Video games have an interesting media image, don’t they? It’s often hard to really know exactly what gaming wants to be and it’s not uncommon to find just as many examples of this wonderful artform being a puerile death spectacle for sugar addicts as it is a transformative and immersive platform for grown ups and arty types. So what is gaming? What is this unique culture that we love? That’s the question we seek an answer to at Digital Brain and it’s one without a clear answer. Only strands of truth that lead you to something clearer and more coherent – we want to pick up those loose ends and chase them to the source. We may never get to the bottom of all this, and the question may lay unanswered, but that’s okay! Why would you want a final answer to something so interesting? Rather our goal is to illuminate and explore, gaze in wonder, and recoil in terror, hopefully with a little bit of humour along the way.
Digital Brain seeks to avoid the usual aqueduct of internet hyperbole by being as analytical and intelligent as we can without taking ourselves too seriously. We want to report and analyze our own experiences in our favourite digital spaces in an accessible way that avoids the usual pitfalls of online commentary. We want to highlight the art at the center of all of this without being too quick to anger and too slow to forgive. Gaming is a unique, artistic form of ‘play’ and we will approach it with the glee of a toddler. We will pick apart what works and what doesn’t, what succeeds and what fails, what moves us and what doesn’t. We want to understand why we enjoy this strange and unique culture so much.
Expect everything from reviews to formal critique, and long form video essays, to interviews with our favourite creatives and the occasional features. Oh, and we’re not afraid of lists.
Digital Brain is maintained by one man pizza consumption droid Graham Stephen and perhaps some similiarly motivated guests. If you like pizza and coffee and video games too and you’d like to contribute to this ever evolving coffee war machine then you can contact me here.
Digital Brain 