Recent content by Chris LaVigne

Step Into the Light Three months ago, a medical journal published a report that could have serious implications for gamers' health. But instead of treating it as an opportunity to educate their audience, gaming sites treated the story with skepticism and contempt. Chris LaVigne examines how...

A Delicate Balance As indie gaming has exploded in growth over the past few years, so too have the identity defining questions confronting this nascent movement. Have indie developers exploited a clever hole in the market? Or are they artists dedicated to the ethos of indie through thick and...

A Distinctive Lineage Few game developers boast a resume like Don Mattrick's: Co-founder of one of the first game studios in Canada, President of Electronic Arts and Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division. But on a more local level, Mattrick may have...

But I Read It in the Papers Newspaper coverage of psychological studies on the effects of violent videogames has become the primary ammunition in a widespread cultural conflict. But it might surprise you how little thought and effort actually go into these reports. Chris LaVigne exposes the...

Videogames: Are Your Children Safe? When it comes to videogames, psychologists and social theorists have been asking the wrong questions. Instead of obsessing over the correlation between violence and videogames, researchers should ask why people - young boys, in particular - enjoy violent...

Native Resolution A Native American game developer has figured out a way to create new speakers of a language in danger of dying out, and it involves a bit of clever programming. Chris LaVigne speaks with Don Thornton, creator of RezWorld, and examines how native communities are using games to...

Review: Dokapon Kingdom What do you get when you put Monopoly, Final Fantasy and Hello Kitty in a blender? Probably something close to Dokapon Kingdom. Read Full Article

The (Slightly More Than) Twelve Games of Christmas A Charlie Brown Christmas. A Muppets Family Christmas. A Christmas Carol. Every medium has made its own contributions to the Christmas tradition - except videogames. Chris LaVigne searches for a game that truly embodies the holiday spirit...

Global Games, Local Perspectives Games can take us to exotic locales around the world - but why do they always insist on telling their stories from the same stale American, British or Japanese perspectives? Read Full Article

Review: Mount & Blade Put on some metal pants, mount your horse, and introduce sharp things to your enemies' anatomy. What could be better? Read Full Article

Review: Murder in the Abbey You'll probably fall asleep before you solve this mystery. Read Full Article

Humping the Invisible Turkey "In the 1960s, researchers from the Pennsylvania State University discovered they could easily trick male turkeys into mating with the stuffed dummy of a female turkey. More surprisingly, and somewhat pathetically, the males performed the same behavior even as the...

Big Brothers, Little Gamers "'Playing videogames was important when we first started to go on outings,' says Matt, 31, a volunteer Big Brother from London, Ontario, who has been partnered with his 15-year-old 'Little,' Patrick, for more than five years. 'It gave my Little an opportunity to do...

Review: American McGee's Grimm A darkly humorous take on classic fairy tales, complete with blood-spewing whales, wolf chunks, and pee. Read Full Article

Like a Kid Again "I'd spend hours daydreaming - drawing and writing stories about imaginary creatures and worlds I invented out of thin air. I couldn't take a breath without some absurd creation popping into my mind, begging to be smudged into life via crayons and a piece of paper. At the same...