Use this form to contact me, or send your email directly to larcenousdesigns@gmail.com.
This is the blog of Larcenous Designs, LLC, through which I (Nathan Rockwood) will be publishing thoughts and ramblings related to my business' projects, which may include anything related to games, game design, and the use of gaming in education.
Comments will be moderated without mercy.
Filtering by Tag: Teaching
Today, shockingly enough, marks the fifth anniversary of the formal founding of Larcenous Designs, LLC. While the idea had been kicking around for years beforehand, this nonetheless feels worthy of celebrating!
Read MoreDontnod’s Life is Strange is my current favorite example of a game as literature--and as one can probably tell from the tattoo that now covers my forearm, I have invested a considerable amount of thought into this. Too much thought, in fact, to fit it all into a single blog post or essay.
That said, I figured I have to start somewhere! First, in this post, I’m going to go through rundown of LiS’s most prominent theme and how it gets delivered through both narrative elements and game mechanics. If I can find the time, I’ll get around to other things about the game--its complicated relationship with the presentation of mental health issues, a discussion of the endings, situations it handles well or poorly, etc--in other posts.
So, why do I have this tattoo (image after the cut) on my arm? Read on to find out!
(And here's a video for a closer look at the tattoo!)
Note: Spoilers abound, and I’m not going to be simply reiterating the plot here, so please: go play the game before reading further! Or, at least, watch the amazingly complete playthroughs and theorycraft videos of Geek Remix, which I watched to help refresh myself on the game while writing this!
Read MoreThis is the third part of an ongoing series about teaching games--both video games and tabletop role playing games--as literature.
I’ve discussed my reasons for using games as literature in school, but I’ve mostly stuck to the theory so far. Time to address the practical side of this issue: What are the quantifiable outcomes, both benefits and drawbacks, of using games as literature?
Read MoreThis is the second part of an ongoing series about teaching games--both video games and tabletop role playing games--as literature.
In my last post, I defined literature as written work that has significance and beauty to us, a modern audience. Now I want to tackle the next big question: what does that mean for alternative mediums?
Read MoreThis is the first part of an ongoing series about teaching games--both video games and tabletop role playing games--as literature.
We should teach games the same way we teach books: as literature.
Yes, seriously. Games as Lit. Bear with me here.
Read More
