It’s possible to love a video game. To be devoted to it, to value what it does for you, and how it makes you feel. To want the best for it. Not in the same way you love a person — or at least, I hope not. But take a look at any major fan convention for video games, movies, TV, or almost anything that develops a subculture, and you can see this love is real, active, and powerful. And of course, profitable. And if it’s possible to love a video game, then of course it’s possible to fall out of love. To feel disconnected from what first drew you to it. To realize that it isn’t giving you everything it once did, and you can’t give it what it needs from you. Especially if what it needs is regular digital purchases in order to get a competitive advantage in gameplay. I loved Overwatch once. I don’t anymore. How that happened is, I think, worth examining. This Dear John letter is a broad history of the game Overwatch itself, and its relationship with both its own players and the company that made it. The honeymoon phase In 2016, Overwatch was a big deal. A Team Fortress 2-style team shooter, made by the people who brought us Starcraft and Diablo, with incredible character designs that looked like Pixar had decided to reboot G.I. Joe? Players couldn’t get enough of it. And indeed, for the first couple of years Overwatch was a 600-pound Winston of the gaming landscape, dominating game coverage, showing up constantly on Let’s Plays, and causing an excited... Continue reading at 'PC World'
[ PC World | 2022-11-01 15:51:22 UTC ]
A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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As quarantine continues, we’re all noticing that we respond to lockdown differently. While many spend each day providing care, food and other necessities, those of us privileged enough to be 'stuck at home' are seeing our friends’ and family members’ behaviour change under the new... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-04-17 15:42:05 UTC ]
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In the midst of researching news reports and washing your hands, here is a list of 15 funny short stories and books to brighten your mood. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-27 10:34:44 UTC ]
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W&N is publishing Irish author Cathy Sweeney's debut collection of short stories, described as a "look at the world from a lopsided perspective", following a "heated" auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-27 07:58:19 UTC ]
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Google has launched a new program called Stadia Makers that could lead to the release of more titles for the platform, particularly ones from experienced indie developers. The tech giant has announced the project during its virtual Games Developer Su... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-03-24 12:31:00 UTC ]
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A reader who fell out of love with short story collections ponders how best to make reading short stories part of the routine again. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-18 10:39:38 UTC ]
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Ken Liu, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of more acclaimed SFF short stories than you can shake a futuristic stick at, will soon be bringing his expansive imagination to the small screen. As Publishers Marketplace announced earlier today, AMC has acquired the rights to the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-13 14:30:21 UTC ]
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This week, Karen Thompson Walker reviews Gish Jen’s new novel, “The Resisters.” In 1999, Jean Thompson wrote for the Book Review about “Who’s Irish?,” Jen’s collection of short stories about the ambitions and compromises of immigrants and their children. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-21 10:00:05 UTC ]
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Tuesday 10 March Omar Ghobash in Conversation with Philippe Sands11.45-12.15, English PEN Literary Salon (3E90), OlympiaOmar Ghobash is a former diplomat and the author of Letters to a Young Muslim (Picador 2018), an exploration of the complexities of life as a modern Muslim, written as a... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-02-17 10:55:59 UTC ]
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Khulood Al Mu’alla Khulood Al Mu’alla was chosen this year as an honorary member of the Costa Rica Poetry Foundation and advisor to the International Poetry Festival of Costa Rica. She was honoured along with three poets as part of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Poets of... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-01-27 10:55:59 UTC ]
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The novelist on William Blake, crying through Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and an insightful poem about teenage masturbationBorn in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1978, Emma Jane Unsworth studied English literature at the University of Liverpool and received an MA from Manchester University’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-01-26 10:00:20 UTC ]
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This week, Jabari Asim reviews a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston. In 1978, Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote for the Book Review about Robert Hemenway’s “Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-01-24 10:00:06 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Cecilia Simon Photo by Michael Gaida / Pixabay “Health is whatever works and for how long.” This phrase was announced to our literature and medicine class the first week of the fall 2019 semester. Dr. Ronald Schleifer, the instructor, used... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-22 16:01:00 UTC ]
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My Afghan godfather, a bristling military man, who at one time back in the 1930s held the all-India motorcycle speed record, spoke of A Sportsman’s Notebook as one of the two or three books that formed and continued to inform his mind. I remember his copy of it lying on his bedside table,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-07 09:48:06 UTC ]
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This week, Annalisa Quinn reviews John L’Heureux’s story collection “The Heart Is a Full-Wild Beast.” In 1984, L’Heureux wrote for the Book Review about “The Best American Short Stories 1984,” selected by John Updike. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-01-03 10:00:04 UTC ]
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If you find the holidays more foreboding than cheerful, find someone to relate to in these 4 free holiday short stories available to read online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-16 11:35:47 UTC ]
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From meditations on the d/Deaf experience to short stories blurring the mythic and the gothic with the everyday, from mixing the personal and political to a young woman uncover the truth about her family’s past – four outstanding writers have today been named on the shortlist for The Sunday... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-11-04 12:55:09 UTC ]
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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]
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The genre is experiencing a renaissance with quality novels and short stories from new and established authors. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-10-29 18:17:37 UTC ]
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Duolingo's library of interactive short stories is finally available for mobile, particularly for iPhones. The language-learning portal's Stories feature, which offers over 100 fully voiced bite-sized stories designed to test your reading and listeni... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-10-29 11:00:00 UTC ]
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