Vitor M. Costa

Feature

The Dark Side of Gay Culture in Mediterranea Inferno: A Profane Iconology

Examining social and existential issues in gay culture in the context of social media and conservatism

Feature

Game Masters #2: Yasumi Matsuno

How to recognize a Yasumi Matsuno RPG

SUPERJUMP PVP

SUPERJUMP PVP #2: The Hero's Journey in RPGs

Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of RPGs featuring the "hero's journey"

Feature

Beyond Imagination: Unraveling the Postmodern Mythos of Final Fantasy XIV

Examining the concepts of myth, fiction and fantasy in Final Fantasy XIV

Feature

Comparative Criticism #3: Alienation and the Other in Citizen Sleeper and Severance

Examining possibilities of labor exploitation in the future of capitalism and its psychological effects

Opinion

We Need to Talk About Gay Relationships in JRPGs

Why we need more gay representation in JRPGs and how narrative design and character writing can improve

Feature

Comparative Criticism #2: Historical Fiction in Pentiment and The Name of the Rose

Examining how to make good historical fiction

Interview

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo — An Interview with Takanari Ishiyama and Gen Kobayashi

Delving into the topic of metafictionality in adventure games with Ishiyama-san and Kobayashi-san

Review

MetaReview - Octopath Traveler II

Comparing and analyzing several game reviews of Octopath Traveler II

Review

MetaReview - Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Comparing and analyzing several game reviews on Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Feature

Comparative Criticism #1: War and the End of Humanity in Final Fantasy Type-0 and Apocalypse Now

Examining the concept of war as the failure and end of humanity

Feature

Artificial Dialogues #1: Are Video Games Art?

Chatting with an AI about Roger Scruton and Roger Ebert’s arguments against video games as an art form

SUPERJUMP PVP

SUPERJUMP PVP: Party-Based JRPGs

Vitor Costa and Alex Anyfantis examine the pros and cons of Japanese RPGs with party-based narrative and gameplay

Game Design

"2B or Not to [B]e?": The Shakespearean Question of 9S

Examining the collapse of existentialism and humanism in the role of 9S in NieR: Automata

Feature

Nobuo Uematsu and the Synthetic Neoclassicism of the Fantasian Soundtrack

Examining Nobuo Uematsu's ideas and techniques in what could be his last complete OST for a video game

Game Design

Why Random Encounters Shouldn’t Disappear in RPGs

How random encounter system can be designed in a modern and enjoyable way in current RPGs

Interview

Various Daylife: An Interview With Tomoya Asano and Masaaki Hayasaka

Exploring the design decisions behind Various Daylife

Feature

The Magical, Aristocratic Symbolism of The DioField Chronicle

Examining the ideas and techniques in Isamu Kamikokuryo's concept art

Feature

NieR: Automata and the Melancholy of the Human Voice in an Opera of Machines and Ruins

How Keiichi Okabe's music contributes to the identity of the NieR series and the humanism of NieR: Automata

Interview

NieR: Automata - An Interview with Yoko Taro, Yosuke Saito, and Keiichi Okabe

With the re-release of NieR: Automata on Nintendo Switch, the legendary minds behind the game discuss their craft in an exclusive interview

Feature

Live A Live and Its Wordless Prehistory

Examining the concept of "ludonarrative consonance" in Live A Live

Feature

Origins of the Strategy RPG (1982-1995)

An exploration of the early days of the strategy RPG genre

Feature

Intellectual Difficulty and Fairness in Tactical and Puzzle Games

Examining the difference between difficulty and fairness and how they apply to games

Feature

Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross and Temporal Ontology, Part 2

Understanding existence and identity in the different time structures of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross

Feature

Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross and Temporal Ontology, Part 1

Time Travel and Linear Time vs. Branching Time