Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games
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A wide-ranging anthology of essays exploring one of the most vital art forms on the planet today
From the earliest computers to the smartphones in our pockets, video games have been on our screens and part of our lives for over fifty years. Critical Hits celebrates this sophisticated medium and considers its lasting impact on our culture and ourselves.
This collection of stylish, passionate, and searching essays opens with an introduction by Carmen Maria Machado, who edited the anthology alongside J. Robert Lennon. In these pages, writer-gamers find solace from illness and grief, test ideas about language, bodies, power, race, and technology, and see their experiences and identities reflected in―or complicated by―the interactive virtual worlds they inhabit. Elissa Washuta immerses herself in The Last of Us during the first summer of the pandemic. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah describes his last goodbye to his father with the help of Disco Elysium. Jamil Jan Kochai remembers being an Afghan American teenager killing Afghan insurgents in Call of Duty. Also included are a comic by MariNaomi about her time as a video game producer; a deep dive into “portal fantasy” movies about video games by Charlie Jane Anders; and new work by Alexander Chee, Hanif Abdurraqib, Larissa Pham, and many more.
Publisher : Graywolf Press (November 21, 2023)
Language : English
Paperback : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 1644452618
ISBN-13 : 978-1644452615
Item Weight : 11.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.65 x 8.2 inches
Ry –
Pleasantly Surprised
I was a bit afraid that this book would come off a bit surface-level or focus more on the media form itself than the personal experiences/storytelling that stem from it, but of course I should’ve known better than to doubt Carmen Maria-Machado and the other lovely writers/editors involved in this collection. As with all essay and story collections, some will work for individual readers better than others, but I found myself really engaging with most of them (even the ones about games I’ve never played myself). Well done 🙂
nnyyll55 –
Nice
I play video games and it is nice to read how others play them and equate them with real life issues. Good read.
KC 667 –
Great gaming anthology!
Critical Hits brings us some amazing essays on gaming. The nostalgia of playing nascent systems from the older writers some of whom have gamer kids. The choices made by game designers that uphold white supremacy. The grief felt when a main character dies, for real, not temporarily. This volume has interesting viewpoints about video games. Some made me think, oh, I never thought about it this way. Some made me feel seen. Truly the sign of a fantastic anthology!