No, this is not the Kill la Kill post. This is a list of some of the writers and critics that I like to read and study. This is just my reading list, so this list is incomplete, and if you have a writer that you find particularly insightful, let it be known down in the comments!
I also use labels like “Academic”, “Culture” and “Feminist” with some hesitation, because theres a ton of crossover between these categories. But for ease of use, these labels exist to describe the primary focus of that particular writer’s work.
Academia
- How to do Things With Videogames? by Ian Bogost
- Rules of Play by Katie Salen/Eric Zimmerman
- Persuasive Games by Ian Bogost
- Critical Distance by Various Writers
- Critical Damage by Brandon Keogh
Curated
Culture
- Errant Signal by Campster
- PBS Game/Show by Jamin Warren
- Superbunnyhop by George Weidman
- Alternate Ending by Mattie Bryce
- Dire Critic by Kris Ligman
- Embedded Games Criticism by Cara Ellison
- Extra Lives by Tom Bissell
- Grand Theft Childhood by Lawrence Kutner
Design
- Extra Credits by Extra Credits
- Game Design Workshop by Tracy Fullerton
- The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell
Feminist
Fringe
- The Videogames of the Oppressed by Mike Joffe
- Rise of the Videogame Zinesters by Anna Anthropy
- Molleindustria by Paolo Perdecini
Industry
- Lostgarden by Daniel Cook
- Leigh Alexander’s Work
- The Point by Danny O’Dwyer
- Memories of my 16-year career in videogames by Adam Sessler
Queer
- Mammon Machine by Aevee Bee
- The Borderhouse Blog
- Closing the Gap Between Queer & Mainstream Games by Samantha Allen
Consider adding (not an exhaustive list of favorites but what I thought of immediately)…
This Cage is Worms – Cameron Kunzelman http://thiscageisworms.com/ – narrative analysis, design, academic
Liz Ryerson’s blog – http://ellaguro.blogspot.com/ – narrative analysis and design
Critical-Gaming – Richard Terrell – http://critical-gaming.com/blog/ – mechanical analysis
Daniel Primed – Daniel Johnson – http://danielprimed.com/ – mechanical analysis
Groping the Elephant – Justin Keverne – http://gropingtheelephant.com/blog/ – a little slow now that he’s working on his book but it has some great level design analysis and narrative analysis
Also, it’s Brendan Keogh