Assassin’s Creed

First Person Podcast Episode 47

Queer Representation in Gaming

Giuseppe Femia, Alex Chalk, and Patrick Dolan

Welcome to the 47th episode of First-Person Podcast and Happy Pride Month everybody! This episode we are going to be looking at and talking about queer representation in gaming. Whether it be queer theming, queer performativity, or explicitly queer characters, we want to try and open up the conversation a bit more looking at the way gaming media frames queer values and narratives. Join us as we look into both mainstream and indie games and discuss our experience with them. Continue Reading →

It’s Dangerous to Go Alone

Patrick Dolan, Sabrina Sgandurra, and Lillian A. Black

Back in July betsy, Chris, and Rob said their farewells and hinted at some changes for the coming year. After some time at the character selection screen, Sabrina, Patrick, and Lia have been chosen to take up the mantle and continue the adventure that FPS started all those years ago. And what better way to start than with some introductions and an unveiling of those changes. Continue Reading →

Dear Boss

Evie Frye and the narrative style of Assassin’s Creed Jack the Ripper DLC

Kelly Hornung

Following the release of their 2016 title, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Ubisoft released a downloadable companion game in which players are given the opportunity to once again walk the streets of Victorian London with assassin twin siblings, Jacob and Evie Frye, to investigate the unsolved crimes of the famed murderer known as Jack the Ripper. Yet rather than retelling the story about two twins who use cunning and skill to save London, the DLC sets its sights on Evie as the hero of the game. Cool and uncompromising, Evie sets herself apart as a playable protagonist proving that female video game characters do not need to be young, inexperienced, or rely on others in order to succeed and win. Continue Reading →

Early Modernity and Video Games

by Tobias Winnerling and Florian Kerschbaumer

David Hussey

The book outlines early on that the way that the authors are examining history is more related to present memory than history itself (xix); in other words, the way we tell history is always reflective of the time we live. This precept holds true as games themselves can be considered historical objects, but the ones that the book examines are about the representation of history. Overall, Early Modernity and Video Games manages to present some worthwhile strategies and theories to studying videogames through a historical lens, but is limited because of its early entry into this field. Continue Reading →