Wizards of all skin colours unite in Niantic's new Harry Potter game
On the 1st May 2019, the beta version of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite launched in Australia and New Zealand. As the biggest Harry Potter nerd I know, I—of course—downloaded the app as soon as the beta invitation hit my inbox.
Read more »Normal Does Not Equal Erasure
Games are a great indicator of social change. What we see, especially from AAA studios, is often a representation of how society perceives things in the wider world. We have seen quite a lot of change over the years, often for good. However, recently I was reminded that what many folks consider normal can be considered erasure for others.
Read more »The *shocking* truth about Options: You don't have to turn them on!
If adding in some options to slow down attacks, allow for auto-acceleration, and skip quick-time-events means that somebody else can actually be able to engage with the game so they can have their play experience of challenge, too, then how the fudge is that any of my business? Spoiler: it’s not.
Read more »They Need To Talk: representing stuttering characters in games
We need to talk about stuttering in games. And yes, this is partially because when you search for “stuttering in games”, you’re most likely going to get some articles or videos about frame rate before you get anything about stuttering character representation.
Read more »Keeping safe and healthy at in-person game jams
Game jams have somewhat of a reputation for being pretty dodgy environments for jammer’s health and safety. Everyone gets caught in the swell of making something stupendously wonderful, and they forget to sleep (or eat, or drink water, or be kind and respectful and inclusive). Fortunately, there’s heaps of stuff you and your jam site can do to make an in-person game jam safe for everyone and help you escape with your health intact.
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