Author: Tori Lear

I've wanted to be a writer since I the fourth grade, and even in the face of a failing adult life, possible lack of money, and the ridicule of some people, I continue to want to be a writer. I'm a [insert year here] and I am an English major. I like doing dumb stuff like writing while I'm half-asleep and trying to write novels in 30 days. Everyone should do it, you come up with some of the worst possible things ever when you do.

Shall I tell you about the Stars?

by Tori Lear on April 19, 2015 in Blog • 0 Comments

Sharif Ezzat’s collection of anecdotal poems titled “Like Stars in a Clear Night Sky” has already been presented twice on this blog, but I believe it deserves an even closer look than those presented earlier. “Like Stars in a Clear Night Sky” was created almost a decade ago in 2006, and is often praised for its simplistic beauty. It’s a…

Dyscourse: The Paths You Forge Are Your Own

by Tori Lear on March 28, 2015 in Blog • 1 Comment

Recently, a growing trend of including interactivity and player agency in video games has been seen. Companies such as Bioware and Telltale are well-known for having game series based heavily on player choice and interaction, and many have discussed the games’ intimate connection with the player. Still, though, there are players that argue these games merely contain the “illusion of choice”;…

I’m Null: The Character You Aren’t

by Tori Lear on March 8, 2015 in Blog • 1 Comment

“Define yourself [Integers Only]” the game says, white text displayed on a black screen. This is how I’m Null begins, and already the significance of the title is emphasized. Uploaded to Game Jolt in November of 2014, designed by Zak Ayles and coded by Devin Horsman, this browser-based Unity game is an open world, which contains many bizarre objects and…

Yume Nikki: A Story Without a Story

by Tori Lear on February 7, 2015 in Blog • 3 Comments

Horror games have become rather popular as of late, especially those which leave the player helpless and unable to fight the psychological terrors they are presented with. In 2004, however, an independent Japanese game developer called Kikiyama released a game that would focus on a still unknown horror. Yume Nikki (literally translated to “Dream Diary”) is a freeware game, created with RPG…