The Tetris Effect: Understanding God’s “Good Gifts”
While I’ve always enjoyed playing Tetris, my least favorite part is waiting for the right block to come my way. Whether I’ve crafted the perfect setup for a “line” to […]
A Lesson From Nintendo: Co-op Built in From the Start
While it might sound obvious in retrospect, one of the most critical design decisions Nintendo made when developing their home gaming console was including more than one controller port. Even […]
Super Princess Peach: From Small Beginnings to “Showtime”
While Mario tends to be the star in most of Nintendo’s Mushroom Kingdom adventures, over time each of his companions have found their own personal missions in their respective spin-offs. […]
From the WiiU to the Switch: Making Masterpieces From Missteps
While the Nintendo Switch has surpassed all of Nintendo’s previous home consoles in units sold and will go down in history as one of the most successful platforms of all […]
From the Virtual Boy to the 3DS: Right Dream, Wrong Timing
While Nintendo is known for making some of the most successful and beloved gaming hardware of all time, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been made a few missteps along the […]
Console Wars: Sega Does What “Nintendon’t”?
The original “console wars” between Sega and Nintendo got a little bit feisty… both companies battled it out for the hearts (and wallets) of the gaming audience in each successive […]
Super Mario Bros: Desperately Seeking Shortcuts and Finding the WRONG Secrets
Back when the original NES Super Mario Bros. game first came out, I heard rumors that there was a secret level hidden within the game… the mysterious “World -1”. After […]
An Inconsistent Experience: Balancing “Shovelware” with the Nintendo “Seal of Approval”
After all these years, the Nintendo Wii console still stands as one of the best selling hardware platforms of all time, selling over 100 million units during its’ lifetime. But […]
Pokémon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All!
The Pokémon franchise is one of the largest on the planet, captivating massive audiences for years and challenging them to fully explore each game with one mission in mind… “Gotta […]
“Paper Mario”: A Deeper Experience Requiring a Larger Commitment
The “Paper Mario” series of games represent a massive departure from the simple “run and jump” side-scrolling adventures of a standard Mario game… these titles feature a narrative with actual […]
Finding God in Video Games 