As I pull out of the home-improvement big box store — a simulacrum of Iowa City’s Menards called “Shop Town” — I think to myself, In another life I could’ve been a truck driver. The thought returns as I haul various cargo from one Iowa destination to another: lumber from Des Moines to Iowa City, ice cream from Cedar Rapids to Davenport, and so on.
video games
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘I’ve had “evil video game” in my notes for story ideas for, like, ever’: Tatiana Schlote-Bonne on writing horror for the fun of it
On the day of the release of her debut, Such Lovely Skin, Tatiana Schlote-Bonne expressed excitement and optimism about her literary future and upcoming books. The Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program graduate’s horror novel centers on a young gamer and Twitch streamer, Viv, whose most recent game creates a demonic mimic of her which is determined to ruin her life.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The brief time when Iowa City was in the Guitar Hero business
For a brief time in the ’00s, Guitar Hero was the king of party games. And for an even briefer time, some entries in the bestselling series were developed in an office on South Linn Street in Iowa City. Budcat Creations, a high-budget game development studio owned by Iowa natives Jason and Jeremy Andersen, relocated […]
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Arcade gaming returns to downtown Iowa City
There’s something familiar and gratifying for a Gen Xer about holing up in a narrow basement space with atmospheric lighting, ruining your vision while simultaneously improving your hand-eye coordination, plugging in quarters like you’re king of the world. It’s fun for kids, too, I hear.
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City is getting its first gaming cafe
The fact electronic sports, or esports, have a real shot of making it into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is a good indicator of the rising popularity and prestige of the competitive video gaming community. That community will soon have a home in Iowa City as the area gets its first esports cafe, a type of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The GameCube classic Super Smash Brothers Melee still has a hold on gamers
The 2001 Nintendo game was a fun way to pit the likes of Mario and Kirby against Pikachu and Donkey Kong. For many that was all it ever was, but for Iowa City’s Melee community, it is anything but an outmoded party game.
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Experience Shakespeare in video game form with Play the Knave, part of the UI First Folio! activities
Play the Knave Game Installation University of Iowa Main Library — Wednesday, Sept. 7 at noon Videogame Shakespeare: Collaboration and Creativity in Play the Knave University of Iowa 109 EPB — Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. “Alright, class—we’re going to read Shakespeare.” Most English teachers have said these words; the more jaded ones brace […]
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Chance Kirchhof of Critical Hit Games talks running a community-focused gaming store
Critical Hit Games is an Iowa City gaming store founded with the mission of being a gaming store with a community focus. I’ve been visiting pretty regularly since I first moved to the area a few years ago, and find it to be a great place to game in a fun and open environment. People […]
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Screenshot: ‘Her Story’ offers a unique, non-linear approach to gameplay
If you had walked in on me playing Her Story over the past few days, you may not have realized I was playing a game at all. My play sessions — which consisted…
Posted inCommunity/News
Screenshot: Indie games growing in Iowa
For the past several years, gamers have been in the midst of what will surely be looked back on as the heyday of independent gaming. The number of available indie games continues to increase, in large part thanks to online distribution and crowd-funding sources like Kickstarter. But if you find yourself, a couple years from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
EPX event to feature local game developers, industry veterans
EPX Studio, a University of Iowa student organization specializing in video game and animation production, will host several indie artists and developers this Friday…
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So many games to play: Gamicon kicks off this weekend in downtown Iowa City
Gamers, your weekend has arrived. Gamicon, Iowa’s longest-running gaming convention, kicks off this Friday at 1 p.m. in downtown Iowa City…
