I wrote an essay for the Art History class about how the original Dragon Quest created its own subgenre of RPG by adapting the mechanics of older computer RPGs from the west for consoles (specifically, the NES) and infusing it with aesthetic elements that had particular appeal with a wider/younger japanese audience.

For this one, I wrote a 15 pages essay about how Crusader Kings II uses teleological elements from national myths in its setting and gameplay, using how Portugal and its rulers are represented in the game as a particular study case.

I had the pleasure to give a small talk about how the natural environment and environmental issues are represented in strategy games, and how there's a deep epistemological problem in their representation that poses an obstacle for the use of games as a tool for Environmental Education - a problem that can be traced at least as far back as Civ1. This short presentation also mentioned Civ2, CIV4, Stellaris, Fate of the World, Block'hood and Terra Nil.

For a course on the history of the italian Renaissance I an essay comparing how Assassin's Creed II and Painters Guild each approached the same theme. The most striking difference being not that one is a multimillion dollar game and another an obscure indie, but how ACII focused on a traditional Great Men history while Painters Guild used a more abstract and structural take.

As part of my final essay for a course on Necropolitics I reviewed this game. The review is available here on Backloggd.