PixlBit

With hundreds of new indie games spilling onto the scene each month, it's easy to overlook some of the more deserving but obscure titles. Thus, this blog.

With hundreds of new indie games spilling onto the scene each month, it's easy to overlook some of the more deserving but obscure titles. Thus, this blog.

With hundreds of new indie games spilling onto the scene each month, it's easy to overlook some of the more deserving but obscure titles. Thus, this blog.

As much as I love my Marios and Halos, the burgeoning indie scene is becoming undeniably compelling with hugely creative works gracing everything from the PC to the iPad. Unfortunately, for every Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, and Gone Home, there are hundreds of wonderful titles that remain tragically ignored or overlooked.

Just stopped by the Atari Age website--the place to be if you're into old-school, homebrew goodness!--and discovered a quick feature on Retro, a new gaming magazine looking for funding on Kickstarter.

For any of you creative types out there, be grateful you live in the 21^st century. Thanks to the advent of the Internet and social media, artists of all stripes now have an unprecedented amount of opportunity to express themselves to the world. Money, connections, and even a higher education are no longer needed—the artist just needs to grab the instrument or device of his choice and create the masterpiece of his dreams. Follow that up with a quick upload to the appropriate site on the Web, and fame is just a click away.

*Sigh*

The video game hobby is one loved by all, right? Not exactly. Violence, anti-social behavior, obesity—within certain circles, video games are blamed and hated for many things.

Back in the good ol’ days of the NES, I vaguely recall Nintendo being accused of fabricating cartridge shortages to help stimulate the demand for certain, prominent titles.  Indeed, I can distinctly remember the inexplicable scarcity of Super Mario Bros. 3—it took my poor friend months to snag a copy.  The Big N would eventually be hit with anti-trust charges for this and other, more egregious sins—the worst of which involved price-fixing and the bullying of retailers into only carrying certain products.  But it wasn’t really until Sega’s success with its Genesis console that Nintendo was finally humbled enough to dial back some of its worst transgressions.

Bioshock Infinite is a masterwork of both style and substance—its high-minded, dramatic storytelling not only challenges the intellect, but it does so in conjunction with action-driven gameplay and an atmospheric world both surreal and sublime in its beauty.  This is no trivial feat, especially considering the medium’s history; traditionally, games providing any semblance of an intelligent narrative have tended to do so at the expense of both action and thrills.