2020
05.18

How Sonic the Hedgehog Kept Glam Rock Alive In The Grunge Years

Category: Gaming, Music / Tag: , , , , , ,  / Comments Off on How Sonic the Hedgehog Kept Glam Rock Alive In The Grunge Years

From Vice.com.

With tears and sold-out arenas as Mötley Crüe played their contractual final shows at the end of last year, and excited speculation and controversy as the definitive members of Guns N’ Roses spend the summer on a reunion tour, it’s fair to say that there’s a palpable resurgence of interest in ’80s-style heavy metal. Couple those headlines with the facts that satirical glamsters Steel Panther are headlining London’s Wembley Arena this autumn and that Reckless Love are helping to turn Helsinki into the new Sunset Strip, and it becomes increasingly apparent that people have a rekindled affinity with big hair and big riffs. Continue reading “How Sonic the Hedgehog Kept Glam Rock Alive In The Grunge Years” »

2020
05.17

BBC The Social Videos

Category: Gaming / Tag: ,  / Comments Off on BBC The Social Videos

A collection of videos I made for BBC The Social.

I make videos for BBC The Social about the history and cultural influence of video games, which includes writing the scripts and editing the footage. You can find them embedded below in this post, as well as on the BBC website and YouTube. Continue reading “BBC The Social Videos” »

2020
05.16

A Brief History of Speedrunning

Category: Gaming / Tag: , , , , , , , , , ,  / Comments Off on A Brief History of Speedrunning

From BBC The Social.

Since the early days of the medium, speed is something that’s been rewarded in video gaming. Two of its most well-known icons have it woven into their gameplay; the original Super Mario Bros series added your remaining time to your score upon reaching the end of a level, encouraging faster playthroughs, while Sonic the Hedgehog was even born from co-creator Yuji Naka’s attempts to race through Mario’s first level as quickly as possible.

Much like real-life track and field, a certain section of gaming has come to be based around agility; alongside the rise of e-sports – a huge industry centred around public, competitive gameplay – a phenomenon known as speedrunning has emerged, in which players post their quickest times for getting to the end credits of a game. It’s something that’s resonated with gaming fans around the globe, giving rise to wildly popular YouTube channels, charity events and groups who promote the practice. Continue reading “A Brief History of Speedrunning” »