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Hart Crompton
Hart Crompton

1 Follower

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Dec 16, 2020

The Unending Crunch Conversation

Of course this is about Cyberpunk. Of course this has nothing to do with Cyberpunk. In high school, I had a teacher who taught me to knife fight. Don’t worry, it was after school. …

Videogames

2 min read

Videogames

2 min read


Nov 2, 2020

Gamers Use the Trans Panic Defense

Content Warning: Violence towards trans-women; bigotry; gamers™, The Last of Us Part II spoilers. “I told you I was sorry.” Those were the last words Gwen Araujo spoke before being beaten to death. Gwen was a trans woman who was murdered in cold blood after a group of men questioned…

7 min read

7 min read


Nov 2, 2020

What the Heck Do Players Want?

An essay about knowing not just what video game players want, but why they want those things. The fandom of every minimally to hugely successful video game is an ever shifting tide. Players say they want a thing, and then complain upon receiving it. …

Game Design

7 min read

Game Design

7 min read


Nov 2, 2020

A Love Letter to Death Stranding’s Truck

The first several hours of Death Stranding have you (as Norman Reedus (as Sam Porter Bridges)) delivering dozens if not hundreds of kilos of packages on foot through a ghost-infested wasteland. Your shoes are wearing out, you’re forcing Sam to jack-hammer six bottles of Monster Energy to stay awake, you’re…

Game Design

4 min read

Game Design

4 min read


Jul 30, 2020

Counting Frames in Dishonored 1 & 2

Dishonored 2 has always felt a bit strange to me from a gameplay perspective. There has always been a nebulous wrongness with how the game plays when compared to Dishonored 1. Not in the larger-scope, the games are very similar in structure, although Dishonored 2 does seem to have larger…

Game Design

4 min read

Counting Frames in Dishonored 1 & 2
Counting Frames in Dishonored 1 & 2
Game Design

4 min read


Jul 17, 2020

I can’t stop thinking about the design of Control

This is about Remedy’s latest game, Control. The Oldest House is a place of order. It grows far and away above the New York skyline, its concrete obelisk pierces the sky. The sky opens wide and reaches back. The walls are so very thin. The ocean beyond is so very…

Game Design

11 min read

I can’t stop thinking about the design of Control
I can’t stop thinking about the design of Control
Game Design

11 min read


Jun 18, 2020

Ghosts That Will Never Go Away

This is an essay about ghosts. It is — incidentally — also about Death Stranding and couriers. I watched Cameron die seven times. He raced the train, it won. He didn’t see the train, the train (and its sixty tons of unthinking steel) didn’t care. He tried to stop, the…

Ghosts

26 min read

Ghosts That Will Never Go Away
Ghosts That Will Never Go Away
Ghosts

26 min read


May 28, 2020

Design Will Always Hurt People

This is an essay about hurting people with design. It is also about tech, city planning, and the KKK. “Do no harm,” is a quaint, well-meaning adage. I’ve certainly heard it bandied about in a wide variety of professions, followed by nods and the slight furrowing of brows. Outside…

12 min read

Design Will Always Hurt People
Design Will Always Hurt People

12 min read


Apr 21, 2020

Syberia (2002) Has the Worst Puzzle in Gaming History

Syberia (Microïds, 2002) is a point-and-click adventure game which contains the most perfectly awful puzzle I have ever experienced. If you were to draw a Venn diagram of all the overlapping cruelties it would be hazardous to stare at the chart for prolonged periods of time. …

Game Design

10 min read

Syberia (2002) Has the Worst Puzzle in Gaming History
Syberia (2002) Has the Worst Puzzle in Gaming History
Game Design

10 min read


Mar 7, 2020

Destiny is Finally Addressing Longevity

Destiny 2 needed to finally address its longevity problem. The latest director’s cut by Luke smith has revealed that going forward, weapons will not be able to be brought up to all future power levels. After some number of seasons or expansions, weapons will reach their upgrade ceiling and will…

Game Design

6 min read

Destiny is Finally Addressing Longevity
Destiny is Finally Addressing Longevity
Game Design

6 min read

Hart Crompton

Hart Crompton

1 Follower

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