video games

Genes in Space

4 February, 2014
Miscellaneous

Today, Cancer Research UK have launched the game which they and Guerilla Tea developed as a result of the #CRUKgame hackathon in March 2013.

Genes in Space

Play to Cure: Genes in Space (iStore & Google Play) is a shockingly addictive resource-gathering game, in which you play a pilot on the hunt for Element Alpha. This substance appears along a track in the form of clouds, which correspond with ticks on graphs of genetic data. It’s these graphs which Cancer Research UK need analysed, and so whenever a player plots a course across these graphs, or collects Element Alpha within the game, they are actively contributing to data analysis which furthers the fight against cancer.

Test Kit

31 January, 2014
Methods

One of the most important lessons I had reinforced when working at Playniac was the value of a good paper testing kit. Any game designer… Read More »Test Kit

Women in Games Development

10 February, 201225 October, 2020
Culture, Industry

I am currently reading Introducing Feminism: A Graphic Guide. I’m reading up on the subject after a heated debate about women in games development erupted… Read More »Women in Games Development

An Adventure of Sorts

18 May, 201118 December, 2011
Reviews

Magicka is a game which has crept up on myself and my game-playing friends, and taken us all completely by surprise. It isn’t a perfect… Read More »An Adventure of Sorts

StarCraft II

25 September, 2010
Reviews

I’ve been playing StarCraft II for a few weeks now, and I am impressed. This is the first Blizzard ‘RTS’ (real-time strategy) game I’ve played, and it’s easily changed my perspective on the genre and modern-day gaming. I’ve long enjoyed RTS games, but have typically played the same titles for a few years at a time. My experience of RTS games is pretty limited as a result. I tend to fare poorly in single-player games, and have usually leaned on co-operative modes for fun instead.

StarCraft II is beset by an audience of keen veterans; this much I knew from the beginning. Though I was excited about the game prior to its release, it was really only because the game looked glitzy and because I’d come to enjoy Blizzard games through my time in World of Warcraft. I haven’t played the first game, or any of its fantasy counterparts in the Warcraft series. Fortunately the game has been designed with newcomers in mind, and while the online matches can be a hostile place indeed, the single-player campaign serves up some friendly scenarios to help orientate us.