[The Troops]

Bravely Default.

The new game from MasterCard Interactive.

[The Troops]

[The Troops]

That familiar crisp October chill prickles the senses of high school freshmen, single file, waiting to march through the metal detectors, skin tingling like the knees of old men before a storm: T-minus a few days until various megacorporations release the fifth annual installments of Unlockable Weapon Attachments: The Game. One version, Battlefield 3, actually runs in a window that is launched from a browser. The six-figure-salary-earning reasoning behind that one: something something Facebook, something something PC, something something expanded audience. The game doubles as its own social networking site, complete with a Like-like "Hooah" link on each page. How the fuck did we get here. I think we can trace the roots of the global gaming crisis to 2008, when risky investors were able to buy things directly out of MGS4's pause menu.

Shortly after Call of Duty 4 came out, I wrote a little text file into my game design doc folder, called PTSD (Postmodern Warfare, at the time). The game essentially forces you to use the Call of Duty mechanics in everyday suburban situations, revealing their limitations. My favorite brainstorm: You could equip a cup of Starbucks Mall Kiosk Coffee, and click the left stick to run with it like a football, tap the D-pad to take off the lid attachment, then aim down the sights, and pull the right trigger to throw it into your face, scalding you for life. Interestingly, I tried to come up with a PREDATOR equivalent for small-town America, and ended up saying fuck it and scribbling in, "RC Car." Hmm.

[The Troops]

KISS WIFE

[The Troops]

http://kotaku.com/5867638/a-video-game-made-me-come-clean-about-infidelity

[The Troops]

Space plus time is too much state to keep in head at one time.

-- gaben