Hey everyone! It’s Friday, and the internet is still a thing, so why not another Found-On-The-Internet Friday roundup?
Today’s links all fit under the day’s theme of “awesome.”
“Hey wait a minute intern-Paul,” you might be saying. “‘Awesome’ is all fine and good, but isn’t that too subjective and nondescript a term to use as a superfluous categorization for a list of independently-sourced elements?”
We’d share a brief, awkward stare, and then join each other in a fit of laughter as I realize that you were really only joking. It was a dumb question. I know you’re better than that.
Women Join the Arcade Revolution
This is a really interesting piece of history. Scans of a 1982 Electronic Games article on the supposed emergence—at the time—of female gamers following the advent of Atari arcade systems. A lot of it is surprisingly optimistic, while a lot of it is also sort of cringe-worthy in its near-provincialism (like those last two paragraphs), but it’s all a pretty neat look at the state of the field in what was really only the infancy of gaming culture. Also the Tumblr blog itself, Old Game Magazines, is a wonderful compendium of nostalgia.
How best to describe this one? A point-and-click musical adventure game in claymation with a main character without a conventionally-established gender identity. I suppose that works. What makes the game so interesting though, aside from all those other really interesting points, is how adeptly subversive the entire thing is. The creator, sole voice actor and developer Dierdra Kiai is well aware of what you’re expecting, and seems willing to circle around your expectations every step of the way in producing probably the most unique noire twist I’ve ever encountered. Did I mention it’s a claymation musical? It’s a claymation musical. There’s a free demo available on the site, and it’s expansive enough to keep you interested.
People of Colour in European Art History
A Tumblr blog dedicated to ruminations on and instances in European medieval and/or renaissance art where people of colour are present—a side of history often and strangely overlooked. There are a lot of wonderful pieces found, too. Definitely worth checking out.
Real Actors Read (GottaKidtoFeed)
I’m going to now declare this as one of my favourite YouTube channels. Whether it’s Yelp, Craigslist or Christian forums, each RAR video includes a stage actor providing a dramatic reading of various reviews or posts found on the internet. Most are hilarious. Some are genuinely heartfelt and sad. Others are just weird. But they’re all superbly acted.
Paralect is a game unlike others I’ve come across, with a clear focus on providing an engaging and interactive narrative in ways never really tackled before. Rather than being forced to read through dialogue, you navigate through it as a new platform. Tasks, environments and its population are all fairly surreal and stylized, and the game, according to its lead designer Loan Verneau, is an attempt to express paradigm shift and culture shock through the interactive medium. Soon the world your avatar inhabits grows, shrinks or otherwise evolves into a radical new perspective. The experience is pretty fantastic and engaging. There’s a beta available for both Windows and Mac machines, so have at it!