In Cerebro Veritas

Rome is at once crumbling and filled with life. It is simultaneously chaotic, a cradle of raw civilization and an overgrown, ancient ruin.

Merge Conflict

My mind split into two branches; both of which I experienced simultaneously with a seemingly limitless supply of attention

dreamGames – Electric

She called herself "Electric" and suffered from debilitating migraines every four days. Electric, or El for short, came to me broken and seeking a cure for an abstract pain in her dreams, to which I could only reply, "I'm not a medical doctor, but I will try to help." "A doctor of dreams then," she … Continue reading dreamGames – Electric →

dreamGames – Bertrand

At first, Bertrand thought, his nightmare started as it always did; the yelps of laughter and chaos of a school playground, followed by a sense of dread that all was not well. The sounds were jovial and yet the environment was distorting with every passing second: the grim pavement, covered in skewed, multicoloured chalk curved … Continue reading dreamGames – Bertrand →

dreamGames – part 1

1 – Murder Eyes open. I launch myself from the starchy bed, leaping onto shaky feet and I’m up. Awake. No, scratch that - I’m asleep, adrift in my dreams, floating in lucid-space. My eyes perceive solid shapes as fuzzy outlines and the world is spinning, racing past my drunken gaze. A door. Open it! … Continue reading dreamGames – part 1 →

Spider-Man and Gameplay Flow

These days, when I'm not writing up my PhD thesis or changing a 2 month old's nappy, I spend my time swinging through Insomniac's virtual Manhattan, the way only a Spider can. Yes, I'm talking about Spider-Man, recently released on PS4 by the people behind Spyro, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance. In this article, I want … Continue reading Spider-Man and Gameplay Flow →

Fatherhood, ISMRM and depression

This August, I’m going to be a father. Naturally, I’m quite excited. I’m also anxious: it turns out that juggling the trifecta of finishing a PhD, job hunting and reading endless books about how to deal with the alien lifeform that’s going to come shooting out of my wife, isn’t easy. This week, I’ve left … Continue reading Fatherhood, ISMRM and depression →

A theoretical framework for two novel rule-variants for a popular trading card game

Abstract A 3-person, probabilistic rule-set for the Pokémon TCG is described that aims to maximize fairness for all players. Several nuances are described and some tentative solutions are proposed. This rule-set was developed following experimental data. Additionally, a theoretical Strip-variant is proposed, but not practised here. This study adds to an unofficial database of alternative … Continue reading A theoretical framework for two novel rule-variants for a popular trading card game →

Horizon: Zero Daaamn

The brief flurry of snow across Eastern England yesterday got me thinking about Horizon Zero Dawn (specifically the Frozen Wilds DLC), my absolute favourite game this year - maybe even on PS4 so far. I thought about writing a large article about how much I love the game, how beautiful it is, how spot on … Continue reading Horizon: Zero Daaamn →

My Life in Video Games: Part 2

Here we go, readers, part 2 of my acclaimed series. In this part, we delve deeper into the Temple of Doom-esque eyeball soup that comprises my psyche. You scared? Good. That means we're ready. FLASHBANG! Last we met, we left our story in the midst of Nathan Drake's pièce de résistance, and just after the … Continue reading My Life in Video Games: Part 2 →