Blog posts and articles written by Play the Past authors, and guest authors.
2011 has been good to Play the Past…really good. We’ve had great articles and great discussions. And to top it all off, we celebrated our first birthday. With the holiday season upon us, however, Play the Past is going on its annual publishing hiatus. Don’t fear, we’re just taking aContinue Reading
Its that time of year again. The semester is coming to an end (or has come to an end), grades (or assignments) have been submitted, final lectures have been delivered (or attended), and each of the good little girls and boys around the Play the Past offices are seriously lookingContinue Reading
Last time, I spoke about how culture in RIFT, an MMO from Trion, is constructed (or not constructed) across the various character races and how this impacts player experience through their avatar. I want to look at the same kind of idea today, but through the lens of narrative andContinue Reading
Common Misconceptions About Replica Watches One common misconception is that replica watches are on par with original Rolex watches in terms of water resistance. However, this is often not the case, as the two types of watches are made with distinct purposes and quality standards in mind. Factors to ConsiderContinue Reading
Before getting into the guts of this piece, first a little context: I have a fairly extensive background in gaming of all sorts, which is pretty much what one would expect from a child of the 1980s. Growing up, one could always find in my house worn and well-used boardContinue Reading
The operatives of Team Agathoboulos in Operation KTHMA (aka Greek Historical Writings) are tasked with playing an aspiring tragedian. Tragedy, that arguably greatest of dramatic genres, held incredible cultural importance in the Athens of Herodotus and Thucydides; the tragic drama of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides–along with that of the countlessContinue Reading
Gamification – love it or hate it, any time you use some sort of game mechanic, you’ve done it. Which makes ‘being a student’ the ultimate game of all. Write an essay, do a mid term, ace the final, level up to the next course, forget the previous course’s content…Continue Reading
While playing BioShock, we are conducting an anthropological investigation that has a direct effect on how we interact with the narrative and the choices we make. Similar to Fallout 3, as discussed in Trevor’s post, we are given the chance to explore a world, make our interpretations about what itContinue Reading
1 year ago today, Play the Past went live. It was the culmination of a process which, I’m not afraid to admit, started out with the kind of gluttonous domain registrations binge to which many of us are prone. Playthepast.org was one of those domains that I was sure I could doContinue Reading
Most games of the RPG variety have a number of races from which a player may choose when designing their characters. Orcs, humans, elves – the typical. Although on the surface, these appear to be shallow choices made in the interest only of appearance (green skin!) or some racial buffContinue Reading