Posts by Leigh Alexander
In Real Life

The Beautifully Melancholy Chrono Cross Was Unfairly Overlooked

Japanese RPGs used to be a lot more controversial. Or maybe it was just because I was a teenager during the genre’s heyday — you know, when Final Fantasy games flew off shelves, when hours of CG cutscenes featuring teary-eyed androgynes were considered breathtaking rather than tiresome — and teenagers like to argue about things on the internet a lot more than people my age can stomach.


In Real Life

Why The Chrono Cross Soundtrack Is My Favourite

I think I know part of the reason Chrono Cross is less acknowledged than its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. It’s because it’s a sequel in spirit only, keeping some conceptual commonalities and a sparse few plot ones.


In Real Life

The Dating Secrets Of Your Favorite Video Game Characters

Nathan Drake has recently purchased a new MacBook, after talking to several of his friends about it for several weeks. He has done more discussing the MacBook than he has actually using it, and secretly he enjoys causing the icons to sort of ‘pop’ along the bar at the bottom of the screen more than he enjoys operating the various applications that have come with his new Apple experience.


In Real Life

Last Year’s Best, New(ish) Video Game Ideas

2011 was yet another good year for video games, but on its face it was a little predictable.


In Real Life

I Love Metal Gear, But I Don’t Want A Metal Gear Solid 5.

I am pretty much the biggest Metal Gear Solid fan there is, and I really, really hope that Metal Gear Solid 5 doesn’t happen.


In Real Life

I’m Tired Of Being A ‘Woman In Games’. I’m A Person.

Sexism in games remains an unsolved problem, it’s clear. Some of you will be nodding along, and some of you will hear the s-word and roll your eyes and go, “Oh, this again?” You guys can piss off — go click on some new screenshots or a trailer consisting of a release date slowly fading into view. You’re hopeless.


In Real Life

The Life-Changing $US20 Rightward-Facing Cow

The past year has been one of the strangest ever in the life of game designer, lecturer and author Ian Bogost. It started with the launch of the most successful game he’s ever developed, and ended with him bringing it to a strange, cathartic end.


In Real Life

Catherine Poses Questions About Mature Relationships Most Games Are Afraid To Ask

You’ve heard Catherine‘s premise already: Commitment-phobic, indecisive Vincent must choose between marriage to longtime girlfriend, Katherine, and the allure of a sexy affair with a younger girl, Catherine. You already know is it’s bizarre and surreal, and that the narrative’s interspersed with tough puzzles.


In Real Life

Sexual Video Games Are Good For Us

Recently, I curated an exhibit at Brooklyn’s Babycastles arcade, currently housed in a Williamsburg show space where indie games are on display in hand-made cabinets, alongside a lineup of bands.


In Real Life

How I Learned To Be The Bad Guy In Video Games

I suck at being the bad guy in video games. I always get all invested, and then I’m hardly ever able to commit to being evil. But for some reason, Infamous 2 has become that game that’s made it so much fun for me to be bad – and I have those annoying guys that drum on pails to thank.