply does not magically disappear into the transition of a new year, the BostonFIG Fest went virtual in 2021, hosting its festivities on Gather. (more…)