Tag Archives: Kana Little Sister

From the Archives: On the “Idiocy” of Interactive Storytelling

April 16, 2017 Pete Davison 6 Comments

Back at the end of November 2012, this article appeared over on community-led games writing site Bitmob (now folded into VentureBeat’s GamesBeat).

For those too lazy to follow the link and/or read the article, the gist is as follows: Shawn McGrath, creator of the psychedelic abstract shooter Dyad for PlayStation 3, made some rather bold proclamations on how inappropriate he thought video games were as a medium for telling stories.

Specifically, he noted that “linear story and interactive anything are diametrically opposed,” that they “make no sense together at all” and that “any attempt to put storylines in games in any traditional sense is completely idiotic.”

Strong words indeed. So what was his justification for this?

This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2012 as part of the site’s regular READ.ME column on visual novels. It has been republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.

Continue reading From the Archives: On the “Idiocy” of Interactive Storytelling →

From the Archives, READ.ME

From the Archives: The Guilty Pleasures of the Bad Ending

February 23, 2017 Pete Davison 2 Comments

“Failure is not an option.” It’s a mantra we’ve had repeatedly rammed down our throats since the dawn of gaming — sometimes using those exact words — but is it really true?

Well, in the case of most games, yes — “failing” whatever task you have been set usually results in a Game Over screen (or, in more recent titles, particularly on console, an automatic reload from a checkpoint).

But in the case of visual novels, failure is often not only an option, it’s sometimes outright desirable to seek it out, if only for a certain sense of perverse pleasure in seeing characters suffering anything from a mild setback to extreme tragedy. The emotional engagement endemic to the medium means that sometimes “bad endings” can be even more striking and memorable than the good ones.

Continue reading From the Archives: The Guilty Pleasures of the Bad Ending →

From the Archives, MoeGamer 1.0

We Need to Talk About Your Sister

May 1, 2014 Pete Davison 8 Comments

The definition of a “classic” varies from person to person in any medium, but if ever there were a visual novel that deserves to be branded with this label, it would be Kana Little Sister from D.O.

It’s a title that most enthusiasts of the medium have at least heard of if not played, and one which has gained some notoriety even outside of the core fanbase — though not necessarily for the right reasons, it has to be said.

Kana Little Sister, you see, makes people uncomfortable. Rather than this aspect making it something to shy away from, however, it’s one of the more interesting things about it. Considering why it makes people uncomfortable and whether or not those reasons are justified make up a big part of any discussion surrounding this remarkable work — and that alone makes it a fascinating title to study.

Continue reading We Need to Talk About Your Sister →

The best of overlooked and underappreciated computer and video games, from yesterday and today.