The Ungoverned Country: Tolkien's Shire And The Structure Of Power
Was the Shire Tolkien's anarchist utopia? A close reading of his letters and The Lord of the Rings through Kropotkin, Graeber, and James C. Scott.
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Thinking about work
A New York Times article about workers having to return to the office made me think about work culture.
The Subscription of Everything
You used to own your software. Then one day you didn't. Here's how that happened, and what a two-letter word on a Windows desktop has to do with it.
Metal Gear and the Dream Logic That Changed Games Forever
Hideo Kojima didn't make strange games by accident. He made them on purpose - and understanding why changes how you see everything he's ever built.
Stories Don't Belong in Games?
We've Been Having This Argument Since the 90s. A response to Ian Bogost's "Video Games Are Better Without Stories".
When the Developer Is the Problem: How Controversy Reshaped Heartbound's Steam Reviews
What happens to Steam reviews when the controversy is about the developer, not the game? A data study of 3,589 Heartbound reviews finds out.
The Day Final Fantasy Died
Final Fantasy was once more than just a video game series — it was an experience that made you feel something no other RPG could. But at some point, that magic disappeared.
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"Isolation" by Substance
Isolation is a song by Austrian Post-Punk, Shoegaze, 2-person Band Substance. Music Video made by Dave Marian.
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Nier Automata Isn't About What You Think
Nier Automata explores what AI truly is. And it's different from what movies and games usually tell us. This video essay examines the gap between how artificial intelligence is portrayed in media versus how it actually works in the real world.
Arc Raiders: Why Strangers Help Each Other
Arc Raiders broke the unwritten rule of extraction shooters: players actually help each other. After 20 years of toxic lobbies, rage quits, and extract camping, I found a game where strangers revive you, share loot, and cooperate against the machines.
This video essay explores the game design, psychology, and game
Why Everyone Refuses to Talk About Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds is a game people refuse to explain.
Not because they’re elitist. Not because it’s complicated.
But because the game is built out of knowledge — and knowledge breaks when you hand it to someone too early.
This video breaks the first rule of Outer Wilds.
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Dark Souls is a Marxist Horror Story
Dark Souls is often described as bleak, punishing, and hopeless - but why does its world feel so broken?
In this video essay, I explore Dark Souls as a horror story about decay, labor, and exploitation, reading the game through a Marxist lens. From endless cycles of work and hollowing,