Introduction

I was inspired to start this blog by a series of events that started with playing Braid. As I played it, I realized I wanted to write an essay about the game for my MFA program at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. I’m pursuing a degree in Fiction and Writing for Children there and we’re required to write a number of essays examining literary works from a writer’s perspective. Instead of writing about what the story or novel is about, we’re required to write about how the author of the piece achieves its effect. So I look at the mechanics of the literary work instead of the themes, characters or plot.

Another aspect of Spalding’s MFA program is their emphasis on cross-genre exploration. We are encouraged to step outside of our genre and experiment and critique other types of writing. This allows us to discover how much different forms of art share and appreciate their differences. There is no reason games wouldn’t have just as much to offer to my development as a writer than the more traditional forms.

Braid is the first game I’ve played since starting the program that compelled me to look into what makes it tick. While researching other player’s theories and the opinions and goals of Jonathan Blow, the game’s creator, I discovered Michael Abbott’s blog The Brainy Gamer. Michael views on gaming and its industry were exciting to me, and soon I had over a dozen similar blogs to explore. Though I’ve spent countless hours discussing various games with my younger brother, I never imagined there was such a large community of people thinking and writing about games in such a stimulating way.

The variety and quality of the blogs I’ve been reading over the past few weeks is inspiring and intimidating at the same time. I’ve listed some of them below in my Blogroll. At first, overwhelmed by this critical way of examining games, I thought I had nothing to add, but I’ve decided to throw my viewpoint into the mix. I want to look at gaming with the same focus I look at literature and try to bring whatever experience I have in that realm to this blog. I’m hoping the moments of frustration and epiphany I’ve known while developing my own creative writing will allow me to look at gaming in a unique and interesting way.

I’m brand new to blogging, so please feel free to send me an e-mail with any comments or suggestions. I’ve spent most of the last eight years giving and receiving constructive criticism, so I would deeply appreciate any effort to improve my writing or my blog.