Big Walk

People talk about these novel multiplayer games as though they're reinventing human communication or uncovering some obscure truth about our species, and I think that's a lot of hyperbole. Sorry if I'm raining on anybody's parade here. But Journey was not that deep. I mean, I don't think we do it a favor by acting like it was. It did tell us something about communication, but in a narrow sense--it demonstrated what you can do with your online experience when you don't provide a means for 13-year-olds to say slurs in it. Give a group of people a surface and something to write with and someone will draw a dick 100% of the time; Journey pointedly asked, in a way few games had, how we might put players in situations that encourage positive feelings toward one another on purpose. I've been playing Elden Ring online, despite everything, and I feel similarly about it in that it doesn't allow unsolicited PVP and incentivizes helpful messages. You're contributing to a body of knowledge.…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town