Gamestop's market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of shares, a measure of valuation for the company) exceeded $22 billion by the end of this week, up from the quarter of a billion it was valued at the same time last year. This $22 billion valuation is greater than the market capitalization of Kellogg's, the … Continue reading Untimely meditations on a mania
Category: Rant
Good politicians should disappoint you
I'm one of those people who is "into politics" but, in my defence, I started back when it was boring. The last four years have seen politics consume everyone's attention and the results have not been edifying. If there is one political story to come out of 2020 it is that people want politics to … Continue reading Good politicians should disappoint you
Leave Lurkers Alone
When I was in university I was walking home late one night with my headphones in. The only other person around was a man walking down the sidewalk the other way and he said something like "nice night" or other some pleasantry. I wear headphones to avoid this sort of thing, and I was not … Continue reading Leave Lurkers Alone
Steam Reviews are Asinine
Preface: I wind up wanting to write this article each time I check out the reviews for a game that I like that has recently been released. The game in this case is Lucifer Within Us and I was given a press key from Kitfox Games for promotional purposes. As much as I enjoy the … Continue reading Steam Reviews are Asinine
Store Wars: Imperfect views of imperfect markets
Economics has something of an edge when it comes to respectability among the social sciences, but it is often squandered by talking heads acting like everyone else is an idiot on TV. The benefit of taking an introductory economics class is not prestige or a set of talking points but rather a set of tools … Continue reading Store Wars: Imperfect views of imperfect markets
The maturity trap
Insecurity Tabletop role-playing games have sense of insecurity hiding just beneath the surface. They haven't become the cultural phenomena video games are and certainly don't bring in the same kind of revenue. When they did have a cultural moment, part of it was being the subject of a moral panic. The outside perception of the … Continue reading The maturity trap
Thoughts on a game engine from someone who doesn’t know about game engines
Epic released a demo for the latest iteration of their game engine, Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The demo looks magnificent and has a bit where the roof opens up and lights a room with 500 detailed statues. Once I looked at Twitter I was informed that the demo, apparently, wasn't all that good. The objections … Continue reading Thoughts on a game engine from someone who doesn’t know about game engines
Criticizing Marvel
Martin Scorsese really wants you to know what movies he isn't watching. The response to Scorsese's original comments about Marvel movies not being cinema focused on whether or not he could say such things rather than whatever merits the claim had. This is an odd response, since there is nothing more Hollywood than famous people … Continue reading Criticizing Marvel
Response: Data science will not save you
This article is a critical response to the Gamasutra blog "Steam has a lack of data scientists." While it is an opinion piece, the article was widely shared and contains a number of contestable statements with regards to Steam's role, Valve's capabilities, and the ability of data science to solve structural issues for game developers. … Continue reading Response: Data science will not save you
Epic’s Tactics Are The System Working As Intended
The most perplexing feature of the commentary surrounding the Epic Games Store (EGS) is that the loudest voices assign criticism to Epic that is more appropriately targeted at Valve. The criticism that has gotten the most attention is the one that says Epic is using its timed exclusives in order to take over digital distribution, … Continue reading Epic’s Tactics Are The System Working As Intended
SystemTalk 