How the Meaning of Vanquish (and Spec Ops: The Line) Changed

► Support the show on Patreon (it means a lot) - https://www.patreon.com/writingongames ► Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/writing-on-gamescast/id1124674245 ► Podcast RSS feed - http://writingongamescast.libsyn.com/rss ► Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/hamboblack ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/writingongames/ --- Vanquish was recently re-released on PC to the delight of the cult following it has developed since 2010. Whilst the experience has remained largely unchanged, however, as a whole it meant something very different to me now than it did back then; all because of the new context under which I was playing it. This also got me thinking about games whose themes rely on context to convey meaning. Spec Ops: The Line turns five in June, and yet the industry it was furiously reacting against has changed dramatically since then. In this episode of Writing on Games then, I want to explore just how much a shift in context can have on the meaning of a game, and what this means for the future of our medium. --- Nier Automata & How We Define Meaning in Video Games (SPOILERS) - [game array] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjJ8skeG1g Why Sledgehammer's founders wanted to take Call of Duty back to World War 2 (VentureBeat) - https://venturebeat.com/2017/04/26/why-sledgehammers-founders-wanted-to-take-call-of-duty-back-to-world-war-ii/ EA turns horrors of WWI into tone-deaf Battlefield 1 memes, quickly deletes them (Polygon) - https://www.polygon.com/2016/10/31/13478344/battlefield-1-ea-deleted-tweets-marketing --- Call of Duty WW2/Infinite Warfare footage from Activision Battlefield One/Army of Two footage from EA Far Cry 5/Rainbow Six Siege footage from Ubisoft Gears of War footage from Microsoft Bayonetta footage from Sega Devil May Cry 4 footage from Thunder Kat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CcQEW8bjlk 50 Cent Blood on the Sand footage from gamesoverdose - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qADNFcVQ4c --- Thank you all SO much for your continued support. Whether you support the Patreon, subscribed or just watch the video, I just want to say thank you—people like you are changing my life for the better every day. ---