Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I Hate Picking Headlines

I've talked to you guys a little about Chrono Cross' soundtrack before. For Kirk Hamilton's weekly music block over at Kotaku (Kotaku has "programming" now, if you hadn't heard), he asked me to kick in some thoughts, and I elaborated some on why it's absolutely my favorite soundtrack in games. I've been replaying Chrono Cross lately and it only serves to emphasize for me how massively overlooked and underrated the game is. Chrono Trigger was a tough act to follow. More on that soon -- promise.

For everyone asking me "should I buy a PlayStation Vita," I'm like, "well, do you want it? Are those games you want to play, and can you afford it?" I mean, if the answer to all three questions are yes, you should get it.

Me, I really like the thing. Of course, the great delusion of game journalists is that their likes and dislikes have anything to do with the market and what consumers will actually buy. I've written my impressions and thoughts on the device and its tough-to-call role in the complicated portable landscape over at Gamasutra, if you'd like to check it out and weigh in.

In other cool ideas that depend on complicated marketplaces, I've written an editorial about transmedia gaming and entertainment. Where's that glorious transmedia future we were promised?

Speaking of the future, I'm part of this classy quarterly futurist magazine called Arc. If you look at the other contributors you might see why I'm wondering if someone just put me in there by mistake. It's super awesome, and you can check it out on digital platforms or in print.

That's about it for now, aside from a very important music recommendation. For my birthday last year I threw an enormous loft party with many of our friends' bands, and Ava Luna, one of my favorite locals, was awesome enough to play. They continue to get bigger and more awesome, and now they have a new record out and the famously difficult-to-please Chris Weingarten likes them enough to put their record on Spin so that you can stream it, so you should. They're really good.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Meow

"Leigh Alexander has become a central figure in the debate, whether she likes it or not."

-- Smashing stereotypes around women and gaming, CBC News

Monday, February 6, 2012

I Guess I Got My Swagger Back

The following is a paraphrase of an email I got a couple of weeks ago, potentially containing a few direct quotes by accident.

Q: Dear Leigh Alexander, I greatly enjoy your Sexyvideo Gameland blog. But I miss when you used to write longer blog posts. Now it seems like you just link to your articles alot. I like your articles but I miss hearing your thoughts and opinions. Where is the thoughtful coverage?

A: Dear reader: In the articles. Please enjoy these links to the last couple weeks of my work. Thanks.


Road to the IGF: Die Gute Fabrik's J.S. Joust
Road to the IGF: Simogo's Beat Sneak Bandit
The Real Reason You Can't Stop Talking About Lana Del Rey
Activision commits to toy biz with new Skylanders: Giants
EA showcases 2012 lineup at New York showing
EA's faring well in the social race, but there's still a long way to go
'The world has changed': Team Ninja's Hayashi on more realistic, respectful games
Tecmo Koei: Japan's culture a 'huge treasure' in competitive market
The Dating Secrets of Your Favorite Video Game Characters
The Best Doctor's Visit You'll Never Have
The Future of Valentine's Day
Why the Chrono Cross Soundtrack is My Favorite