Author Archives: Adam Harshberger

How A Videogame Taught Me I Don’t Have What It Takes To Be An NBA Champion

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

by Adam Harshberger It takes a lot of work to be a great NBA player. It takes hours and hours at the gym, getting up early to hoist up shots, and longer still in the training room, on treadmills and … Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Tagged , B-Ball , baller , ballhogs , Basketball , Defense , gym rats , hello I wish I was a little bit taller I wish I was a baller I wish I had a girl and if I did then I would call her , Kevin Durant , knuckleheads , Kobe Bryant , LA Lakers , Lambros Mack , LeBron James , lil' troy , Miami Heat , NBA , NBA 2k12 , Rebounds , shot caller , skee-lo | 3 Comments

Postcards from PAX East Final: The Partisans

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

by Adam Harshberger During World War 2, a group of Polish underground fighters resisted the Nazi occupation of their homeland, and later, the communist regime of Poland. They fought and died defending what was theirs. On the last day of … Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Tagged , Andrew Pitynski , Ben Kuchera , , Firefall , , , , Penny Arcade Report , , Scott Youngblood , , , videogames , War of the Roses | 3 Comments

Hail Mary Play: Games, Madden, and Escapism

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

Videogames, like a lot of other media, are about escapism. Wish fulfillment.

When I was young, probably thanks to videogames, I spent a lot of time imagining fantasy worlds and about just waking up one day and being dropped into an epic quest. Escapism.

In the corpse of a gym near my house, once known as Beats Personal Training, I found escapism, once again. It was different than my usual, though: this time it was a Madden tournament.

Unlike me, these men did not dream of dragons when they were young. They dreamt of the grid iron. I have never seen a centaur, but they have probably gripped a football. Their dreams and fantasies were more attainable than mine. Still: I never led an army to war and these tournament entrants never played in the NFL. Probably.

The Madden tournament instantly reminded me of a locker room, especially inside a former gym. The attire, the heart-pumpingly loud hip-hop, the walls lined with mirrors, the strange mix of steely determination and bubbling-over excitement, all of it reminded me of my own short-lived football career. Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Tagged , KidGorgeous , laces out ventura , Madden , NFL , tournaments | Leave a comment

Postcards from PAX East: The Final Day

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

by Adam Harshberger Here’s the story of my third and final day at PAX East. I woke up still dreaming about Jesus coming back to life, thinking about the cubicle that was anxiously awaiting my Monday return, and an especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Tagged , AirMech , , , Firefall , fucking , Gamer Glasses , Illusion of Gaia , Kotaku , , , Penny Arcade , Stephen Totilo , swearing at strangers | 1 Comment

Postcards from PAX East: The Press Room

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

There are some people – you, most likely, if you’re reading Medium Difficulty – who have taken up the work of analyzing, criticizing, and thinking about videogames. Doing it seriously, with intentions from academic to idealistic, and doing it in many cases for no compensation at all. These people, myself included, care deeply about games.

Other people really love games, too. For them, games are their identity, their social group – not their muse. Like someone wearing a band t-shirt, they wear a Lord of the Rings Online hoodie or dress up as Final Fantasy characters. They don’t care any less than us. Just in different ways.

These two groups aren’t quite the same, but not so different, too. Largely, they get along without a hitch, often overlapping – but I’ve heard my colleagues say things like, “Fucking nerds,” while here. It’s said ironically and warmly, sure, but the implication of superiority is still there. On the other hand, the fucking nerds seem to not really care about our presence here. The yellow media badges don’t attract the same attention that cosplay does. Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Tagged , , , , En Masse Entertainment , , , , , , , Red 5 Studios , , , | 3 Comments

Postcards from PAX East

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

I spent the day at PAX East yesterday, with a badge around my neck that says, ‘MEDIA.’

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember. Not go to PAX, necessarily, but attend some kind of big gaming convention, especially as a member of the press. I couldn’t tell when my games journalism aspirations blossomed, not exactly, but in third grade, I used to wait with a fearsome anxiety for the month’s GamePro to come. I have eerily clear memories of articles I read about games, back then. The Final Fantasy 7 preview feature in the Official Playstation Magazine is forever seared into my head. Continue reading →

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Talk Tough: The Language of Play in Final Fantasy XI

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Adam Harshberger

by Adam Harshberger In May 2002, Final Fantasy XI (FFXI) launched on the PlayStation2 as the first massively multiplayer entry in the seminal series. Later, with its PC release in November 2002, FFXI became the first videogame to allow people … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism , Features | 3 Comments