by Alenka Figa | Nov 7, 2022 | Roundtables, Video Games
I’ve written pretty thoroughly about how I am a particular type of gamer. I prefer games that are story and relationship focused, and that don’t require a lot of level grinding or random quests. This includes my tabletop play style—apologies to my DM/wife who is sitting on a bunch of Kingmaker sidequests that our party has ignored! Because of my pickiness, I don’t play a lot of games, but lately I’ve been feeling like this framework of “pickiness” is unfair. Am I a gamer aberration? What makes me different from all of you? Why the heck do y’all enjoy repetitive level grinding?! (more…)
Alenka Figa is a queer librarian obsessed with D&D podcasts that have solid queer rep. They frequently tweet about them @alenkafiga. Catch their reviews of zines and indie comics over at Women Write About Comics.
by Sara Davis | Mar 31, 2022 | Roundtables, Video Games
Time, like most things, is a construct. But never have we been more aware of that fact than in 2022, which is simultaneously three years ago and six years from now. In light of occupying a strange, shifting period, this month we’re talking about time travel in games! What games do it well? What games do it poorly? And what can we learn from its inclusion? (more…)
Sara Davis is a recovering academic and marketing writer who lives in Philadelphia. Her PhD in American literature is from Temple University. She blogs about books, games, climate change, and other obsessions at literarysara.net.
by Melissa Brinks | Nov 30, 2021 | Roundtables, Video Games
We’re getting into hibernating season up here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means it’s time for feasting. The crops are ready for harvesting. The cornucopia is assembled. What are we eating (in games)?
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Melissa Brinks is Sidequest’s editor in chief, co-creator of the Fake Geek Girls podcast, author of The Compendium of Magical Beasts, and an aspiring beekeeper. She once won an argument on the internet, and tweets at @MelissaBrinks.
by Melissa Brinks | Feb 27, 2020 | Opinion, Roundtables, Video Games
In 2020, we can all agree that representation is important. Having games from different cultures with characters of different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, abilities, and sexualities enriches the art form. But representation is only one hurdle to overcome—there’s more to diversity than visibility. For the month of February, the Sidequest crew is chatting about representations of culture, including what games get it right and what games have a ways to go. (more…)
Melissa Brinks is Sidequest’s editor in chief, co-creator of the Fake Geek Girls podcast, author of The Compendium of Magical Beasts, and an aspiring beekeeper. She once won an argument on the internet, and tweets at @MelissaBrinks.
by Heather Wells | Jan 24, 2019 | Essays, Lists, Video Games
Let’s face it: playing multiplayer video games sucks. You’re just here to have a good time, but you made the mistake of calling out your next move in voice chat, and now some dude has made it his mission to loudly denounce the fact that “girls can’t play video games” and everyone’s picking apart every little mistake you make and why do you even play this game again?
It’s a frustratingly common sight in online games if you’re often perceived as femme or feminine. One casual interaction that leaves your teammates thinking they know your gender and now you’re being whispered to take off your armor and make your character dance; someone you’ve never met before heard your voice in chat and now they want your Steam ID and Battle.net tag so they can “hang out sometime”; you’ve got some twelve-year-old on a mission to call you every gendered slur his prepubescent brain can cook up. I’ve been playing MMOs for the last 15 years and, let me tell you, I’ve really heard it all. (more…)
Book reviewer, game player, writer, and editor, Heather can be found on Twitter @terminality_, where she mostly posts about her cat.
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