Gaming Theory

The courtrooms and investigations portrayed in the Phoenix Wright series may seem cartoonish or over-the-top, but, as Fintan Monaghan shows us, they accurately criticize the faults of the Japanese legal system and the series may actually bring about legal reform.

Videogames have long been characterized by the mainstream as an adolescent medium, played by stunted males who have trouble associating with the opposite sex. Those who play games might scoff, but is there actually a fear of the feminine within the content? Michael Thomsen takes a scholarly look into the accusations of vaginophobia.

Guns and games typically only come up in the same news story when it involves a horrific act of violence. But what about all the responsible enthusiasts out there who simply want to enjoy their favorite pastimes? Russ Pitts speaks with gamers and gun owners about their dual hobbies.

The success of a game now seems to hinge on how "addictive" it is, not just whether a game is fun. Rob Zacny ponders whether the trend of such manipulative gameplay is ethical.

The romance of the breakdown of society that Armageddon provides is that the social order would be reset and the downtrodden could become heroes. Nick Halme posits that each game that we play creates our own private apocalypse.

DEFCON took the odd premise of playing out a thermonuclear war that kills all human life on earth and made a damn fine strategy game. Jonathan Glover talks to Introversion four years after their apocalypse-inducing title resulted in so many human casualties.

Staying alive amidst the zombie hordes, the robot overlords or the exploding A-bombs will be tough. Jonathan Baker provides a few real-life survival tips that can help you survive the end of the world.

"Show me a Dungeons & Dragons game and I'll show you an apocalypse." Tavis Allison points out how an ancient, collapsed civilization in the setting is necessary every time you sit down to roll some dice and explore a dungeon.

It's a little known fact that American animators at Disney were great inspirations for Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and the "God of Manga." Tiffany Martin believes that Americans would be enriched by understanding and appreciating the cross-pollination between our two cultures.

Blending genre elements from many sources, PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies succeeds because its compelling art style unifies it under the company's "casual" banner. Russ Pitts spoke to Lead Artist Rich Werner and asked him how they pulled it off.

Many early videogame characters had their escapades translated to the small screen in the form of weekly animated shows. Unfortunately, most of them were awful. Nadia Oxford chronicles the highs and lows of cartoons based on videogames.

Whether you hated or loved it, playing Dragon's Lair was a memorable experience in 1983 compared to the blocky sprite graphics of the time. Brendan Main takes a look at the hubris of the team behind the first laserdisc game that was intended to change videogames forever.

You might be dedicated to playing games, but the amount of effort needed to overcome physical limitations is incredible. Jeff Groves listens to some of the stories of gamers at Ablegamer.com.

So-called casual games are nothing new, they just have been able to reach more people though new platforms. Greg Costikyan argues that the people that pay for these games are not casual at all but are merely a new "hardcore" audience.

Magic: The Gathering has been around for a long time, and that's because it appeals to a broad spectrum of players. Patrick Jarrett explains who Spike, Timmy and Johnny are to the Magic design team.

It's time to sift through the coded labels; hardcore means masculine and casual means feminine. Rowan Kaiser thinks that we should recognize the implied sexuality of the labels and switch to a gender neutral term.

The success of a game now seems to hinge on how "addictive" it is, not just whether a game is fun. Rob Zacny ponders whether the trend of such manipulative gameplay is ethical.

Boss battles are a staple of nearly every genre of videogames. Andrew Webster explores the boss's impact on game design by talking to the developers behind indie titles Super Meat Boy and Boss Rush.

Blizzard is removing many obscure stats in World of Warcraft with Cataclysm and Jeff Groves is all for it. He explains why simpler mechanics make for more important strategic decisions and, therefore, make games more fun.

Although many are unaware of it, there is an unspoken social contract between a game's designers and the players. Andrew Bell investigates what players expect, and how a designer can let them down.